Food and drink manufacturers’ consumer confidence remains in the negative, according to new figures from a Food and Drink Federation (FDF) survey.

The research found confidence among food and drink businesses was -40% in Q2 2025 due to falling consumer confidence and uncertainty about the upcoming Budget.

Nearly half of food and drink businesses (48%) claimed conditions worsened from the previous quarter, while 48% believed that conditions remained the same.

Additionally, 84% of manufacturers cited the economic impact of government regulations as their primary concern for the coming months. Meanwhile, 63% are most concerned about falling consumer confidence.

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Karen Betts, chief executive of The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), said: “Businesses are continuing to grapple with the impact of last year’s Budget alongside steadily rising input costs, so it comes as no surprise that business confidence across food and drink manufacturers remains strikingly low.

“As before, companies will try to shield consumers for as long as possible, but this means that inevitably shop prices will rise. These are particularly marked at the moment in meat, dairy, chocolate and coffee.”

She added: “It’s fair to say too that companies are nervous about this autumn’s Budget. It’s critical that the Chancellor does not increase costs to hard-pressed businesses further but instead acts decisively to attract new investment into our sector.”

The data also revealed that manufacturers are facing pressure from higher operational expenses, with production costs increasing by 6.3% over the year to June.

Increased operational expenses led to selling prices rising by 4.4%, with food inflation growing over the past months.

Higher energy costs also led to 76% of food and drink manufacturing businesses raising their prices, while 67% invested in energy-saving solutions.