Annual Food Manufacturing Surveys Yield Important Equipment Considerations

Industry Surveys Reveal Key Shifts in Food Manufacturing

Key Findings From Recent Food Manufacturing Research

• “Really new” product development remains the top R&D priority, with roughly 30% of manufacturers ranking it first.
• Current product enhancement continues to climb, especially in:
  • Clean-label reformulation
  • Ingredient simplification
  • Removal of sugars, sodium and artificial additives
  • Existing product improvements that are increasingly prioritized by mid-sized manufacturers
• Speed to market continues to improve. More than 55% of manufacturers move a product from concept to shelf in six months or less, with digital prototyping and accelerated pilot testing contributing to this.

• More than two-thirds of processors reported increased throughput in the most recent survey cycle. Average gains were in the range of 20 to 25%.
• The top contributors to throughput growth include:
  • Demand from new customers
  • Volume increases from existing customers
  • Expanded product lines
  • Ingredient flexibility initiatives
• Fewer than 5% of processors attribute throughput changes to temporary factors. Growth is coming from consistent market demand.

• Approximately 52% of processors list ingredient availability as a challenge.
• Ingredient alterations, including sugar reduction, stabilizer replacement and sourcing substitutions, remain top priorities.
• These changes often require new agitation, mixing or heat transfer solutions.

• About 80% of manufacturers are evaluating equipment upgrades or expansions.
• The most invested categories include:
  • Automated agitation and mixing systems
  • CIP and SIP compatible vessels
  • High-shear processors
  • Energy efficient heating and cooking systems
  • Multi-use vessels designed for diverse formulations
• Throughput growth remains the strongest motivator for equipment investment.

Implications for Food Processing Equipment

Modern processing demands place greater pressure on equipment to support flexibility, speed, consistency and ingredient adaptability.

Sugar reduction, protein fortification, plant-based alternatives and stabilizer replacements frequently alter viscosity, solubility, heating profiles or shear needs. This requires equipment that offers:

• Variable speed agitation
• Multiple mixing elements
• Enhanced scraping and sweeping blades
• Precision temperature control
• Adjustable shear profiles

When manufacturers substitute ingredients due to supply chain constraints, the new materials often behave differently in:

• Heating
• Cooling
• Suspension
• Emulsification
• Reduction

This increases the need for adaptable vessels and advanced controls.

With throughput increasing by an average of 20 to 25%, many manufacturers now require:

• Larger or more efficient vessels
• Faster cooking cycles
• Reduced changeover times
• Shorter cleaning intervals
• Improved automation
• Strong integration between processing and packaging systems

Equipment is no longer a passive component of the process. It directly determines production capabilities and operational performance.

Tap Your Equipment Provider as a Strategic Partner

Experienced equipment providers bring real world insights from hundreds or thousands of similar projects. Partnering early unlocks better process design and long-term scalability.

Early collaboration with Application Engineers ensures that:

• Equipment is matched to your product characteristics
• Your facility layout, utilities and workflow are considered
• Lab or pilot results scale accurately to production
• You maintain flexibility for future growth
• You avoid costly design changes mid-project

Testing labs help manufacturers:

• Validate ingredient changes
• Compare mixing elements
• Identify optimal agitation or heating profiles
• Refine process parameters to speed up time to shelf
• Discover efficiency gains before finalizing equipment investments

This is especially valuable when introducing new formulations or reworking existing recipes.

Equipment suppliers frequently identify bottlenecks such as:

• Sharing vessels between incompatible products
• Cooling delays that slow downstream filling
• Overly long cleaning cycles
• Packaging line backups caused by inconsistent heating or mixing
• Workflow sequencing that reduces throughput

Provider experience helps prevent or resolve these issues.

Strategic Recommendations for Manufacturers

• Invest early in flexible multi-purpose vessels that support evolving formulations.
• Use testing labs to validate processes before scaling.
• Engage equipment providers early to optimize process design.
• Plan equipment upgrades with future requirements in mind, not only current needs.

Why Choose Lee Industries

As equipment demands evolve, food manufacturers need partners who understand product behavior, ingredient variability, rapid scale up and long-term operational efficiency. Lee Industries has worked alongside thousands of processors for over a century, providing vessels, agitation systems, customization options and engineering support that help teams meet exacting performance and quality goals.

Our Applications Engineers bring deep process knowledge across a wide range of formulations, so you gain practical guidance and trusted solutions that improve consistency, throughput and flexibility. Whether you’re optimizing current production, reformulating existing products or building a new process from the ground up, our team is ready to support you with equipment that is built to perform and built to last.

If you would like to explore equipment upgrades, process improvements or upcoming production needs, our team would be happy to help. Contact a Lee Applications Engineer or call us directly so we can learn more about your goals and recommend the right solutions for your operation.

Sources

• Food Engineering: State of Food Manufacturing Report
• Food Processing: Annual Food and Beverage R&D Survey
• IFIC Food and Health Survey
• Grassi Food and Beverage Manufacturing Outlook
• Wipfli State of Manufacturing Report

Last Updated: 02/06/2026