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Food And Drink Payment Trends: 2020 vs 2021

16 May 2022•By Alastair Campbell, Founder•Reports

Food and Drink Payment Practices: Minor Improvement Seen in 2021 (48.4/100 vs 46.7/100)

The Comparison

  • 2020: 130 food and drink companies assessed achieved an average payment score of 46.7 out of 100.
  • 2021: 141 companies were assessed, resulting in an average score of 48.4 out of 100.

What This Means

While the average payment score for the food and drink sector improved in 2021, the increase of 1.7 points represents only a marginal shift in payment performance year-on-year. This small uptick suggests that payment practices within the sector remained largely consistent despite potential disruptions caused by external factors like supply chain issues and changing consumer habits. Companies dealing with late payments can use a late payment calculator to assess their impact.

One-line summary: In 2021, 141 food and drink companies averaged a payment score of 48.4/100, a slight improvement from 2020's score of 46.7/100 across 130 companies.

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Categories

Loading categories...

Recent Posts

Loading recent posts...

Resources

  • Late Invoice Calculator
  • Company Search
  • Browse by Sector
  • Browse by Region

Share Your Story

Have you experienced late payments? Share your story to help other businesses.

Submit Your Story

PaymentCheck

Our mission is to change the culture of late payments in the UK and help save over 55,000 companies every year which close due to cashflow issues.

Services

  • Payment Check
  • Business Solutions
  • API Access
  • Invoice Calculator
  • Late Payment Help
  • Get Your Score
  • Get Certified
  • For Accountants

Company

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Search Archive
  • Compare
  • EULA
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Awards

  • Methodology
  • 2025 Awards
  • 2024 Awards
  • 2023 Awards
  • 2022 Awards
  • 2021 Awards
  • 2020 Awards

Contact

  • office@paymentcheck.co.uk
  • +44 (0) 7915 608 057
  • Send Your Story

© 2026 Payment Check Ltd

Registered Address: 3rd Floor Suite 207 Regent Street London W1B 3HH

Made by Alastair Campbell