--- title: Horizons 2024 Digital Age of Food Manufacturing description: Free 2024 report on automation and AI in the food and beverage manufacturing industry. --- [![CRB Logo Blue-1](https://go.crbgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CRB%20Logo%20Blue-1.png?width=80&height=80&name=CRB%20Logo%20Blue-1.png "CRB Logo Blue-1")](https://www.crbgroup.com/) # Horizons: Digital Age of Food Manufacturing Report  Our 2024 Horizons: Digital Age of Food Manufacturing report, built on the inputs of more than 300 industry leaders, explores the emerging trends and factors affecting the food industry's transformational change in the age of digitalization.  ## CRB introduces its newest Horizons report, exploring how the age of digitalization is transforming the food and beverage manufacturing industry. ## Take a peek inside the report below.  ![Horizons - Digital Age of Food Manufacturing Report_Draft 2_Page_01](https://go.crbgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_Draft%202_Page_01.jpg?width=1224&height=1584&name=Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_Draft%202_Page_01.jpg) ![Horizons - Digital Age of Food Manufacturing Report_Draft 2_Page_02](https://go.crbgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_Draft%202_Page_02.jpg?width=1700&height=2200&name=Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_Draft%202_Page_02.jpg) ![Horizons - Digital Age of Food Manufacturing Report_FINAL-CAPEX_Page_08](https://go.crbgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_FINAL-CAPEX_Page_08.png?width=1224&height=1584&name=Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_FINAL-CAPEX_Page_08.png) ![Horizons - Digital Age of Food Manufacturing Report_Draft 2_Page_09](https://go.crbgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_Draft%202_Page_09.jpg?width=1700&height=2200&name=Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_Draft%202_Page_09.jpg) ![Horizons - Digital Age of Food Manufacturing Report_Draft 2_Page_11](https://go.crbgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_Draft%202_Page_11.jpg?width=1700&height=2200&name=Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_Draft%202_Page_11.jpg) ![Horizons - Digital Age of Food Manufacturing Report_Draft 2_Page_18](https://go.crbgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_Draft%202_Page_18.jpg?width=1700&height=2200&name=Horizons%20-%20Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report_Draft%202_Page_18.jpg) ## What to Expect in the Report In a world of hot takes from outsiders, our report offers an inside perspective from the front lines of food and beverage manufacturing, serving as a searchlight amid the confusion. We illuminate the path ahead by exploring Industry 4.0 not as a catch-all term but as a concrete objective enabled by realistic, incremental steps. This is no general conversation—this is a close and specific examination of the digital era, as experienced and reported directly by your peers. In our report, our SMEs tackle that question head-on and from multiple angles. Once again, they do so with the survey responses of over 300 industry leaders who weigh in on the challenges and strategies surrounding operational efficiencies, labor shortages, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives, and hamstrung capital budgets.  ### Table of Contents **Executive summary:** A new era of food and beverage manufacturing is calling—and we’re listening 1. **Digital manufacturing: **Navigating the journey to value 2. **Know before you grow:** How data-driven insights are helping manufacturers improve and expand operations 3. **ESG implementation:** Where we are, where we’re going and solutions to fuel the journey 4. **Addressing labor force needs:** Strategies for attracting and retaining talent to complement digital solutions 5. **Less cash, more value: **Automation and the push to maximize capital spending ![Digital Age of Food Manufacturing Report Cover_RGB](https://go.crbgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report%20Cover_RGB.jpg?width=1545&height=2000&name=Digital%20Age%20of%20Food%20Manufacturing%20Report%20Cover_RGB.jpg "Digital Age of Food Manufacturing Report Cover_RGB") # What those in the industry are saying about our Horizons reports... ### “The findings of this study of the dynamic alternative proteins sector provide both surprises and confirmation of the trends we are witnessing in the marketplace today.” *Christopher Shanahan,* *Research Director and Head of Agriculture & Nutrition Research* *Frost & Sullivan* --- ### “The Horizons reports provide feedback from food manufacturers, that not only complements consumer trends but also helps educators like myself develop valuable training programs or update our curriculum.” *Mary-Grace C Danao,* *Research Associate Professor,* *University of Nebraska-Lincoln* --- ### “The Horizons report was helpful and the data and analysis in the report was succinct and helped confirm that my ideas were also trends in the industry.”       *Trishul Shah,* *Director, Business Development* *PolyPeptide Group* --- Copyright © 2026 CRB • All Rights Reserved. ![](https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=4380657&fmt=gif)