700 new food companies in one year

In the twelve months between the start of the second quarter 2021 and the start of the second quarter 2022, 690 companies were added in the food industry on balance. At the start of the second quarter of 2021, there were 6345 companies, one year later 7035 (+10.9 percent). Many small companies were added during this period. The largest subsector, the bread and pasta industry, grew the most. There were no branches in the food industry where the number of companies declined. The number of companies in a sector does not always run parallel to its economic importance. This is evident from an analysis of recent CBS figures.

Number of one-person businesses grows the fastest

The number of companies in the food industry with only 1 employee rose the most until the start of the second quarter of 2022. From the second quarter of 2021 onwards, 595 companies were added (+18.8 percent), bringing the total number of one-person businesses to 3755. The number of businesses with two employees also grew considerably during this period: +7.1 percent, from 700 to 750 businesses. Only the number of businesses in the size categories 5 to 10 employees and 50 to 100 employees declined. In both classes, there were 5 fewer companies at the beginning of the second quarter than a year earlier.

More than half of the increase in companies comes from the bread and pasta industry

In the bread and pasta industry, 370 companies were added between the second quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2022. This is more than half (53.6 percent) of the total business growth in the food industry. After the bread and pasta industry, the highest increase in the number of companies was measured in the snack food industry: +60 companies, from 250 to 310, and the cocoa and chocolate work industry: +45 companies, from 315 to 360. In the flour industry, the number of companies did not increase, but stabilised at 110 companies in total.

Number of companies in a sector does not always say something about economic importance 

Of the total of 7035 companies in the food industry, 54.5 percent were active in the bread and pasta industry at the start of the second quarter of this year, 10.0 percent in the slaughterhouse and meat products industry and 5 percent in the dairy industry. The food oils and fats industry (0.8 percent of the total number of companies), the flour industry (1.6 percent), the fish processing industry (2.2 percent) and the fruit and vegetable processing industry (3.4 percent) are among the smaller branches in the food industry in terms of number of companies. However, the number of companies does not always say something about the economic importance of a branch. In the case of the bread and pasta industry, for example, there is a considerable discrepancy between the share of the total number of companies in the food industry (54.5 percent) and the share of total employment in the food industry (28.7 percent). The following industries have a significantly higher share in the total employment of the food industry, than in the total number of companies:                    

• Slaughterhouses and meat processing industry: share 10.0 percent in total number of companies and 18.4 percent in total employment  
• Dairy industry: share 5.0 per cent in total number of enterprises and 13.4 per cent in total employment 
• Fruit and vegetable processing: share 3.4 percent in total number of companies and 9.1 percent in total employment