Food and beverage companies spent much of the last decade making large, transformative deals that, in many cases, saddled their bottom lines with huge amounts of debt and failed to generate the promised synergies. But in recent years, manufacturers have shifted their attention to acquiring smaller companies to quicken their entrance into faster-growing segments, while jettisoning brands that hinder their ability to increase sales and improve margins.
This year saw several deals — from Hershey's divestment of Krave and artisan chocolate brands to Kind's purchase of Nature's Bakery — in addition to a handful of blockbuster acquisitions like PepsiCo's deal to buy RockStar Energy for $3.85 billion.
Despite the challenges from the pandemic, companies continued to find ways to streamline their operations as needed, and expand their portfolios when opportunities arose. These are some of the biggest deals in 2020.