Major growth in number of food companies

In the first nine months of this year the number of companies in the food industry rose by 11.7 percent to a total of 6,865. During this period 720 companies were added. The absolute growth in this period was strongest in the bread and pasta industry, the snack industry grew by more than 25%. The food industry saw the largest number of small companies joining the sector. This is evident from an analysis of recent CBS figures by our editors.

Bread and pastry industry leader

Almost 60 percent of the growth in the number of companies in the food industry came from the bread and pastry industry (+415). With a growth of 360 companies, bread and pastry bakeries had by far the largest share. The remaining growth in the bread and pasta industry in the first three quarters of this year was accounted for by the pastry industry (+50 companies) and the pasta industry (+5 companies). 

Above-average growth in snack industry

The number of companies in the snack industry grew above average in the first nine months of this year, from 235 to 295 companies (+25.5 percent). The sauces, salt and spices industry was hot on the heels of the snack industry, with 25.0 percent more companies to a total of 125 as of early October. Other industries with above-average growth in the food industry were the coffee roasting and tea making industry (+16.0 percent to 145 companies) and the dietary food industry (+15.4 percent to 75 companies). In the sugar industry (a total of 5 companies) and in the poultry slaughterhouses sector (50 companies), the number of companies stabilised at the level of the beginning of the year.

Number of smaller companies in particular has risen sharply

Of the 720 companies that were added in the food industry in the first three quarters of the year, 87.5 percent belonged to the group of smallest companies (1 person employed) and 9 percent to the group of companies with 2 persons employed. There were two segments where the number of companies decreased during this period: companies with 3 to 5 employees (-0.7 percent) and companies with 50 to 100 employees (-2.1 percent).