Top 12 Meat Companies in the World

The global meat market reached a value of US$ 1.4 Trillion in 2023. Meat refers to the flesh or edible parts of animals and birds, including chicken, goats, turkey, rabbits, pigs, and cows, consumed as food and used as an ingredient in various dishes. It is rich in essential minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, fats, and bioactive compounds. It offers several health benefits, such as strengthening bones, regulating blood sugar levels, and enhancing heart health, brain function, and metabolism.  

As per the analysis by the IMARC Group, the top companies in the meat industry are adopting innovative processing technologies and ingredient systems, including pascalization and direct genetic manipulation. They are also employing advanced technologies like robotics for meat processing to automate butchering, cutting, and monitoring processes to prevent contamination, improve production efficiency, and reduce cycle time. In addition, the leading players are launching new and healthier meat products with lower sodium, cholesterol, and fat contents. They are utilizing high pressured, electrolyzed oxidizing water with antimicrobials, irradiation, and surface sanitizers to extend the shelf life and enhance the product quality. Moreover, several advancements in packaging, such as the use of gold nanoparticles and sensors integrated with enzymes for microbial detection, gas sensing, and product spoilage indications, have propelled the market growth. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market value to reach US$ 1.7 Trillion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 2.01% during 2024-2032.

Learn about opportunities, challenges, and trends in the global Meat market with IMARC’s market research report. Try a free sample today!

List of Top Companies Operating in the Meat Industry:

The global Meat Market has several major players, including BRF S.A., Cargill Incorporated, Clemens Food Group, Conagra Brands Inc., Hormel Foods Corporation, JBS S.A., Minerva Foods SA, NH Foods Ltd. More information about these companies has been provieded below.

1. BRF S.A.

BRF S.A. is one of the leading food processor companies in Latin America, formed through the merger between Sadia and Perdigao in 2013. The company is engaged in producing and distributing fresh and frozen meat products, including beef, turkey, chicken, specialty meats, frozen prepared entrees, and portioned products. It also offers animal feed, butter, cream cheese, margarine, sandwiches, and plant-based products sold under several brands, such as Perdigao, Chester, Sadia, Quality, and Perdix. BRF primarily functions through Brazil, International, and other business segments. Furthermore, it operates its own animal-feed units, farms, slaughterhouses, incubators, and processing plants.

2. Cargill, Incorporated 

Cargill, Inc. is a privately-held producer and marketer of food and agricultural, financial, and industrial goods and services. It operates through four business segments, namely animal nutrition and protein, food ingredients and applications, origination and processing, and industrial and financial services. Some of its major businesses include trading, purchasing, and distributing feed, energy, and agricultural commodities. The company markets these products under several brands, such as Nature Fresh, Gemini, Seeker, Rath, Sunflower, Provimi, Purina, Citura, and Cargill. The company also offers farmer services, animal nutrition, biofuels, risk management solutions, and other industrial products. 

3. Clemens Food Group

Clemens Food Group is a leading family-owned, vertically coordinated company that provides hog farming and pork goods production, logistics, and transportation services for the retail, food service, and manufacturing sectors. It has a diverse product portfolio comprising bacon, scrapple, deli ham, pork tenderloin, and breakfast and specialty sausages. Some of its major brands include Hatfield Quality Meats, Prima Porta, Butcher Wagon, Red’s Legendary, Nick’s Sausage Company, PV Transport, CFC Logistics, and Clemens Development. The company sells its products through grocers in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

4. Conagra Brands Inc.

Conagra Brands Inc. is a US-based holding company that manufactures and markets processed and packaged goods for retail consumers, institutions, restaurants, and other foodservice suppliers. Its primary business units are Grocery and Snacks, Refrigerated and Frozen, International, and Foodservice. The company provides meat snacks, meals, entrees, condiments, specialty potatoes, milled grain ingredients, and dehydrated vegetables and seasoning. It sells its products through grocery stores, mass merchandise, and club stores under several brands, including Banquet, Reddi-Wip, Duke’s, Earth Balance, BOOMCHICKAPOP, Birds Eye, Vlasic, Slim Jim, Angie’s, Health Choice, and Gardein.

5. Hormel Foods Corporation

Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL) is a leading company engaged in producing consumer-branded meat and poultry products. It operates through grocery products, refrigerated foods, Jennie-o turkey store, and international and other business units. The company sells various perishable and shelf-stable products, including fresh meats, frozen items, sausages, hams, refrigerated meal solutions, guacamoles, canned luncheon meats, nuts, and stews. Apart from this, it is also involved in marketing, processing, and selling branded and unbranded pork, turkey, poultry, supplements, and nutritional food products. HRL primarily sells these items under the Planters, NUT-rition, Planters Cheez Balls, Corn Nuts, Hormel Natural Choice, Herdez, and Columbus brands via sales personnel, distributors, and independent brokers.

6. JBS S.A.

JBS S.A. is engaged in processing and exporting animal protein products, including beef, pork, lamb, and chicken. Its extensive product portfolio comprises fresh and frozen meats, convenience food items, prepared meals, and dairy and value-added food products. The company also sells collagen, hygiene and cleaning products, metal packaging, natural casings for cold nuts, leather, packaging, transportation, biodiesel, and waste management solutions that promote sustainability along with the entire business value chain. These activities are primarily divided into five business segments, namely Brazil, Seara, JBS USA Beef, JBS USA Pork, and PPC. Some of JBS’s brands include Seara, Pilgrim’s, Gold Kist Farms, Cabana Las Lilas, Friboi, Maturatta, Seift, and Primo.

7. Minerva Foods SA 

Minerva Foods SA is a leader in producing and selling fresh beef and its byproducts, live cattle exports, and beef processing in South America. The company manufactures healthy and nutritious products and sells them to its customers globally in around 100 countries. It owns and operates 25 slaughtering and deboning plants, three processing plants, 14 distribution centers, and 16 international offices worldwide. Minerva Foods has an extensive and customized portfolio of quality products and invests in the modernization of its industrial units and strategic acquisitions.  

8. NH Foods Ltd.

Nippon Ham (NH) Foods Ltd. is a leading food processing conglomerate that produces, sells, and offers packaging services for beef, pork, sausages, ham, and dairy products. It primarily operates through the processing, meat, associated company, and overseas business units. The processing segment manufactures and sells sausages, hams, and other processed meat food items, whereas the meat segment is involved in breeding cattle, pigs, and broilers. On the other hand, the last two business units are engaged in the production and marketing of dairy and aquatic products and managing their subsidiaries.

9. Sysco Corporation

Systems and Services Company (Sysco Corporation) primarily markets and distributes food products to the food service industry. Some of its products include meat, seafood, canned foods, dairy items, fruits, vegetables, and beverages. It also sells various non-food items, such as personal care amenities, housekeeping supplies, kitchen equipment, and textile, to hospitals, schools, hotels and industrial caterers. Sysco functions through the US Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and other segments. Moreover, the organization acquired three major companies, namely Armstrong Produce, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, and Kula Produce, in 2019.

10. Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods Inc. is involved in the production of processed foods with its integrated operations comprising contract farmers, breeding stock, feed production, processing, marketing, and transporting chicken and meat-based products. The company primarily operates through the Chicken, Beef, Pork, and Prepared food segments. The chicken unit involves all the domestic operations of raising and processing chicken into fresh, frozen, and value-added products. The beef and pork segments oversee stages related to processing live-fed cattle and market hogs and putting dressed beef and pork carcasses into meat cuts and case-ready items. Besides this, the prepared food unit produces and sells frozen food products and logistics services to grocery retailers, meat distributors, military commissaries, industrial food processing companies, distributors, and chain restaurants. Moreover, Tyson encompasses numerous brands under its umbrella, such as Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Wright, Ball Park, and State Fair.

11. WH Group

WH Group Limited is a publicly-traded, China-based multinational meat and food processing company. Its activities primarily include a line of consolidated pork business, including hog production, hog slaughtering and processing, packaged meat, and the distribution of fresh pork. The company is also engaged in manufacturing and selling packaging materials, producing flavoring ingredients, formulating biological pharmaceutical materials, and providing logistic services. WH, along with its subsidiaries, functions through packaged meats, fresh pork, and other segments. Some of its prominent brands include Smithfield, Gwaltney, Eckrich, John Morrel, and Farmland.

12. Vion Food Group 

Vion Food Group is an international producer of meat, meat products, and plant-based alternatives. The company primarily operates through four business units, namely pork, beef, food service, and retail. It has a diverse product portfolio comprising fresh pork, beef, plant-based alternatives, and derived products for retail, foodservice, and processed meat sectors. Currently, it owns 26 production sites in Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium, along with 13 sales support offices across the globe

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