# Jobs in the food industry A map of a former edition of the Atlas of Switzerland, the national atlas published by ETH Zurich. It opens only in the desktop atlas (version 4) for Windows and macOS, not in the web atlas; see the links below. - Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/jobs-in-the-food-industry/ - Short title: Food industry: jobs - Map id: 820 - Categories: Economy and Energy › Industry › Food products - Keywords: Economy, Food products, Industry, Labour, Labour force - Published: 2020-11-04 - Last revised: 2022-02-11 - Content language: English - Other languages: [Deutsch](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/de/thema/beschaeftigte-in-der-lebensmittelindustrie.md), [Français](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/fr/theme/emplois-dans-lindustrie-alimentaire.md), [Italiano](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/it/tema/addetti-nellindustria-alimentare.md) ## Description *The origins of the food industry* The food industry is a relatively new sector, with the first factories being set up in Switzerland in the 19th century (e.g. Cailler in 1819, Suchard in 1826, Maggi in 1869, Nestlé in 1866 and Hero in 1886 etc.). These companies were founded in the wake of the agricultural revolution, which profoundly changed agricultural production through the use of fertilisers and the mechanisation and rationalisation of work processes. The emergence of the food industry due to a massive increase in agricultural production and the growing globalisation of markets led to the expansion and stabilisation of the food supply in the last quarter of the 19th century. The famines of 1816 to 1817 and 1845 to 1847 were the last of their kind in Europe. *Employees and workplaces* The food industry is relatively labour-intensive, with around 88,000 people employed in the sector in 2017. If you add agriculture and food retail into the mix, around one employee in every eight in Switzerland and around a quarter (2013) of all workplaces deal directly or indirectly with food. Over half of employees work in small or medium-sized businesses. By dividing employees into subsectors, it is clear that almost 50% of employees work in baking and pasta-making industries and in meat processing. These subsectors are dominated by micro and small enterprises. Beverage production generates by far the highest sales per workplace, followed by vegetable and fruit processing and then by confectionery manufacture. *Market* Today, the Swiss food market is saturated and is characterised by intense competition. The share of income that is spent on food has been falling for years, while the pricing level for food and drink is largely stable but is falling on the producer side. Expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drinks consumed at home stood at an average of CHF 638 per household per month in 2013, which corresponds to around 6.8% of gross household income. Consumption in restaurants was around CHF 409 on average. If we extrapolate these results, total expenditure on food consumed at home is around CHF 26.3 billion (62%) and on food consumed when eating out CHF 16.9 billion (38%). Thus, the total estimated volume amounts to around CHF 43 billion. Approximately 22% of total expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drinks was accounted for by meat, which is projected to provide a market of CHF 5.8 billion. This is followed by spending on bread and cereal products (15% or CHF 4.0 billion), closely followed by milk, cheese and eggs (also around 15% or CHF 4.0 billion). Fresh produce such as vegetables and fruit are next, accounting for around 13% and 7% respectively of the proportion of sales (CHF 3.0 billion and CHF 2.2 billion). In keeping with the decline in total expenditure, the proportion of sales for individual product categories have dropped slightly since 2006, with the only exceptions being coffee, tea and cocoa. Here, expenditure and therefore also the market volume have increased slightly over time, presumably due to new innovations in coffee preparation (e.g. coffee capsules). Other shifts in consumer behaviour are evident in the consumption of meat. Significantly less beef and pork is being consumed, and this is being replaced by the consumption of poultry and fish. Conversely, other dietary trends, such as veganism and gluten- and lactose-free food, have been less noticeable in the official statistics to date. ## Sources - Leinert et al. (2016): Branchenstudie Food. Kennzahlen, Struktur, Veränderungstreiber, und Entwicklungspotenziale der Schweizer Lebensmittelindustrie. ZHAW School of Management and Law - Tam: [Die Anfänge der Schweizer Lebensmittelindustrie von 1850 bis 1910](https://www.rosenfluh.ch/ernaehrungsmedizin-2017-05/die-anfaenge-der-schweizer-lebensmittelindustrie-von-1850-bis-1910#). Rosenfluh Publikationen AG ## Data sources - Atlas der Schweiz: Administrative Einheiten 1:1 Mio. (Gemeinden, Bezirke, Kantone) - Atlas of Switzerland: [Administrative Einheiten 1:500.000 (Gemeinden, Bezirke, Kantone)](http://www.atlasderschweiz.ch/) - ETH Zurich: [Atlas of Switzerland](https://www.atlasderschweiz.ch/) - FSO (2020): [Statistik der Unternehmensstruktur](https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/industrie-dienstleistungen/erhebungen/statent.html) - swisstopo [J160089] (2010): [Gemeindegrenzen GG25](https://shop.swisstopo.admin.ch/de/products/landscape/boundaries3D) - swisstopo [J160089] (2010): [Landeskarte 1:500.000](https://shop.swisstopo.admin.ch/de/products/maps/national/lk500) ## Data owners - [Atlas of Switzerland (AoS)](http://www.atlasderschweiz.ch/) - [Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO)](https://www.bfs.admin.ch/) - [Swiss Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo)](http://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/) ## Citation The terms of use ask to name the Atlas of Switzerland and the data owners, and to keep the source references in exports, screenshots and embeds. Cite the map as: > Atlas of Switzerland (2022): Jobs in the food industry. ETH Zürich. Map data © AoS, FSO, swisstopo. https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/jobs-in-the-food-industry/ ## Links - Map page, with the description and sources and a button that opens the map in the desktop atlas: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/jobs-in-the-food-industry/ - Open the map in the desktop atlas (version 4), where it is installed: adsglobe://map/820 - Download of the desktop atlas (version 4) for Windows and macOS: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/ads4-download/ ## Related maps - [Chocolate manufacturers](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/chocolate-manufacturers.md) (id 482, former edition, desktop atlas only) - [Establishments in the food industry](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/establishments-in-the-food-industry.md) (id 821, former edition, desktop atlas only) For the use and citation of maps and data, see the [terms of use](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/terms-of-use/).