Dealing with Food Industry Pressures
Olin Thompson and P.J. Jakovljevic - November 3, 2006

Dealing with Industry Pressures

Food and beverage is by far the largest industry in the world, but that doesn't mean that it is a straightforward "piece of cake" for most food and beverage manufacturers and distributors to capture a bigger "slice of the pie." With the growing power of mega-retailers, along with fragmented markets; intricate supply chains; increasing government regulations; variable raw materials; seasonality; package proliferation; and limited shelf life, manufacturers and distributors certainly have many challenges on their plate, and even industry giants cannot afford to sit back. Given this backdrop, how can the small-to-medium food manufacturer cope in the face of the same external pressures, with comparatively fewer resources?..