By Eamonn Ryan
In an Apple podcast cross-functional roundtable for From the Cold Corner, Alyse Thompson-Richards, editor-in-chief of Food Engineering, joined Bob Garrison of Prepared Foods and Kelley Rodriguez of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods to examine one of 2025’s most striking realities: despite economic pressure and cautious lending markets, the food industry is building – and building big.
From greenfield facilities to retailer-owned processing plants, capital investment remained strong throughout the year, signaling long-term confidence in consumer demand and domestic production.
A wave of new construction
Thompson-Richards pointed to a steady drumbeat of plant groundbreakings and openings across multiple sectors. Retailer vertical integration also accelerated. Walmart opened its own beef packing plant and expanded milk processing operations, signalling a strategic move to control more of its supply chain from sourcing through retail shelf.
While some projects were years in planning, their completion in 2025 underscores how processors are positioning for the next decade – not just the next quarter.
Cold storage expands and evolves
The cold chain saw continued development, though at a more measured pace than the post-pandemic surge. Rather than simply adding square footage, many operators are layering on value-added logistics services – customs support, port-adjacent storage and integrated distribution – as customers seek resilience in an unpredictable trade environment.
For refrigerated and frozen categories, infrastructure investment remains foundational. As product portfolios diversify and SKU counts grow, flexible, high-throughput cold storage is increasingly critical.
M&A and innovation pipelines
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity also remained robust. Larger consumer packaged goods companies continue acquiring smaller challenger brands, particularly in dairy, frozen meals and better-for-you segments.
Rodriguez noted that many innovations originate with smaller brands that move quickly and test emerging consumer trends. Acquisition then becomes a scaling strategy – allowing major players to leverage broader distribution and manufacturing capabilities.
This dynamic creates ripple effects across the supply chain, from ingredient sourcing to co-manufacturing capacity.
The rise of the asset-light model
Perhaps one of the most significant structural shifts discussed by the panel was the growth of the asset-light brand model. Increasingly, brand owners are outsourcing some portion of production to co-manufacturers rather than investing in new internal capacity.
Thompson-Richards referenced industry research showing a substantial share of consumer-packaged goods companies plan to rely more heavily on co-manufacturers over the next three years. For some, this reduces capital risk. For others, it accelerates speed to market.
Modern co-manufacturers are positioning themselves as brand-agnostic, highly flexible partners. Unlike older private-label models, today’s facilities are designed for rapid changeovers, diverse product runs and quality parity with national brands.
Private label, once perceived as slower or lower tier, is now trend-responsive and competitive in both innovation and quality.
Strategic control in an uncertain economy
Despite higher borrowing costs and cautious capital markets, food companies continue investing – but with sharper strategic intent. Vertical integration, co-manufacturing partnerships and cold storage service expansion all reflect a common goal: greater control amid volatility.
The 2025 investment cycle signals that companies are preparing not just for growth, but for resilience.