Lumon Corporate spoke to 100 senior finance leaders across UK food and drink on growth, risk, and opportunity.

Lumon Corporate [insert link – https://www.lumonpay.com/corporate/], a specialist in foreign exchange and currency risk management, spoke to 100 senior decision-makers across UK food and drink businesses. The findings are published in The FX Factor [insert link – https://www.lumonpay.com/corporate/white-papers/fx-risk-food-drink/?utm_source=Partnership&utm_subsource=BFFF&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=FXFactor&utm_content=website], a research report covering growth ambitions, risk, and how businesses are managing currency exposure in 2026.

Food & drink businesses operate on average net profit margins of just 11.7%. Last year, currency movements accounted for close to a third of that on average.  For the 45% with margins below 10%, the impact was sharper, and in some cases, it removed profitability almost entirely.

At the same time, growth ambitions remain strong. 99% of businesses are planning to increase sales in 2026, with many targeting international markets. Australia, Canada and Germany are the top targets. Brazil is a growing focus, particularly for businesses that shifted strategy following Brexit. The US, despite being the third largest importer of UK food and drink, is a target for just 11% of businesses. China is nearly three times more likely to be on the list.

Growth ambitions come with risk. Two thirds say running a food and drink business feels as risky or riskier than a year ago, and one in four say margins are under more pressure than 12 months ago.

Currency is adding to that pressure beyond the margin figure. Nearly half of businesses report holding higher cash buffers because of currency uncertainty, while many say FX volatility is making forecasting more difficult and reducing funds available for growth and investment.

So what are businesses doing about it? Although they recognise the impact currency volatility can have on profitability and cashflow, 59% of businesses are not using currency hedging to reduce risk and 74% do not regularly review their FX strategy. Despite losing close to a third of average margins to currency movements last year.

The FX Factor covers growth strategy, risk, and currency management across the sector.

Download the free report [insert link:

https://www.lumonpay.com/corporate/white-papers/fx-risk-food-drink/?utm_source=Partnership&utm_subsource=BFFF&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=FXFactor&utm_content=website] to see how your own approach compares.