France Capex Outlook – Food & Drink 2026
Food & Beverage Sectors in France – 2026 Outlook
The food and beverage sectors in France are essential pillars of the economy, demonstrating
remarkable resilience and diversity. The France capex outlook continues to be positive in terms of investment, supported by high levels of automation and innovation. For suppliers of capital equipment,
services, and expertise, the signs of investment and opportunities remain strong across all
regions.
Key Trends – Food & Beverage France 2026
As 2026 continues, the outlook is shaped by several scientific, technological, and significant
developments, as well as consumption habits:
- Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI): Capital expenditure (capex) is strongly focused on automation, robotics, and the integration of AI. These technologies are being rapidly adopted in the fish, meat, and secondary packaging sectors, primarily to offset labor shortages and rising wage costs.
- No/Low-Alcohol Beverages (NoLo): This segment continues to experience rapid growth, with major brewers investing in non-alcoholic variants to compensate for declining sales of traditional alcoholic beverages.
- Convenience Products: Ready-to-eat and “grab-and-go” products continue to advance, supported by the return to the office and consumer preference for convenience
- Frozen Products: They constitute another area of growth, with consumers favoring them to reduce waste and manage their food budget
- Proteins: Fish and seafood processing remains a dynamic capex segment, supported by the perception of fish as a healthier and more affordable protein source than meat.
- Alternative proteins (precision fermentation) remain an area of interest, although the pace of investment is stabilizing due to difficulties with large-scale implementation.
- A notable increase in mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships between large multinationals and smaller innovative companies is observed. Danone, for example, has concluded nearly twenty new strategic agreements in Europe.
France Capex Outlook – Market Sentiment
Overall, the market can be described as resilient and dynamic.
Challenges: France faces persistent challenges including electricity availability, labor
shortages, and rising construction costs, which can delay certain projects.
Segments to Watch: The industrialization of plant-based or lab-grown proteins remains
difficult due to high costs and uncertain demand. The chocolate and coffee segments
suffer from rising raw material costs and poor harvests, limiting new investments
Despite persistent pressures related to energy, labour, and cost inflation, the sectors
continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience. Investments continue to flow in, and projects
move forward quickly once approved.
Opportunities for Capex Equipment Suppliers
For suppliers of capital equipment and services, opportunities are emerging in areas such as:
- Automation and Control: Automation, robotics, AI, and conveying.
- Processing: Equipment specific to vegan/vegetarian or fermented products.
Logistics: Refrigeration and storage. - Energy: On-site renewable energy production solutions (wind, solar) to mitigate energy
costs
MyProtel Project Coverage
Our research team is currently tracking 159 active food and beverage investment projects in
France. These projects represent a combined potential investment value of over €3.5 billion.
Some of the projects included in the segments mentioned above include:
This is a subscriber only section of the report, please contact us to learn more.
Full project details, including the scope, timeline, and key contacts for these projects, are available
to subscribers of our MyProtel database.
Conclusion
The food and beverage sectors in France remain strong and dynamic as 2026 progresses.
France continues to set the pace, supported by high levels of automation and innovation. For
equipment and machinery suppliers, the outlook is positive. Despite the challenges,
investments continue to flow in, and projects move forward quickly once approved.
It is therefore more important than ever for suppliers to engage early, strengthen
relationships, and position themselves at the forefront of emerging opportunities through a
solution-based sales approach.
As always, Protel intelligence is a key tool for staying up-to-date with food and drink projects and their
stakeholders. For more information on our subscriptions, click here.