As geopolitical tensions escalate and trade dynamics shift, the food and beverage industry is navigating one of the most challenging eras in its history.
The recent uncertainty has sent shockwaves through the sector, affecting the entire supply chain – from ingredients and raw materials to finished products – with the potential to significantly disrupt trade.
Many companies face immediate cost increases from imported ingredients, intensifying operational complexity and squeezing margins even further. And while importers and distributors will initially be able to absorb some of these costs, increases will eventually reach consumers – with inflated grocery bills and possible shortages on popular products a stark reality.
Although some brands will be able to pivot quickly – adjusting product offerings, prioritizing domestic alternatives, or shifting ingredient sourcing to different nations – these strategies take time and may not fully compensate for the disruption in the volume and quality of product flow or its impact on pricing.
Brands, including those in Europe, where quick product turnarounds are essential, are under immense pressure to adapt operations within the fast-changing and complex world of global supply chains. If not, they face long-term financial, operational, innovation, and new product development risks. In these unprecedented times, there is no ‘take two’ – brands must adapt quickly, or risk falling behind.
The problem with legacy systems
One of the biggest challenges in the food and beverage industry is arguably the document-based supplier relationships that follow traditional and restrictive linear supply chain models.
Research conducted by TraceGains estimates that up to 95% of the sector remains trapped in email-based supplier communities, with 4% still using fax machines – an unthinkable reality in this era of technological progress.
These legacy systems are particularly vulnerable to sudden policy changes and often lack the flexibility to quickly adapt to new trade barriers. When dependent on a limited number of suppliers or when operating in regions where the biggest economic impact will be felt, this can swiftly become a problem.
One of the most important requirements in the food industry is transparency. Informed consumers will continue to engage with products that feature a clean label, particularly in the baked goods and confectionery aisle, where issues such as gluten intolerance continue to grow.
To meet this growing demand, brands must have full oversight of the entire supply chain – from where and under what conditions ingredients are sourced to certification credentials, regulatory approvals, and end-to-end environmental impact. This is a tall order and can be impossible using traditional and restrictive linear supply chain models.
Reimagine your supply chain
So, how do companies circumvent the potential fallout when incremental improvement of current legacy systems are no longer an option?
Fundamental change can happen by moving systems and processes from linear, document-based supplier relationships to networked, data-driven ecosystems. Here, TraceGains’ networked model not only prioritises the flow of information, but also the flow of goods. This offers suppliers and manufacturers the ability to connect through platforms that standardize and automate data exchange with a shared language for compliance, sustainability, and quality – without ambiguity or misinterpretation.
Additionally, networked platforms can provide brands and manufacturers with the analytical insights and early visibility they need to make informed decisions. Highlighting risky hotspots for global trade, for instance, can enable smarter decision-making before a situation escalates – allowing brands to move from reactive damage control to proactive strategy, and avoiding any costly surprises in the interim.
In the face of rising tariffs or, even worse, supplier shutdowns, brands cannot afford long lead times to source new ingredients or products. In the past, switching suppliers involved a mountain of paperwork, regulatory reviews, and administrative back-and-forth. These manual processes are just too prone to human error, and in a tightly regulated market, errors can be very costly.
But automating processes with real-time documentation collection, smart workflows, and a centralized compliance dashboard, brands and manufacturers can now turn possible disruptions in supply chain shifts from a crisis point into a strategic opportunity.
Don’t let data disconnect hold back NPD
According to the TraceGains 2024 NPD Report, nearly 75% of manufacturers will be increasing their investment in new product development in 2025. But many remain hamstrung by sluggish, outdated processes and development cycles that make bringing a new product to market painfully slow. Estimates show that up to 42% of companies still take up to a year to move products from concept to shelf.
One of the biggest reasons for this is the time-consuming nature of ingredient sourcing, specification management, and formulation development, particularly when working with fragmented data. As an existing challenge, this has been further exacerbated by the effect of global trade policy, which is adding another layer of complexity for R&D and innovation teams.
When established sourcing partnerships become uneconomical, product timelines can be thrown off course. Brands may also have to rethink existing formulations, source alternative ingredients under time pressure, navigate new regulatory environments, and focus on allergen risks – all while having to build a system of trust with unfamiliar suppliers. In reality, this means weeks or months of manual vetting, documentation collection, and compliance checks – severely impacting the innovation pipeline.
Digital formulation tools can change this equation. Using networked ingredient data, the TraceGains platform streamlines the formulation process, offering instant access to verified ingredient information and specifications. This eliminates lengthy manual searches and back-and-forth communications with suppliers that typically slow down development.
Lewis Rogers-Duffield is the Lead Supplier Quality Manager, Europe at Baker & Baker – one of Europe’s leading suppliers of bakery products. He is vocal that the move to TraceGains has allowed the company to streamline and work smarter – futureproofing supplier approval processes that, in the past, relied heavily on chasing and tracking emails, as well as manual document review and sorting.
“By moving to TraceGains, we were able to automate our processes. It has enabled us to find solutions to reduce the administration burden to spend more time on high-value tasks and proactive supplier management,” says Rogers-Duffield at the Together 2025 trade conference.
“By functioning as a one-stop shop, we can keep our procedures, approvals, audits, and horizon scanning under one roof – rather than fluctuating between different systems and databases to access information. We are now 12 months into the implementation process with TraceGains and thrilled to achieve all the goals we set out in our day-to-day work,” adds Rogers-Duffield.
Make innovation imperative today
If recent events – from the global pandemic and ingredient shortages to unexpected tariffs and supply chain issues – have taught the food and beverage industry one thing, it’s that change is constant and that resilience in the face of changing market dynamics is a competitive necessity. Here, a networked digital ecosystem is the first step that will allow brands to turn disruption into an opportunity for growth.
Don’t be slowed down by complex changes. TraceGains can enable accelerated innovation under pressure, unlocking the speed, transparency, and flexibility brands needs to survive and thrive.
Author Michelle Henry, Director of Sales (Europe) at TraceGains