THE EVOLUTION OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGES (F&B) SECTOR: A BIBLIOMETRIC PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The rapid advancement of digital technologies has significantly reshaped industries worldwide, with the Food and Beverages (F&B) sector increasingly recognized as a critical area for digital transformation. While digitalization in this sector plays a vital role in improving operational efficiency, enhancing consumer engagement and promoting sustainability, scholarly research on its evolution remains fragmented and requires systematic examination. This study addresses this gap by conducting a bibliometric analysis to explore the development, trends and intellectual structures of digital transformation in the F&B sector. Data were collected from the Scopus database using advanced search techniques with the keywords “digital transformation,” “digitalization,” and “food and beverages,” resulting in a dataset of 932 publications. To ensure data accuracy and consistency, OpenRefine was employed for cleaning and harmonization, while the Scopus analyzer provided descriptive statistics and graphical insights. Furthermore, VOSviewer software was used to generate network visualizations, including co-authorship, keyword co-occurrence and citation analyses, which enabled the identification of research patterns and thematic clusters. Here, the results reveal a sharp increase in publications after 2020, driven largely by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accelerated adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies. The United States, Italy and the United Kingdom emerged as the leading contributors, while emerging economies such as Indonesia, India and Malaysia are gaining prominence. Highly cited articles were largely concentrated on themes of sustainability, innovation and digital technology integration, with “innovation,” “sustainable development,” and “industry 4.0” among the most frequent keywords. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive overview of the intellectual landscape of digital transformation in the F&B sector, offering valuable insights for researchers, practitioners and policymakers to advance future research and guide strategic innovation.