INNOVATIVENESS IN THE POLISH FOOD INDUSTRY

Innovations are an indispensable factor allowing an enterprise to adjust to its changing environment. In the period under scrutiny, the expenditures on innovative activities in food industry enterprises in Poland decreased by nearly 18%. The main source of innovations in the food industry in Poland in 2010 were expenditures on acquisition of modern machines and appliances, investments in buildings, structures and land, as well as expenditures on the marketing of new and significantly improved goods. Considering the percentage of food industry enterprises that implemented non-technological (organizational and marketing) innovations in 2008-2010, producers of tobacco products were the most active, followed by producers of beverages and producers of food products.