Mentions of cloud computing within the public filings of food manufacturers more than doubled in the first quarter of 2022 year-on-year, data suggests.

When food manufacturers publish annual and quarterly reports, ESG reports and other filings, GlobalData analyses the text and identifies individual sentences that relate to disruptive forces facing companies in the coming years. Cloud computing is one of these topics – companies that excel and invest in these areas are thought to be better prepared for the future business landscape and better equipped to survive unforeseen challenges.

To assess whether cloud computing is featuring more in the summaries and strategies of food manufacturers, GlobalData calculates two measures. The company, Just Food's parent, looks at the percentage of companies that have mentioned cloud computing at least once in filings during the past twelve months – this was 35% compared to 12% in 2016. Secondly, GlobalData calculated the percentage of total analysed sentences that referred to robotics.

Of the ten biggest employers in the food manufacturing industry, Wilmar International was the company that referred to cloud computing the most between April 2021 and March 2022. GlobalData identified three cloud-related sentences in the Singapore-based group's filings – 0.07% of all sentences. Grupo Bimbo mentioned cloud computing the second most – the issue was referred to in 0.05% of sentences in the company's filings.

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Across all food manufacturers, the filing published in the first quarter that exhibited the greatest focus on cloud computing came from Cloetta, the European confectioner. Of the document's 2,560 sentences, 38 (1.5%) referred to cloud computing.

This analysis provides an approximate indication of which companies are focusing on cloud computing and how important the issue is considered within the food manufacturing industry, but it also has limitations and should be interpreted carefully. For example, a company mentioning cloud computing more regularly is not necessarily proof that they are utilising new techniques or prioritising the issue, nor does it indicate whether the company's ventures into cloud computing have been successes or failures.