Food’s future? Big growth in these four markets

A report from Strategy& Germany, part of the PwC network, offers a sobering picture of the environmental impact of global food consumption and production, which accounts for more than a quarter of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. Of particular concern is a global increase in the consumption of meat, which requires as much as 100 times the amount of land resources as plant agriculture to produce an equivalent volume of calories. But the report also charts a path forward, pointing to agro-biodiversity initiatives, supply chain innovations that minimise food loss, and—in a trend that food industry and agribusiness players and investors should be paying serious attention to—robust market growth for alternative foods, which have the potential to bend the curve on unsustainable practices while also providing a cushion against food insecurity brought on by war and geopolitical instability.

As the figures above show, the biggest projected growth market is vertical farming, which requires a minimal land footprint, making it especially well suited to built-up urban areas. Among other advantages, vertical farming allows food production to move closer to consumers, shortening the supply chain and reducing costs. Improvements in energy efficiency promise to make vertically farmed food an increasingly vital part of the global food supply, along with plant-based meats, edible insects, and 3D-printed foods. With governments eyeing new food-industry regulations, consumers calling for greater change and farmers becoming more incentivised to adopt sustainable methods, leaders with a stake in the food value chain should start making a play in these alternative-food markets, and soon.