Information about the Aspen Ideas Festival is here. I am scheduled for a session, The American Wellness Paradox, currently scheduled from 11:00-11:50 a.m., at the East Lawn Tent. This will be a discussion with senior HHS policy advisor, Calley Means. Here’s the blurb on it: “Americans are spending more than ever on healthcare, supplements, wellness trends, and “clean eating,” yet rates of chronic disease and metabolic illness continue to climb. As skepticism fuels the rise of movements like MAHA, debates over what Americans should eat have become deeply cultural, political, and economic. Two influential voices with sharply different perspectives on nutrition and food science explore how food systems, farming practices, consumer culture, and the wellness industry collided to create one of the defining public health debates of our time.”
by Marion Nestle
May
26
2026
Is Big Food in trouble? Five existential threats.
It’s impossible not to notice all the reports of declining food sales. I’ve been talking about four existential threats to the food industry:
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr (“The food industry is poisoning America”)
- Ultra-processed foods (dietary guidelines advise eating less of them)
- GLP-1 drugs (they reduce food intake)
- Inflation (people can’t afford to overeat)
To these, I must add now one more.
- SNAP restrictions (they decrease purchases of sodas and sweets)
The crisis
- Is Big Food breaking? Why the industry is selling itself off: Investors are losing patience as volume growth stalls and food giants tear up the playbook.
- Big Food splits: Smart move or strategic misstep? Big Food’s biggest names are betting on splits, but market reactions show investors aren’t convinced. So when does breaking up actually make sense?… Read more
- Big Food’s leadership crisis: Why CEOs are falling faster than ever: C-suite exits are mounting across Big Food, but behind the scandals lies a deeper performance and innovation problem… Read more
- Big Food splits: Smart move or strategic misstep? Big Food’s biggest names are betting on splits, but market reactions show investors aren’t convinced. So when does breaking up actually make sense?… Read more
- CEO churn exposes growing cracks in Big Food’s growth model: Leadership changes across Big Food are starting to look less like succession and more like a response to cracks in the growth model…. Watch now
- An existential shift is coming: Dimbleby on the forces set to reshape food: The industry is already seeing a myriad of different pressures, including increased labour and input costs, but Henry Dimbleby has warned things may get much worse before they get better…. Read more
- SNAP restrictions are reshaping sugary food purchases: Ibotta data shows states prohibiting the use of SNAP funds to buy ‘unhealthy’ products are reshaping sugary beverage and snack demand… Read more
Effects on Big Food companies
- Why Unilever’s $40bn food merger is raising red flags: Unilever’s $40bn food deal is supposed to sharpen focus. Instead it’s unsettled stakeholders, raising questions over the success of Big Food consolidation… Read more
- Unilever shares plummet following McCormick megamerger announcement: Unilever’s $44.8bn decision to merge its Foods business with McCormick has rattled investors and raised regulatory questions… Read more
- Nestlé sells Blue Bottle Coffee to Centurium Capital: The deal includes the brand’s cafes and the majority of its CPG business, a spokesperson confirmed.
- Nestlé slashes 450 jobs sparking union backlash: Nestlé’s set to cut more than 450 UK jobs as global restructuring begins… Read more
