Hershey names Michele Buck new COO

Buck has more than 25 years in consumers goods, including various executive roles at Hershey and senior roles at Kraft/Nabisco.

By Carolyn Heneghan • June 2, 2016

Former PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico dies, leaves behind noteworthy legacy

Enrico, who led the company to nearly surpass its top competitor Coca-Cola during the 1980s soda wars, died Wednesday at age 71.

By Carolyn Heneghan • June 2, 2016

Explore the Trendline➔

Mergers and acquisitions

Declining sales and slowing consumption have more companies divesting brands, opening the door for smaller players and private equity firms to expand their portfolios.  

By Food Dive staff

Spam Snacks deals notable loss to Hormel

Searching for adjacencies across categories is a critical move for food and beverage manufacturers — but no product is guaranteed to score.

By David Oliver • June 2, 2016

Report: Nestle identifies CEO Bulcke as potential successor for outgoing chairman

But could an external candidate for either the chairman or CEO role be what the company needs to meet its growth targets?

By Carolyn Heneghan • June 2, 2016

Coca-Cola, bottler Femsa to acquire Unilever's AdeS for $575M

With this move, Unilever further slims its underperforming food and beverage portfolio and Coca-Cola expands its non-carbonated beverage business and presence in Latin America.

By Carolyn Heneghan • June 1, 2016

Jim Beam overhauls bottle design, keeps Mila Kunis as spokeswoman

Jim Beam's new square bottles more closely resemble those of the Jack Daniel's brand, the U.S. whiskey category leader.

By Carolyn Heneghan • June 1, 2016

Analysts: Confidence high in ConAgra's turnaround approach

Since joining ConAgra in April 2015, CEO Sean Connolly has overseen the sale of the private-label brands business, a potential spinoff of Lamb Weston, and the announcement of $300 million in cost savings, Barron's reported. 

By Carolyn Heneghan • June 1, 2016

SunOpta shares soar on shareholder's suggestion to sell

A strategic buyer or investment firm could use steep cost-cutting to make the Canadian company a more viable and profitable competitor in the natural and organic space.

By Carolyn Heneghan • June 1, 2016

Mondelez to shift marketing tactics, expand in-house content creation

The Oreo-maker is expanding its mobile app efforts and the production of branded and unbranded content through partnerships with BuzzFeed and Fox.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 31, 2016

Charles M. Harper, former ConAgra CEO and transformation leader, dies at 88

Harper's health complications led to the development of the Healthy Choice line, which was key to the company's turnaround decades ago.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 31, 2016

Nestle persists in health science category with $111M milk allergy testing deal

It's pivoting to health products while leveraging food and beverage R&D and marketing expertise.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 31, 2016

Snyder's-Lance CFO to step down after a decade overseeing major changes

Rick Puckett oversaw the merger that formed Snyder's-Lance and major acquisitions since, including Diamond Foods earlier this year.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 27, 2016

Report: Small, mid-sized CPG companies snagged $18B market share since 2011

Industry leaders identified by this report have a common portfolio strategy.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 27, 2016

After bankruptcy, Hostess thriving with revamped products, supply chain overhaul, social media plan

The company listened to consumers and made select better-for-you ingredients changes, while keeping indulgence at the forefront.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 26, 2016

3 food and beverage CEOs make Inc.'s 30 Under 30 list

From humble beginnings and a desire to solve an issue, companies grew into million-dollar enterprises.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 26, 2016

Nestle names $2.5B in savings through cost-cutting efforts, exploring online expansion

These cost-cutting efforts are crucial to shareholders who may be nervous about the company consistently missing growth targets.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 26, 2016

Hormel promotes chief accounting officer James Sheehan to CFO

Strategic acquisitions and portfolio-wide ingredients changes require significant investments — meaning a strong fiscal-minded leader at the helm.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 26, 2016

TreeHouse Foods shuttering two ConAgra plants amid post-acquisition frenzy

Cutting costs is just as important for private labels as it is for branded products, especially when one of private labels' main appeals is competitively low prices. 

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 25, 2016

Execs of private equity investor-owned companies face unique challenges

The demands of private equity firms are high, particularly around areas of personal accountability, scrutiny, and accelerated decision.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 25, 2016

Experts say competition behind Smucker's lower coffee prices

Other companies may decide to follow suit in order to remain competitive.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 25, 2016

Bloomberg: Hampton Creek seeking $200M investment for massive expansion

Part of those plans include a 95,000-square-foot R&D facility that will employ robotics and artificial intelligence to discover and develop new plant-based protein products.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 25, 2016

Study: 23% of consumers more likely to trust Nestle following salt reduction announcement

But you can't please everyone: About 5% said they were more likely to distrust Nestle because of the announcement.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 24, 2016

ConAgra getting leaner; to divest Spicetec to Givaudan for $340M

With this move, ConAgra demonstrates its intent to focus on core products.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 23, 2016

A Balancing Act: 5 food and beverage categories losing market share — an analyst perspective

From soda and cereal to frozen concentrates, these segments offer manufacturers valuable lessons in resilience.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 23, 2016

Kraft Heinz plant expansions offer glimpse into future portfolio

These also let hungry manufacturers know which other brands may be up for acquisitions, should Kraft Heinz divest.

By Carolyn Heneghan • May 23, 2016