The food and beverage (F&B) production is the second most energy consuming industry sector, consuming up to 14% (22 PJ) of the Swiss industry's total final energy (TFE) and emitting 14% (0.6 million tonnes) of the industry's total CO2. In the period from 2004 to 2017, the sector's energy consumption has been increasing at a faster rate than production, which implies deterioration of energy efficiency (EE). Against the background of implicit EE improvement target of 26% between 2017 and 2050 under the assumption of constant future production, this study investigates the options of realizing the target. The process-related (e.g. excluding building envelope) technical EE improvement potential of the Swiss F&B sector is estimated at 25% whereas the currently commercially available energy-efficient technologies can potentially reduce 18% of the sector's current TFE. The cost-effective potential estimated by means of a bottom-up approach (cost curves) ranges from 14% to 16% for energy efficiency and 18% to 21% for CO2. Results of sensitivity analysis indicate that low energy prices may act as a barrier for the adoption of cross-cutting technologies. A qualitative analysis of emerging technologies presented along with the detailed cost-effectiveness analysis of commercially available energy-efficient technologies can help to overcome the techno-economic barriers and achieve the implicit EE improvement target of the Swiss F&B sector.