{"id":20046,"date":"2026-02-26T17:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/20046\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T17:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:12:10","slug":"kraft-heinz-nestle-unilever-ferrero-mars-pepsico-hershey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/20046\/","title":{"rendered":"Kraft Heinz, Nestl\u00e9, Unilever, Ferrero, Mars, PepsiCo, Hershey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big changes in Big Food \u2013 summaryBrands accelerate M&A to meet rising demand for healthier goodsRebrands surge as wellness trends reshape consumer expectations and packagingProtein\u2011rich and gut\u2011friendly products rapidly gain mainstream cultural relevancePremiumisation grows as major CPGs justify higher pricing through superiorityReputation shifts and cultural pressures quietly drive selective brand overhauls<\/p>\n

Food and drink is going through big changes \u2013 and those changes are happening on all fronts. <\/p>\n

From sustainability pressures to shifting consumer expectations, the industry is being pushed to reinvent itself at breakneck speed. <\/p>\n

The result?<\/p>\n

Manufacturers are ripping up the rulebook \u2013 they\u2019re cutting carbon, slashing sugar, ditching artificial additives, and investing in cleaner, greener supply chains.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also firing up the mergers and acquisitions market to take on brands that fit rising trends and spin-off ones that don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Just look at the last 12 months. Ferrero<\/a> diversified into cereal through its acquisition of WK Kellogg, Mars, Inc<\/a> entered into snacking with the purchase of Kellanova, Unilever<\/a> offloaded its entire ice cream division, and Nestl\u00e9 confirmed it\u2019s saying goodbye to ice cream<\/a> and part of its water business<\/a>. All while Kraft Heinz<\/a> is in a \u2018will they, won\u2019t they\u2019 split situation.<\/p>\n

Oh and on top of all that some companies, such as Suntory-owned Ribena and PepsiCo-owned Lay\u2019s, completely rebranded themselves to remain relevant in the 2026.<\/p>\n

But is this really any different to before? Is the level of M&A activity unusual? And are we actually seeing more rebrands?<\/p>\n

\"UnileverUnilever offloaded its entire ice cream division in 2025. (Image: Getty\/ f9photos)Big Food\u2019s race to rebrand<\/p>\n

\u201cFor companies in the CPG industry looking to reposition their brand portfolios, M&A has long-been a popular, and perhaps unsurprising, strategic move,\u201d says Doug Ehrenkranz, partner and North American consumer goods and retail lead at consultancy firm Boyden. \u201cWhat\u2019s different about the M&A activity happening in the CPG space today is that multi-billion dollar consumer goods giants are making M&A decisions with the ultimate goal to meet consumer demand for healthier, \u2018good-for-you\u2019 goods.\u201d <\/p>\n

PepsiCo\u2019s acquisition of Poppi<\/a> and Hershey\u2019s of LesserEvil<\/a> are perfect examples of this.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, there\u2019s been a noticeable uptick in rebranding to fit the growing health and wellness trend.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlayers in the CPG space have been redesigning elements of their brand identity in response to consumer wellness trends for many years,\u201d says Ehrenkranz. \u201cRecently, however, that pace of change has dramatically accelerated.\u201d <\/p>\n

The reason, explains Ehrenkranz, is the result of two key trends: <\/p>\n

Protein-rich: The market was already seeing growth in demand for protein-rich foods over the last several years, but the introduction of GLP-1s and the adjacent conversations around weight loss and protein\u2019s position on the food pyramid have only exponentially exacerbated that demandNutrient-dense and gut-friendly: Consumers are increasingly looking to do more with less, even when it comes to snacking. They\u2019re opting for foods and beverages that promise maximised health benefits over ultra-processed foods. Green drinks like AG1 and probiotic sodas like PepsiCo-owned Poppi<\/a> are prime examples this.<\/p>\n

And Ehrenkranz has a tip for manufacturers here, as he explains, consumers tend to gravitate towards simplified packaging or visual identities, and labels that call out these kinds of health and wellness benefits.<\/p>\n

Though companies are cautioned against \u201chealth\u2011washing\u201d, as this recent video from marketing expert Matt Rosenman shows, consumers are getting wise to bogus claims.<\/p>\n

Premiumisation<\/p>\n

Outside of health and wellness, which is by far the biggest force for change in food and beverage right now, we\u2019re seeing a major shift towards premiumisation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMajor CPG brands are all having to demonstrate to consumers that their brands are worth paying a little more for,\u201d says Daniel Binns, global CEO of Elmwood Brand Consultancy. \u201cJust being a big, popular brand doesn\u2019t cut it anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n

Brands, he says, need to show that they are better in terms of quality and desirability.<\/p>\n

Reputation<\/p>\n

There is another reason manufacturers have been rebranding in recent years and it\u2019s one they\u2019re less likely to shout about \u2013 restoring reputation <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen in the past brands trying to address a cultural backlash to their historic brands,\u201d says Elmwood Brand Consultancy\u2019s Binns. \u201cThink Aunt Jemima, Land O\u2019Lakes, Eskimo Pie and Uncle Ben\u2019s.\u201d <\/p>\n

But these, he explains, were all in the immediate aftermath of George Floyd\u2019s death in 2020. \u201cThere have been far fewer of late and the new crop of rebrands are much more based on shifting food culture and the needs for mass CPG companies to drive margin expansion through premiumisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ferrero'sFerrero diversified into cereal through its acquisition of WK Kellogg, in 2025. (Image: The Ferrero Group)Big Food\u2019s future big moves<\/p>\n

While the pace of change may feel disruptive, it also opens doors for Big Food players to redefine their value in a market that\u2019s hungry for better choices. <\/p>\n

These companies have the scale, supply\u2011chain strength and R&D firepower to turn emerging trends into mass\u2011market realities, whether that\u2019s cleaner labels, gut\u2011friendly formulations, or more premium, purpose\u2011driven products.<\/p>\n

Crucially, the shift isn\u2019t just about mitigating risk or keeping up with challenger brands. It\u2019s a chance to build entirely new growth engines. <\/p>\n

As consumers lean into protein\u2011rich diets, functional benefits and upgraded everyday indulgences, the manufacturers that invest early and innovate decisively stand to gain the most.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s room here for category expansion, cross\u2011portfolio modernisation, and smarter brand architectures that unlock margin while meeting genuine consumer needs.<\/p>\n

If the last few years were defined by reactive change, the next few will be defined by strategic reinvention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Big changes in Big Food \u2013 summaryBrands accelerate M&A to meet rising demand for healthier goodsRebrands surge as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[126],"tags":[13153,13154,13155,199,8923,13156],"class_list":["post-20046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nestle","tag-de-brug","tag-main","tag-modern-architecture","tag-nestle","tag-unilever","tag-unilever-building"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}