The global food industry faces a staggering challenge that’s largely invisible to consumers but devastating to bottom lines: food waste is projected to cost the supply chain $540 billion in 2026 alone. According to Avery Dennison’s groundbreaking report “Making the Invisible Visible,” this isn’t just an environmental crisis—it’s a massive business opportunity hiding in plain sight.
The True Cost of Food Waste
Recent research involving 3,500 global food retailers and supply chain leaders reveals a sobering reality: food waste costs are equivalent to 33% of total revenues across the food retail supply chain annually, from post-farm processing through point of sale. To put this in perspective, for every three dollars in revenue, one dollar is essentially lost to waste.
If current trends continue, the cumulative cost of food waste between 2025 and 2030 will reach an astronomical $3.4 trillion. This timeline coincides with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which aims to halve global food waste by 2030. Yet more than a quarter of business leaders surveyed admitted they don’t expect to meet this critical deadline.
The Visibility Problem
Perhaps most concerning is that 61% of businesses lack full visibility into where food waste occurs across their operations. This blind spot represents billions in lost revenue that companies don’t even realize they’re hemorrhaging. Without understanding where and why waste happens, implementing effective solutions becomes nearly impossible.
The data highlights challenges at various points throughout the supply chain, with perishable categories presenting the greatest difficulties. When asked to identify their three most challenging categories for waste management, half of respondents pointed to meat, 45% cited produce, and 28% mentioned baked goods. These high-value categories represent not just environmental concerns but significant profit erosion.
The Business Opportunity
Here’s the encouraging news: 73% of business leaders now recognize tackling food waste as a growth opportunity rather than solely a sustainability issue. This shift in perspective is crucial because it reframes waste reduction from a compliance exercise to a strategic profit driver.
Michael Colarossi, VP and Head of Enterprise Sustainability at Avery Dennison, emphasizes this point: “For too long, food waste has been positioned almost exclusively as a sustainability and societal issue. We must recognize it as the business opportunity it truly is.”
Where Packaging Makes the Difference
Advanced flexible packaging plays a critical role in addressing food waste at multiple points in the supply chain:
Protection During Processing and Distribution
High-barrier laminated films provide the protection perishable products need from the moment they leave processing facilities. Multi-layer structures combining materials like polyethylene, nylon, and specialized barrier polymers create robust shields against oxygen, moisture, and physical damage—the primary culprits in product degradation.
Shelf Life Extension
The right packaging can dramatically extend product freshness, giving retailers and consumers more time to sell and consume products before spoilage occurs. For high-value proteins and produce, even a few extra days of shelf life translates to significant waste reduction and profit protection.
Advanced laminated films engineered for specific product requirements can:
– Control oxygen transmission rates to slow oxidation and spoilage
– Manage moisture levels to prevent dehydration or excessive condensation
– Provide puncture and tear resistance to maintain package integrity throughout distribution
– Offer clarity and gloss that allow consumers to see product quality while maintaining protection
Inventory Management Support
Clear, printable laminated films enable better product identification and rotation. When warehouse and retail staff can quickly identify products and their freshness dates, the “first in, first out” principle becomes easier to implement, reducing waste from poor inventory management—a factor that 51% of business leaders identified as a significant contributor to food waste.
The Momar Advantage in Food Waste Prevention
At Momar Industries, we understand that preventing food waste begins with packaging that performs. Our custom laminated films are engineered to address the specific challenges food manufacturers and retailers face:
Barrier Performance: We manufacture multi-layer laminated structures that provide exceptional barriers against oxygen, moisture, light, and other elements that accelerate food degradation. Whether you’re packaging fresh meat, produce, or baked goods, we can design a film structure optimized for your product’s specific protection requirements.
Durability: Our films are built to withstand the rigors of modern supply chains. From automated filling lines to cross-country distribution, packages need to maintain their integrity. Our laminated films combine strength with flexibility, reducing package failures that lead to product loss.
Customization: Every food product has unique packaging needs. Our in-house technical team works closely with customers to develop laminated film solutions tailored to specific applications, ensuring optimal performance for each product category.
Efficiency: Our advanced lamination processes deliver consistent, high-quality films that run smoothly on packaging equipment, reducing downtime and waste during the packaging process itself.
From Problem to Profit
The $540 billion food waste crisis represents one of the largest opportunities in the food industry today. While technology solutions like RFID sensors and inventory management software are part of the answer, the foundation of food waste prevention remains the same: packaging that protects product quality from farm to fork.
As Julie Vargas, VP/GM at Avery Dennison notes, “Food waste has become an accepted cost of doing business, but it doesn’t have to be. Innovation exists today to help overcome the complexity of food waste by unlocking new possibilities and transforming a historic operating cost into measurable value.”
For food manufacturers, processors, and retailers looking to reclaim value lost to waste, the path forward is clear: invest in packaging solutions that extend shelf life, protect product integrity, and support efficient inventory management. The return on investment isn’t just measured in sustainability metrics—it’s measured in preserved profits and recaptured revenue.
Taking Action
The food waste crisis won’t solve itself, and waiting until 2030 to take action means leaving billions of dollars on the table. By partnering with packaging manufacturers who understand the critical role protective films play in waste prevention, food companies can begin capturing value today.
At Momar Industries, we’re committed to helping our customers turn the food waste challenge into a competitive advantage. Our laminated film solutions are designed with both performance and efficiency in mind, ensuring that products stay fresher longer while supporting the sustainable practices that consumers and regulators increasingly demand.
Ready to explore how advanced laminated films can help reduce waste and protect your profits? Contact our technical team to discuss your specific packaging challenges and discover solutions tailored to your products.
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*The statistics and research findings in this article are drawn from “Making the Invisible Visible: Unlocking the Hidden Value of Food Waste to Drive Growth and Profitability,” a report published by Avery Dennison in partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, based on surveys of 3,500 global food retail and supply chain leaders.*