Howden launches dedicated US Food and Beverage Practice

Insurance broker Howden has established a specialized US Food and Beverage Practice to address the increasingly complex and interconnected risks facing North American companies in the sector. The new unit aims to provide cross-disciplinary risk management as manufacturers navigate a cascade of challenges involving tariffs, ingredient reformulations, and rising recall rates. This strategic move comes as the industry faces heightened regulatory scrutiny and litigation risks that traditional single-line insurance programs may struggle to contain.

Led by industry veteran Matt Replogle, the new practice targets large consumer-facing businesses, distributors, and packaging firms during a period of significant operational volatility. According to Howden, the sector is currently grappling with a cascade logic where one risk triggers another; for instance, tariff-driven ingredient changes can lead to labeling errors, which in turn spark product recalls and subsequent consumer class action litigation. This integrated approach is designed to provide loss mitigation and risk financing that accounts for the overlapping nature of modern supply chain and regulatory exposures.

Data from 2025 highlights the growing pressure on the industry, with the FDA reporting 295 food and beverage recalls, an increase from 261 the previous year. This trend is expected to persist through 2026, exacerbated by the FDA's planned phaseout of petroleum-based synthetic dyes. As manufacturers rush to reformulate products under tight deadlines, they face new sourcing dependencies and elevated litigation risks related to natural or plant-based labeling claims. Legal observers note that plaintiffs are increasingly pairing recall announcements with state consumer protection claims, creating simultaneous financial and legal liabilities.

Financial margins are also under threat from trade policies, with a Lineage Logistics survey revealing that 73% of food companies expect tariffs to negatively impact their finances in 2026. Because tariff-driven cost increases typically take 12 to 18 months to reach consumer prices, the industry is currently absorbing the delayed impact of 2025 trade actions. This economic strain coincides with the broader expansion of Howden Americas under CEO Mike Parrish, following the 2025 merger of Atlantic Group and Gravitas, as the firm joins a select group of brokers offering specialized capabilities for the evolving food and beverage risk profile.