Howden launches dedicated U.S. Food and Beverage Practice to help companies build resilience and reduce total cost of risk

New practice provides specialized risk management solutions tailored to the unique challenges of food and beverage processors, manufacturers, distributors and retailers

London and New York, July 2, 2026: Howden, the global insurance broking group, today announces the launch of a dedicated U.S. Food and Beverage Practice, designed to help companies in North America address the increasingly interconnected risks impacting the industry.

The new practice will serve large consumer-facing businesses, multi-unit operators, distributors, packaging, and product companies to provide risk management, loss mitigation, and creative risk financing. The team will focus on helping leadership teams understand their total cost of risk and build programs that genuinely protect their operations, people, and balance sheets.

Today's food and beverage risk managers are no longer just protecting against isolated incidents, they're navigating interconnected threats across cost, compliance, labor, and supply chain that can cascade into enterprise-wide losses. Howden's U.S. Food and Beverage Practice is designed to address these challenges directly, pairing high-level industry expertise with the service standards that clients deserve. 

Led by Matt Replogle, Managing Director, Food and Beverage, a seasoned leader who brings over two decades of industry and risk management experience to one of the most operationally challenging sectors in the market.

Mike Parrish, CEO, Howden Americas, said: “With experience on both the buyer and advisor side, this team truly understands the challenges food and beverage companies face every day. They’ve seen how a supply chain issue can quickly snowball into an operational, financial, legal, and reputational challenge. That kind of expertise is invaluable in an industry facing increasing volatility alongside growing regulatory and compliance demands. 

Our U.S. food and beverage clients see the difference in service that goes far beyond placement, solutions built around how their industry actually works, and the kind of wisdom and insight that only comes with years of experience.“ 

Matt Replogle, Managing Director, Food and Beverage, said: “Businesses in this industry operate in an environment where a single disruption can rapidly affect suppliers, production, distribution, customers, and brand reputation. Our food and beverage practice was built to help clients see the full picture of risk across their entire business, proactively address exposures, and build risk strategies that protect their business, reputation, and growth objectives.”

About Howden

Howden is a leading global insurance intermediary group with employee ownership at its heart. Founded in 1994, it provides insurance, reinsurance and underwriting services and solutions to clients ranging from private individuals to the largest multinational companies.

The Group operates in 57 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the USA and Australia and New Zealand, employs 24,000 people and manages premiums totalling over $50 billion on behalf of its clients.

Further information can be found at www.howdengroup.com and www.howdengroupholdings.com.   

About Howden U.S.

Howden U.S. is Howden’s retail insurance broking operation, combining the full weight of its global capabilities with a model that empowers local leaders and talent to build differently. This completes Howden’s full range of capabilities in the U.S., which already represents more than a quarter of Howden’s revenue and $18 billion premiums annually. This is through its underwriting division DUAL, one of the world’s largest MGAs, Howden Re, a top four global reinsurance broker, and its wholesale business serving US-domiciled clients.

information can be found at www.howdengroup.com/us-en 

CONTACT

Howden Group, Corporate Affairs

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