The basic goals of the research consisted in the elucidation of the essence and significance of the innovative management, its connection with the enterprises` performance, as well as the reflection on the implementation of innovative management in the food production sector of the Republic of Moldova. The research was carried out with the use of qualitative and quantitative methods: literature review, interview, content analysis, thematic and statistical analysis.As a result of the research, problems related to the economic efficiency of the food enterprises, as well as related to the reduced tendencies of the exports of the food products have been identified.It was also found out that the number of innovative food enterprises is continuously decreasing. Thus, even if more and more enterprises are advocating for the combination of different types of innovations (a fact positively appreciated), the reduction in the number of innovative enterprises induces the reasoning that the sector does not sufficiently capitalize on innovation as a performance factor. According to the opinion of the company representatives, the financial barriers have the greatest negative impact on the innovative activity of food enterprises, followed by the barriers related to the reduced demand for innovative products, the insufficiently capitalized human factor, deficiencies in creating partnerships, insufficient information etc. In these conditions, the amplification of efforts to promote and support innovations is required as an important direction for improving the management of food enterprises.