Reducing waste in food and beverage manufacturing

Waste is one of the most expensive problems in food and beverage manufacturing, but one that is fortunately solvable.

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, we sat down with Andrew Jarrells, Head of North America at Factbird, to talk about how manufacturers can reduce waste in food and beverage production, improve efficiency, and gain a competitive edge.

Here are five key takeaways from the conversation:

1. What food waste in manufacturing really means

Waste in manufacturing isn’t just about food ending up in the bin. It’s much broader and more costly.

According to Andrew, when you think about waste in food and beverage manufacturing, “it's a multitude of things that not only affect profit but also efficiency. We're looking at overproduction, scrap, wasted raw materials.”

So in the context of this podcast, you can think of waste as including these things:

• ‍Product waste from quality issues or line stops.‍
• Packaging waste due to jams or poor alignment.‍
• Energy waste, especially from aging equipment.‍
• Rework and scrap, often from process variation.‍
• Inefficient changeovers or shift handovers.

Each one chips away at your profit margins, and many are avoidable.

2. External pressures are growing

Reducing waste isn’t just a way to cut costs. It’s also becoming a business necessity. The risks facing food and beverage manufacturers in 2025 and beyond are immense. Here's an overview of what was discussed in this podcast.

Regulations are increasing the need for greater sustainability in the food and beverage industry, and one key plank in ESG regulations is to reduce waste. Supply chain struggles and issues with raw material availability  also increase the need for greater efficiency in production

Apart from those pressures on production, Andrew says, “markets are getting more demanding, competition is increasing. If I look at the CPG and food and beverage space in particular, consumers want variants.” Additionally, “Consumers want to see the products they're buying are sustainable. It's becoming more of a consumer-driven demand as well.”

With tighter margins, rising energy prices, expanding ESG regulations, and evolving consumer demands, especially in the U.S. and Europe, food and beverage producers need to show they’re improving.

And it’s not just about reporting; it’s about operational resilience. When we can become more resilient through data-driven decisions and through efficiency, that lets us weather the storms.

3. You can’t fix what you can’t see

Reducing waste starts with visibility. You need to know exactly where waste is happening and why.

According to Andrew, “Success for me would be coming into my Monday morning meeting being armed with this data versus my targets… and being able to speak fluently on real data.”

That means:

• Digitizing paper-based processes.
• Automatically capturing production data.
• Using real-time dashboards to know reality vs. goals.
• The ability to easily drill down into data to identify root causes.
• Giving operators the information they need to act quickly.

Accurate measurement is vital as well. One manufacturer Factbird works with thought their OEE was 85% before using Factbird’s Production Insights App. Once they actually measured it, they discovered it was 40%, and they had far more capacity than their old measurement system was showing them.

In summary, you need to focus on access to data. Digitizing, connecting machines, tracking downtime, and removing guesswork. It’s about getting the right information in the first place.

4. Data-driven decision-making is a must-have going forward

Everyone reading this will be collecting data in some way, at least on paper and in Excel, but that doesn’t mean it’s usable. To reduce waste, improve processes, or spot problems quickly, you need structured, trustworthy, and up-to-date data you can act on.

“If I put myself in maybe an operations manager role… my daily reports are coming from multiple sources. It’s on a delay. Can I really trust that data?”
Andrew Jarrells, Head of North America at Factbird

Instead of spending hours piecing together spreadsheets or relying on gut feel, you need tools that pull real-time data and make it visible at every level, from operators to senior management.

According to Andrew, “Right now, it’s a nice-to-have in the industry. But in the very near future, it’s going to be a must-have… Data makes decisions.”

By digitizing reporting and connecting live production data to dashboards, teams gain the confidence to act faster and smarter. It’s not just about tracking performance. It’s about trusting the numbers and making decisions that drive real, measurable improvements.

That’s precisely what Factbird’s Production Insights app is built for: turning data into real-time insights your team can use to reduce waste, improve OEE, and make better decisions every day.

5. Don’t underestimate the small fixes

Many improvements don’t require massive investment. Sometimes you just need better monitoring and faster reactions.

For example, Andrew offers the example of a case where they “were able to have a six-figure reduction in electricity usage just by realizing compressors were still running during break times.”

Another powerful example comes from Danfoss, a global leader in energy-efficient technologies. In their partnership with Factbird, Danfoss deployed energy meters at the machine level to monitor real-time consumption and compare it with production output. They made a startling discovery: a single standby machine used as much power as nine Danish households. That insight led to changes that shaved up to 33% off equipment energy use, without significant capital investment.

Here are additional examples of small fixes that lead to significant reductions in food waste from the episode:

• Adjusting production times to avoid AC overuse in hot climates.
• Sending real-time alerts to operators when jams occur.
• Using vision systems to spot packaging issues.
• Comparing temperature data to quality rejects to find the sweet spot for packaging.

Final thoughts

Cutting waste in food and beverage manufacturing isn’t about perfection. It’s about progress; and it starts with good data.

“It’s a little bit of time investment in the beginning for years of automation.”
Andrew Jarrells, Head of North America at Factbird

Whether you’re trying to reduce raw material losses, improve your OEE, or meet ESG goals, the first step is the same: know what’s happening on your factory floor, and use that insight to make smarter decisions.

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