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Global 250 food and beverage manufacturers: The taste of things to come

Food and beverage manufacturers are diving even deeper into the health and wellness trend, bringing natural, nutritious and sustainable products to market that will help them cater to rapidly changing consumer tastes.

Leading food and beverage companies are diversifying their offerings and diving even deeper into the health and wellness segment with natural, nutritious and sustainable products that they say will help them cater to rapidly changing consumer tastes.
Leading food and beverage companies are diversifying their offerings and diving even deeper into the health and wellness segment with natural, nutritious and sustainable products that they say will help them cater to rapidly changing consumer tastes.

Consumers are more concerned about health and wellness than ever before. And the food and beverage companies that landed on ProFood World’s Global 250 Food and Beverage Manufacturers list are responding in kind. Faced with slow growth and intense competition from upstarts in the better-for-you and health categories, these leading food and beverage companies are diversifying their offerings and diving even deeper into the health and wellness segment with natural, nutritious and sustainable products that they say will help them cater to rapidly changing consumer tastes and stay relevant. 

Mindful consumers are driving the growth of health products in the food and beverage industry, according to Netherlands-based Innova Market Insights’ Top Ten Trends for 2018. The study found that more people are conscious about making responsible food and beverage choices. According to the data, 1 in 2 U.S., U.K. and German consumers read ingredient labels often, while 7 in 10 U.S. and U.K. consumers want to know and understand the ingredients in their products. 

In addition, as more consumers find modern life to be hectic and stressful, flexible and balanced diets have become integral elements of consumers’ self-care routines, according to Mintel’s Global Food & Drink Trends 2018 report.

To keep up with their busy lifestyles, consumers are increasingly foregoing the traditional three meals a day in favor of eating more frequently and in small quantities. According to The Future of Snacking 2016 report from the Hartman Group, a Bellevue, Washington-based research firm, 91 percent of consumers snack multiple times throughout the day and 47 percent say they can’t get through the day without a snack. 

No-guilt snacking

To capitalize on the snackification of mealtimes and the $89 billion snack market, over the last two years, many food companies have expanded beyond their core businesses to acquire snack brands that offer tasty yet nutritious snacks that can replace a full meal and can be enjoyed on the go. For example, Campbell Soup Company, known for its iconic soups, spent about $5 billion in March to buy Snyder’s-Lance, which produces snacks such as Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels and Emerald nuts. The company says it expects its snack brands to make up about 46 percent of its net sales in the next fiscal year. 

“Snyder’s-Lance represents a strategic and transformative acquisition for Campbell, creating a $10 billion company with nearly half of our annual net sales in the faster-growing snacks category,” said Denise Morrison, president and CEO of Campbell at the time of the acquisition. 

Campbell is staying the course, even in the aftermath of Morrison’s departure in May and the company’s announcement in August that it plans to sell its international and fresh food businesses to focus on its snacks, meals and beverages.

Beyond Campbell, the snack industry experienced a flurry of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as major food companies sought to stake a claim of their own in the segment. Candy maker Hershey’s announced in December 2017 that it was buying Amplify Snack Brands, the manufacturer of SkinnyPop popcorn for $1.6 billion, the largest deal in its history. SkinnyPop has less salt than other popcorn brands; doesn’t contain GMOs, gluten or preservatives; and is cooked in healthier sunflower oil. The acquisition comes on the heels of its purchase of Krave jerky in 2015 and its 2016 purchase of Ripple Brand Collective, which makes barkThins, a fair-trade, non-GMO dark chocolate that is packed with healthy ingredients like blueberries, toasted coconut and pumpkin seeds.

Other recent M&As in the snack category include Conagra acquiring Thanasi Foods, which makes Duke’s all-natural, grass-fed meat snacks and Bigs sunflower seeds for $218 million, followed by its purchase of Angie’s Boomchickapop popcorn for $250 million. In November 2017, Kellogg closed on its $600 million purchase of RXBar, a clean label protein bar. With the resources of Kellogg, RXBar is extending its brand beyond protein bars to nut butters and will distribute its product internationally later this year. Meanwhile, Mars, the world’s largest candy maker, bought a minority stake in Kind, a healthy snack bar company that was one of the early entrants in the clean labeling movement. The move gives Mars the option to fully acquire the company later and helps Kind grow in the United States and abroad.

Planting seeds

Another trend gaining traction is the rise of plant-based food and beverages. A survey from NPD Group, a Port Washington, New York-based market research firm, found that 14 percent of U.S. consumers — 43 million people — regularly eat plant-based alternatives, and 86 percent of them do not consider themselves vegan or vegetarian. According to Nielsen data, retail sales of plant-based foods increased 24 percent last year, which is quadruple the growth of meat sales and more than 10 times the growth of overall retail food sales.

In its efforts to seek out sustainable proteins and cleaner foods, Tyson Foods Inc., the largest meat processor in the United States, is looking into the potential of plant-based proteins, knowing animal proteins won’t be enough to meet the increased demand for proteins as the world population grows. Tyson is developing protein bowls made with vegetables high in protein, such as quinoa, lentils and chickpeas for its vegetarian brand, Green Street. But its big bet is on Beyond Meat, a producer of plant-based protein products. After Tyson made its first investment in Beyond Meat in 2016, Beyond Meat more than doubled sales and expanded to 20,000 grocery stores, including Kroger and Target. In December 2017, Tyson made another investment in Beyond Meat to help it triple production. While Tyson will not disclose the terms, Tyson’s latest investment slightly increases its ownership stake in Beyond Meat from the 5 percent established in 2016.

INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast
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INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast