The global cost of food waste is projected to reach $540 billion this year, up from $526 billion last year, according to a new report by Avery Dennison, working alongside the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
The report, which drew on responses from more than more than 3,500 retail and supply chain industry professionals across seven major markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, Brazil and India, found that many businesses still lack visibility as to where food waste is occurring in their system, with 61% noting limited insight across their operations.
When asked to identify the most difficult categories in terms of food waste, meat (50%) came out on top, followed by produce (45%) and baked goods (28%). In addition, more than half of businesses (51%) said that inventory management and overstocking were among the main contributors to food waste within their operations.
On average, the cost of food waste across a retail business’ supply chain – from processing to retail – is equivalent to around 33% of total revenue, the report noted.
‘Overcome the complexity’
“Food waste has become an accepted cost of doing business, but it doesn’t have to be,” commented Julie Vargas, VP/GM, Enterprise Intelligent Labels Growth at Avery Dennison. “Innovation exists today to help overcome the complexity of food waste by unlocking new possibilities and transforming a historic operating cost into measurable value across the global retail supply chain.
“The retail ecosystem is changing, but not enough retailers are changing with it. The biggest challenge is what we can’t see. From transit to shelf, blind spots are silently eroding margins. With the right innovation, we can turn this loss into measurable value and shift the conversation on food waste, from being purely seen as a sustainability issue, into a business critical one. This is about unlocking efficiency and growth across the entire supply chain.”
According to the study, if current trends continue, the cumulative cost of food waste from 2025 to 2030 is set to reach around $3.4 trillion, with more than a quarter (27%) of respondents saying that they did not expect to meet the 2030 deadline for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which aims to halve global food waste.
Waste in the meat sector alone will account for $94 billion of losses in 2026, representing around a fifth of the total cost of food waste, while fresh produce is expected to contribute a further $88 billion.
‘Clear call to action’
At the same time, however, close to three quarters (73%) of respondents said that they saw tackling food waste as a growth opportunity, which is why the $540 billion in lost value should be seen as a “clear call to action”, according to Michael Colarossi, vice president, head of enterprise sustainability, Avery Dennison.
“For too long, food waste has been positioned almost exclusively as a sustainability and societal issue. We must recognise it as the business opportunity it truly is. […] Only by uncovering the blind spots in the chain can we take meaningful steps to reduce loss, build resilience and create lasting value for both businesses and the planet.” Read more here.
