The Indian food and drink market is characterised by strong domestic demand, rising exports, increasing investments, and government support. Further, the liberalised foreign direct investment (FDI) policy and reforms have resulted in the development of the production, processing, distribution and marketing of F&D sector in India. Between April 2000 and June 2017, the Indian food processing sector received FDI worth GBP 5.95 billion, making it the 13th largest sector receiving FDI in the country. Thus, the sector has emerged as a high-growth and high-profit sector due to its immense potential for value addition.
The key growth drivers that resulted in such strong domestic demand in the Indian Food & Drink sector are favourable macro socio-economic indicators including favourable young demographics, growing disposable income, urbanisation, organisation of retail industry along with changing consumer tastes and preferences and their increasing spend on value added products.
The sector is strong in the UK too. Food and drink manufacturers directly employ over 468,000 people across every region and nation of the UK, an increase of 3.4% from 2020. The food industry as a whole employs around 4 million people and generates around £121 billion annually. Exports of food and drink exceeded £20bn in 2021, going to over 220 countries and territories worldwide.
