ABB warns of growing energy management gaps risking margins in the food and drink sector

New research from ABB underscores a widening implementation shortfall in industrial energy management that risks eroding margins across the food and drink sector. Drawing on a global survey of 2,700 senior industrial decision‑makers in 15 countries, ABB reports that while a large majority have signalled intent to act on efficiency, translating plans into sustained, system‑wide delivery remains the critical obstacle.

ABB’s study found 63% of respondents have already put energy‑efficiency measures in place and a further 29% plan to do so within the next year, yet the company cautions that progress is often piecemeal rather than enterprise‑scale. Energy still represents a substantial cost exposure: respondents estimate it accounts for roughly a quarter of manufacturing operating expenditure, and nearly six in ten said recent price increases threaten profitability. According to ABB, “Energy efficiency has become a foundation for business continuity, compliance, and long‑term value creation. It’s a condition for market access,” said Erich Labuda, president of ABB’s Motion Services division. “Today, leaders care about optimising energy use. What they struggle with is deployment, at scale, and over time.”

The survey highlights a growing digital footprint, two‑thirds of companies describe themselves as digitally ready and are using or preparing to deploy energy‑management software, but also exposes governance and decision‑making gaps. Only 37% routinely apply total cost of ownership when evaluating purchases, despite 81% agreeing that TCO should guide procurement. Responsibility for efficiency is frequently dispersed across operations, sustainability, finance and maintenance functions, leaving no single team accountable. “Cost is no longer the main blocker. What’s holding companies back now are organisational silos, skills gaps and a lack of usable data,” Labuda added.

Independent industry and government sources underline the strategic importance of closing that execution gap. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Office notes that food and beverage manufacturing is energy‑intensive, accounting for about 6% of total industrial energy use in the United States, and stresses opportunities in process‑heating, steam systems, waste‑heat recovery and electrification. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has also modelled a persistent “efficiency gap” in food processing, indicating scope to improve competitiveness through better uptake of proven technologies.

Country and sector guides reinforce the commercial case. The Australian Government’s sector guidance estimates energy constitutes at least 15% of operational costs in food and beverage plants, and points to metering, monitoring and targeted upgrades as high‑value measures to cut consumption, boost reliability and protect product quality. Trade coverage from Food Industry Executive shows similar momentum: a 2025 industry survey cited there found just over 62% of food manufacturers reported measurable energy improvements in the previous two years, while roughly one‑third of leaders place cutting consumption among their top priorities. However, that same coverage flags persistent barriers including constrained capital and the difficulty of retrofitting legacy assets.

A further risk flagged by ABB is what it calls “post‑renewables complacency”: some companies that have contracted renewable power show reduced focus on consumption reduction. ABB and other experts stress that lower carbon intensity from renewables does not substitute for lower total energy use, particularly where margins and supply‑price volatility remain central concerns for processors.

Practical joint initiatives point to scalable pathways. ABB and Tetra Pak’s digital energy assessment programme, piloted in the Americas, combines plant‑wide diagnostics with tailored measures and produced estimated energy and carbon reductions in the order of 15–25%, according to the partners. ABB’s product and services portfolio for the food and beverage industry promotes motor‑driven system modernisation, digital optimisation and lifecycle support as levers to sustain savings and reduce unplanned downtime.

For industrial decarbonisation professionals the policy and commercial signals are clear: ambitions must be backed by operating models that assign clear ownership, embed TCO thinking into procurement, and invest in upskilling and data platforms that turn analytics into action. Industry data and government guidance both point to high‑payback interventions, metering and monitoring, process‑heating optimisation, waste‑heat recovery and motor system upgrades, that can be bundled with digital services to scale results across lines and sites.

As manufacturers wrestle with raw material and energy market volatility, the next competitive frontier will likely be the ability to convert diagnostic insight into repeatable, lifecycle improvements. According to ABB, companies that stitch together diagnostics, control‑layer optimisation, modernised motor‑driven equipment and ongoing lifecycle services will be best positioned to protect margins, reduce exposure to price swings and meet regulatory and customer expectations on sustainability.