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Did you know that the US experienced a growth of about 80% in the number of online users in the year 2023?
The growth made the food and beverage industry expand its offerings and its customer base.
But with growth comes a wave of challenges that every entrepreneur in the food and beverage industry has to pass to win customers in the future.
It takes a lot of planning to manage the supply chain of this industry, and good software and analytics can go a long way to smoothening this process for businesses.
Before you enter this industry, here are a few challenges food and beverage companies currently face.
Pressure To Be Environmentally Friendly
With the growing consumer focus on sustainability, there is a great demand for eco-friendly packaging.
Creating a balance between affordability and practicality remains a challenge in creating food-safe, recyclable, and durable packaging that withstand the transit to the final destination.
Being Compliant With Plastic Ban
Since 2021, the need to deploy green practices from production to packaging and supply chain management has become an essential matter to tackle.
Adapting to the use of plastic ban poses a major challenge for the food and beverage industry.
The best way to overcome this challenge is to make the food manufacturing process highly conducive to the environment with the adaptability of numerous hygiene and recycling practices with resilience.
Gaps In Communication Hierarchy
You can find several gaps in the communication process of any food or beverage company that may cause delays in the delivery schedule of the products.
These delays may lead to food spoilage or damages, in short, costing the company more than it is supposed to.
As per food business consultants, to overcome this challenge, companies need to focus more on improving their communication process by investing their capital in real-time tracking technologies and choosing a reliable delivery partner.
Demand For Locally Sourced Ingredients
Meeting the needs of the rising demand of people for locally sourced organic products also comes across as a challenge in this industry.
It is difficult to convert a farm into one that produces organics or products without pesticides, making it challenging to find sufficient supply.
The only way to overcome this challenge is by choosing multiple local suppliers to provide you with a variety of organic or non-pesticide-produced supplies for the customers.
Difficulty With Supplier Management
Procuring food and beverages, even for smaller businesses, often involves dealing with several suppliers at a time.
Finding good supplies and favorable deals, along with the capacity to keep up with regular fluctuations in pricing and food delivery terms, can be a complex task.
Thus, to regulate these challenges, food and beverage companies must comply with the updated software and staff. It will help them get the most value from the supply chain.
Coping Increased E-Commerce Expectations
In comparison with any other industry, the F&B industry finds it most difficult to keep up with the increased consumer expectations on online platforms. Thus, these companies need to run along with the changing e-commerce environment to stay competitive.
To overcome the challenges of e-commerce expectations, the F&B industry must actively reduce the delivery timeliness to meet the customer expectations of fresh and flavorful food products at their doorstep.
