The global food and beverages industry is made up of many segments, including groceries, oils and fats, food additives, functional foods and beverages, packaged foods, health and natural foods, canned food, baked food, baby food, animal food, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, energy drinks, and packaging.
The Food and Beverage Industry includes all the companies involved in transforming raw agricultural goods into consumer food products. This industry includes fresh food, packaged food, and beverages (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic).
Food and beverage manufacturing plants transform raw agricultural materials into products for intermediate or final consumption by applying labor, machinery, energy, and scientific knowledge. Some products may serve as inputs for further processing (such as syrup for manufacturing soda).
The Food and Drink sector provides safe, high quality, healthy and affordable food to millions of people worldwide. Together with the tobacco industry, the sector is a large source of manufacturing output and employment. However, it faces a confluence of challenges such as climate change, changes in food supply and demand, imbalances in the governance of food production systems, food price volatility and food security. Addressing decent work deficits contributes to tackling these issues and to broader development goals.