IndustryWeek US 500

2021 IW U.S. 500: Meet the Biggest US Food and Beverage Manufacturers

July 16, 2021

These 10 manufacturing companies earned the highest revenue among food and/or beverage producers on the 2021 IndustryWeek U.S. 500.

Jill Jusko

Welcome to a closer look at the food and beverage manufacturers that appear on the 2021 IndustryWeek U.S. 500. The IW U.S. 500 is IndustryWeek's annual ranking of the largest publicly held U.S. manufacturers, based on revenue.

Thirty-six manufacturers that produce foods or beverages, or both, appear on the 2021 ranking (which reviews 2020 revenue), comprising slightly more than 7% of the total. Eight of the 36 manufacturers are classified as beverage makers, while 28 are food manufacturers.

The largest food or beverage producer on the 2021 version of the IW U.S. 500 is the 13th largest manufacturer overall on the list (you'll have to peruse this gallery to discover who that is), while Sensient Technologies Corp., ranked 483, is the smallest with fiscal 2020 revenue of $1.33 billion. Sensient ranked 496 in the 2020 rankings.

The 36 food and manufacturers that appear on the 2021 ranking earned collective revenue of $490.52 billion. Seven of these manufacturers saw their revenues decline.

Without further ado, here are the food and beverage leaders among the 2021 IW U.S. 500.

(The illustration above is courtesy of © Nataliya Yakovleva | Dreamstime.com)

About the Author

Jill Jusko

Bio: Jill Jusko is executive editor for IndustryWeek. She has been writing about manufacturing operations leadership for more than 20 years. Her coverage spotlights companies that are in pursuit of world-class results in quality, productivity, cost and other benchmarks by implementing the latest continuous improvement and lean/Six-Sigma strategies. Jill also coordinates IndustryWeek’s Best Plants Awards Program, which annually salutes the leading manufacturing facilities in North America.

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