Finding the right ERP system for your food and beverage business shouldn't be hard, given all the options! But when you’re digging through reams of online information, it’s tough to narrow down which ERP platforms are really going to work for you.
If you’re in the business, you know that food manufacturers need specialized software for complex challenges including FDA regulations, lot tracking requirements, and perishable inventory.
At Stellar One, we’ve helped food and beverage companies like yours successfully navigate this ERP decision and get great results. We've also seen firsthand how the wrong choice can cost months of lost productivity and staff frustration. No ERP system fits every company, so it’s vital to get the right match based on your business needs.
This guide will give you straight facts about the top 8 ERP systems that best support food and beverage operations in 2025. By the end of this guide, you’ll know which is the best choice for you.
- Why Food and Beverage Companies Need Specialized ERP Software
- Small to Midsized Businesses: ERP Solutions for Food and Beverage
- Mid-Market and Enterprise Businesses: ERP Solutions for Food and Beverage
- Key Features Every Food ERP System Must Have
- Choosing Your Food & Beverage ERP System: Next Steps
Why Food and Beverage Companies Need Specialized ERP Software
The food and beverage industry isn't like any other manufacturing sector. You need special software capabilities to run your operations smoothly and safely.
The core challenges food manufacturers face
Food and beverage operations deal with challenges that would make other manufacturers' heads spin. Expiration dates aren't just suggestions: they're regulatory requirements that can shut down your business. Recipe formulations need precise control, often down to the gram, while still allowing flexibility for ingredient substitutions based on availability or cost.
Then there's the compliance maze. You may have FDA regulations, FSMA requirements, allergen tracking, and nutritional labeling, and the list goes on. Your ERP system needs to handle all of this while still managing the basics like inventory, accounting, and production planning.
What makes an ERP system food-industry ready
A truly food-focused ERP system should handle lot and serial tracking from farm to fork, manage complex recipe formulations with real-time adjustments, and provide built-in compliance reporting that doesn't require a team of consultants to set up.
The best systems also understand that food businesses often deal with catch weights, variable pricing, and the need to quickly trace products during recalls. These are business-critical capabilities.
Small to Midsized Businesses: ERP Solutions for Food and Beverage
These ERP systems work best for food companies with revenues under $100 million or those looking for focused, industry-specific functionality without enterprise-level complexity.
1. Acumatica Cloud ERP
Acumatica has built a strong reputation in the food and beverage space by focusing on growing companies. Their ERP solution is known for flexibility, ease of use, and industry-specific features for manufacturing and distribution processes.
Key Strengths for Food Companies:
- Native lot tracking and expiration date management with first-expired-first-out (FEFO) picking
- Flexible recipe management that handles substitutions and yield variations
- Built-in quality management capabilities for COAs and testing protocols
- Mobile barcode scanning for accurate inventory transactions
- Connected commerce solutions for direct-to-consumer sales
The system stands out for its ability to handle complex inventory scenarios. Acumatica can support multi-location manufacturers with both B2B and direct-to-consumer channels. The cloud-native architecture means automatic updates and easy scaling as your business grows.
Best Fit: Growing food manufacturers with revenues between $5-50 million who need comprehensive functionality without the complexity of enterprise systems.
Downside: Not as likely to suit enterprise-level corporations.
2. Aptean Food & Beverage ERP
Aptean has made a name for itself by acquiring several food-specific ERP solutions and combining them into a comprehensive platform designed specifically for the industry.
Industry-Specific Advantages:
- Purpose-built for food manufacturing with deep vertical functionality
- Strong compliance management for FDA, USDA, and FSMA requirements
- Advanced allergen tracking and labeling capabilities
- Integrated quality control workflows with automated testing protocols
- Recipe and formula management with real-time cost calculations
Aptean's biggest advantage is its focus on food and beverage operations. They understand the nuances of different food sectors from dairy to prepared meals to beverage processing.
Best Fit: Midsized food manufacturers who want industry-specific functionality and are willing to work with a more specialized vendor.
Downside: The user interface can feel outdated compared to more modern systems, and the implementation partner network is more limited than that of larger ERP software publishers.
3. Sage 100 Cloud
Sage brings specific modules designed for food and beverage manufacturers who need robust financial management along with manufacturing capabilities.
Core Capabilities:
- Strong financial and accounting foundation
- Food-specific inventory management with lot control
- Recipe and formulation management
- Compliance reporting tools
- Integration with third-party applications
While Sage 100 Cloud offers solid functionality, it's worth noting that despite the "Cloud" name, many implementations still rely heavily on on-premises components. The system can also feel less intuitive than some newer cloud-native solutions.
Best Fit: Established food companies with complex financial requirements who value proven technology over cutting-edge features.
Downside: Despite the "Cloud" branding, many customers still rely heavily on on-premise components, and costs can become prohibitive for smaller organizations.
4. SAP BatchMaster
Built on the SAP Business One platform, BatchMaster offers specialized process manufacturing capabilities designed specifically for batch-oriented production environments.
Process Manufacturing Focus:
- Specialized batch production management
- Recipe control and formulation management
- Lot tracking and traceability
- Quality management integration
- Cost accounting for process manufacturing
The system works well for companies that need the credibility of the SAP platform but want food-specific functionality. However, it can feel limited for larger operations or companies with complex multi-site requirements.
Best Fit: Small to mid-sized food processors who need strong batch manufacturing capabilities and prefer the SAP ecosystem.
Downside: The interface lacks the user-friendliness of modern systems, and the system is limited to working with one database at a time, which can create challenges for complex operations.
Mid-Market and Enterprise Businesses: ERP Solutions for Food and Beverage
The next four ERP systems are designed for larger food companies or those with complex, multi-site operations that need enterprise-grade capabilities.
5. Deacom ERP
Deacom has built its reputation by focusing exclusively on process manufacturers, making it a natural fit for food and beverage companies that need sophisticated manufacturing capabilities.
Process Manufacturing Excellence:
- Native process manufacturing design, not retrofitted from discrete manufacturing
- Dynamic recipe management with real-time adjustments
- Comprehensive lot tracking and traceability
- Built-in quality management and compliance tools
- Native warehouse management with mobile capabilities
Deacom's all-in-one approach means less integration complexity, but the system can require significant training to master its full capabilities.
Best Fit: Midsized to large food manufacturers who prioritize deep process manufacturing functionality and want to minimize system integration challenges.
Downside: The system can experience disruptive updates that affect operations, and workflows may not be as streamlined as some competitors, requiring more extensive user training.
6. Epicor Kinetic
Epicor Kinetic (formerly Epicor ERP) provides manufacturing capabilities with specific modules designed for food and beverage operations.
Manufacturing Strengths:
- Flexible production planning and scheduling
- Recipe and formula management with yield tracking
- Strong quality management capabilities
- Real-time shop floor integration
- Comprehensive compliance reporting
Epicor offers good scalability and can handle both discrete and process manufacturing requirements. The system provides solid functionality across the board, though it may not have the deep food-specific features of more specialized solutions.
Best Fit: Larger food manufacturers with diverse product lines who need flexible manufacturing capabilities and strong financial management.
Downside: Cloud capabilities are still developing compared to fully cloud-native competitors, and some users report slower performance and limited email integration features.
7. Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage
Infor has invested heavily in creating industry-specific ERP solutions. Their CloudSuite Food & Beverage offering shows this focus with pre-configured processes designed specifically for the industry.
Industry-Specific Design:
- Pre-configured for food and beverage operations
- Advanced planning and scheduling with AI capabilities
- Comprehensive compliance management
- Global multi-site capabilities
- Strong supply chain management features
Infor's cloud-native architecture and industry focus make it attractive for larger operations, but the system can be complex to implement and may require significant customization.
Best Fit: Large food companies with global operations who need comprehensive ERP functionality and have the resources for complex implementations.
Downside: The system can be overwhelming for smaller organizations, and reporting capabilities may be slower than expected, with customer support not matching the level of some competitors.
8. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Food & Beverages
Microsoft's modular approach allows food companies to implement specific modules as needed, scaling up over time as requirements grow.
Platform Advantages:
- Modular architecture allows gradual implementation
- Strong integration with Microsoft ecosystem
- AI and machine learning capabilities
- Flexible deployment options (cloud, on-premise, hybrid)
- Extensive third-party ecosystem
Microsoft's strength lies in its platform approach and integration capabilities. However, the food-specific functionality often requires additional customization or third-party solutions.
Best Fit: Large food companies with complex IT requirements who want to leverage Microsoft's broader technology ecosystem.
Downside: Food-specific manufacturing capabilities may be limited without significant customization or third-party additions, potentially increasing implementation complexity and costs.
Key Features Every Food ERP System Must Have
When evaluating any ERP system for your food operation, certain capabilities are requirements for staying in business.
Lot Tracking and Traceability
Your ERP system must provide complete lot tracking from receipt of raw materials through production and shipment to customers. This supports compliance and helps you respond quickly during recalls to minimize their impact.
Look for systems that provide both forward and backward traceability, allowing you to quickly identify where specific lots went and what went into each finished product.
Recipe and Formula Management
Food manufacturing lives and dies by consistent recipes, but your system also needs flexibility for ingredient substitutions, yield variations, and cost optimization.
The best systems allow real-time recipe adjustments while maintaining full audit trails and ensuring all changes are properly approved and documented.
Compliance and Regulatory Support
Your ERP system should make compliance easier, not harder. Look for built-in support for FDA regulations, FSMA requirements, allergen tracking, and nutritional labeling.
The system should generate compliance reports automatically and maintain the documentation you need for audits without manual intervention.
Quality Management
Quality means controlling quality throughout the entire production process. Your ERP system should integrate quality checkpoints into production workflows and provide tools for managing certificates of analysis, testing protocols, and non-conformance issues.
Choosing Your Food & Beverage ERP System: Next Steps
Choosing the right ERP system is one of the most important technology decisions your food business will make. The difference between a system that understands your industry and one that treats you like just another manufacturer can be measured in reduced compliance risk, improved efficiency, and better customer service.
Food and beverage ERP systems aren't just about managing inventory and processing orders. They also need to give you the tools to navigate a complex regulatory environment while still growing your business. The wrong choice can put your business at risk and waste months of valuable time. The right choice will help you focus on what you do best: creating great products and getting them to buyers.
Stellar One’s team has decades of experience helping businesses like yours with a wide variety of ERP platforms. We are an Acumatica Gold Certified Partner, which means we have the highest levels of expertise in the industry. But we won’t try to sell you an ERP system that’s not a fit.
Want to hear more about what we can do for food and beverage companies as your ERP Partner? Read about the astonishing growth of Custard Stand Chili.