Summary of mergers and acquisitions trends in food and beverage
- Big Food companies accelerate growth by acquiring fast‑scaling functional food and beverage brands
- Legacy CPGs divest slower categories to refocus capital on high‑growth areas
- Snacks remain top M&A target due to frequency, loyalty and global scalability
- Convenience food consolidation intensifies as operational efficiency outweighs brand‑led strategies
- Active nutrition attracts buyers seeking credible science and premium pricing potential
2025 was a turbulent year for food and beverage.
The Kraft Heinz Company announced plans to split into two separate entities. A move that was swiftly followed by the appointment of a new CEO.
Meanwhile The Ferrero Group completed it’s acquisition of WK Kellogg Co, combining two of the biggest names in the industry.
Nestlé shocked everyone with the sacking of CEO Laurent Freixe, after it was discovered he’d been conducting an “undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate”. But that wasn’t the biggest bombshell the world’s biggest CPG had in store for the industry, not even close, because in October it was announced the company is to cut 16,000 jobs worldwide. Plus, it’s rumoured the multinational is looking to offload part of its coffee business, a category considered by many as the jewel in the Nestlé crown. Not to mention the fact it sold its entire 40% stake in German food brand Herta Foods, and is in the process of trying to sell part of its water business.
On the subject of sell-offs, Unilever took the bold decision to sell off its hugely profitable ice cream business, a decision immediately followed by the selling of snack brand Graze to Candy Kittens owner Katjes International.
And finally, as the sun set on 2025, Mars, Inc. completed its acquisition of snack brand Kellanova, in an industry-changing deal worth $36bn (€31bn).
In short, last year was all about change in food and beverage.
But 2026 could be even bigger.
2026 Big Moves in Big Food
The pace of change in food and beverage shows no sign of slowing. If anything, the industry’s biggest players appear to be gearing up for an even more dramatic reset.
We have the changes we already know about, such as the Kraft Heinz split, although much is yet to be revealed about exactly what that will look like.
Plus there are numerous deals rumoured to be taking place behind closed doors. These include The Coca-Cola Company’s intention to sell coffee chain Costa Coffee, Nestlé’s plan to sell coffee chain Blue Bottle Coffee (notice a pattern emerging!), and the potentially sector redefining move by Barry Callebaut to separate its cocoa division.
So what’s driving these big moves?
What’s driving M&A in F&B
Today’s biggest CPGs are treating M&A as a two‑step manoeuvre, says Nandini Roy Choudhury, principal consultant for food and beverage at Future Market Insights.
“First, they buy growth where organic innovation has become too slow, too risky, or too fragmented. Second, they clean up the portfolio to fund those acquisitions, simplify operations, and reassure investors that capital is being deployed with discipline.”
On the growth front, Choudhury explains, big CPGs are increasingly conceding that some of the industry’s fastest‑moving categories simply outpace what their legacy structures can build in‑house. Spinning up a functional beverage line, a disruptive snacking platform, or a culturally sharp challenger brand can take years, with no guarantee the market will embrace it. Buying a brand that’s already scaled shortcuts that entire process, delivering instant consumer relevance, established equity, and often a healthy dose of premium pricing power.
At the same time, those very companies are quietly admitting their portfolios have become unwieldy after years of expansion. Ageing regional labels, slow ambient categories, sub‑scale units and capital‑hungry operations drag on margins and distract leadership. Shedding them isn’t retreat, it’s capital redeployment, freeing up cash and bandwidth for bolder, higher‑growth plays. Though there is one noticeable change.
“What makes this cycle different from past M&A waves is that growth acquisitions and divestments are now happening in parallel, not in alternating phases,” says Choudhury. “Companies are no longer waiting to ‘digest’ acquisitions before pruning elsewhere. The pressure from activist investors, higher interest rates, and margin expectations has compressed decision timelines.”
Big picture: M&A today is less about empire-building and more about portfolio architecture - deciding which categories deserve capital and which no longer fit the long-term story.
This begs the question, which categories are worth the investment?
Top targets for F&B M&A
Functional foods and beverages
Topping the list of most desirable categories is undoubtedly functional foods and beverages. These are brands that live at the crossroads of health, lifestyle and daily habit.
Importantly, explains Future Market Insights’ Choudhury, many of these brands have proven consumer demand but lack the global distribution muscle, procurement leverage, and retail access that large CPGs excel at.
These brands are attractive to buyers because:
- They scale disproportionately fast once plugged into a global bottling or distribution network
- They allow CPGs to reposition themselves closer to wellness without abandoning mass-market reach
- They help offset declining volumes in traditional carbonated soft drinks and juice.
Snacking
Snacking, meanwhile, continues to be one of the industry’s most structurally resilient growth engines.
But what makes it particularly “acquirable” is frequency.
“Snacks benefit from multiple daily consumption occasions, cross-generational appeal, and strong brand loyalty,” says Choudhury. “For large CPGs, snacks also travel well across geographies and retail formats.”
Current M&A focus within snacking is on:
- Brands that work across regions, not just domestically
- Products that fit multiple consumption moments (home, on-the-go, impulse)
- Platforms that can absorb innovation without confusing consumers.
Convenience foods
Convenience foods and food‑to‑go are also drawing interest as consumer behaviour continues to shift.
Urbanisation, dual-income households, quick commerce, and declining cooking time have created sustained demand for ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat formats. However, these categories are operationally complex, with cold chains, short shelf lives, and retailer dependency making scale critical.
“That’s why M&A here is often about operational efficiency, not just brand power,” explains Choudhury.
Buyers are looking for:
- Manufacturing density
- Customer concentration with major retailers
- Supply-chain control rather than pure marketing plays.
Active nutrition
Active nutrition and wellness adjacencies remain attractive but selective - in other words, not every brand qualifies.
Buyers gravitate toward brands with unmistakably functional positioning - from protein and recovery to metabolic or gut health - backed by scientific credibility and premium pricing power. But the bar is high - regulatory oversight, formulation complexity and brand authenticity all carry more weight here than in conventional food categories, making this a targeted, not opportunistic, M&A space.
Buyers here tend to favour brands with:
- Clear functional positioning (protein, recovery, gut health, metabolic health)
- Scientific credibility
- Premium pricing justification.
“The category is acquirable, but buyers are cautious,” says Choudhury. “Regulatory scrutiny, formulation complexity, and brand authenticity all matter more here than in traditional food categories.”
The future of Big Food
If 2025 was the year the industry woke up to the need for bold reinvention, 2026 is shaping up to be the year those ambitions are fully realised. The strategic logic behind today’s dealmaking is clearer than ever for Big Food - streamline what slows you down, double down on what speeds you up, and build a portfolio that can withstand shifting consumer behaviour, economic pressure, and the rising cost of doing business.
With activist investors watching closely, interest rates still exerting pressure, and retailers demanding sharper value propositions, the days of passive category management are over. The companies that lead this next phase won’t be the biggest, they’ll be the fastest, the most focused, and the most disciplined.
Expect more divestments. Expect more surprise megadeals. Expect categories once considered ‘steady and safe’ to be quietly re-evaluated. And expect the lines between food, beverage, wellness, and lifestyle to blur further as brands chase relevance across every consumption moment.
