A restaurant cannot buy locally from a supplier that has stopped making anything. New analysis has raised a difficult question for Australia’s food economy: what happens to hospitality when the manufacturers behind sauces, breads, beverages, prepared ingredients and specialty products cannot remain in business? A report produced by Australian manufacturer Conry Tech, using Australian Bureau of Statistics business data, found food-product manufacturers had the lowest survival rates of any manufacturing subsector. Approximately 87 per cent survived their first year, compared with 89 per cent across manufacturing. Over the longer period examined, about 62 per cent of food manufacturers remained in operation, against an industry-wide average of approximately 67 per cent. The broader numbers are sobering. Australia lost 11,134 manufacturers during 2025–26, the largest number since the global financial crisis. Of manufacturing businesses operating in 2022–23, 35 per cent had closed, ceased trading or moved operations offshore by the end of 2025–26. Conry Tech co-founder and chief executive Sam Ringwaldt warned that “skills are not being transferred to younger generations”. His concern extends beyond individual businesses. When specialist manufacturers disappear, the toolmakers, technicians, suppliers and practical knowledge surrounding them can disappear too. Hospitality may feel several steps removed from a factory floor, but the connection is direct. Restaurants, cafés, pubs and clubs rely on manufacturers to turn Australian produce into consistent products kitchens can order, store and use. Smaller suppliers can also provide the distinctive ingredients that prevent every menu from looking the same. If those businesses close, operators may face fewer choices, longer supply chains and greater dependence on large suppliers. A missing manufacturer can become a changed recipe, an unavailable menu item or a cost increase that arrives with little warning. Venues cannot rescue every supplier, but they can understand their exposure. Which signature dishes depend on a single producer? Are there realistic alternatives? Does the business maintain enough communication with suppliers to hear about pressure before it becomes a crisis? Queensland recorded 11.7 per cent growth in manufacturer numbers between 2015 and 2025, according to the analysis. That is encouraging, but growth in the total count does not remove the survival challenge facing individual food producers.
