Currently browsing posts about: Food-industry

This, from the New York Times on August 21.

Here’s the headline:

A sales growth of ONLY 2.6% dropped Walmart’s stock by 9%.

OK, Walmart isn’t all about food, but it has larger food sales than any other place by a wide margin.

As I keep saying, I’m not against profit.

But the idea that 2.6% growth is insufficient to please stockholders explains everything about what’s wrong with our food system.

People and pets can only eat so much.  All food-selling enterprises cannot continue to grow infinitely.

I’ think a good argument can be made that the bad things food companies do to employees, customers, animals, and the environment result directly from stockholder pressures to grow sales and profits, quarter after quarter.

System change, anyone?

The Government Accountability Office reports: Federal Social Safety Net Programs: Millions of Workers, Including Many Employed by Large Employers, Continue to Rely on Medicaid and SNAP.

To learn more about the working adults who used these programs in 2024, we analyzed employment data from 11 states and Census data.

We found:

• About two-thirds worked full time
• Most worked for private sector employers
• Workers were largely in transportation, restaurants and food prep, and retail sales jobs
• Some employers in selected states had thousands of beneficiaries on their payrolls

This is one of the findings:

According to GAO’s analysis of state-level data for September 2025, the employers with the most nondisabled, nonelderly Medicaid enrollees or SNAP beneficiaries varied across the 11 states that provided data. However, 46 companies (about one-third of the total companies across all 11 states) were among the top 25 employers of Medicaid enrollees or SNAP beneficiaries in at least two states. Seventeen of these 46 companies were among the 50 largest Fortune 500 companies by number of employees.

Here is an example of some actual data:

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What this report tells us is that the richest food companies in the United States are paying such low wages that their employees must rely on government assistance to get by.  This means that we taxpayers are subsidizing rich corporations and enabling them to continue to profit at the expense of their workers.  I didn’t see much written about this report when it appeared.  It deserves wide circulation.

A Lighthouse-led international cooperative investigation has produced Big Food vs. The People, a detailed account of how food and beverage companies are filing lawsuits to block public health measures that might induce people to stop buying their products.

In public, the world’s biggest and richest food companies such as Coca Cola, PepsiCola, and Mondelez say they want to be part of the solution. But behind closed doors, they have taken governments to court to delay, dilute, and derail public health laws, which the companies say violate their rights.

These investigations found:

– 239 lawsuits were filed between 2010 and 2025 across Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, the US, the UK, and India against public health policies targeting food and beverages such as front of pack labelling, regulating advertising of junk food to children, soda taxes, and taxes on ultra processed foods.

– The cases add up to 595 years of litigation, representing a significant burden on the governments defending their health policies.

– Of the cases brought by private companies where the plaintiff was identifiable, more than 1 in 3 came from just nine parent groups, led by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Mondelez.

The Guardian covered this story: ‘If all else fails, sue’: how ultra-processed food firms are using the courts to obstruct health rules.

That’s my quote in the title.

The world’s biggest UPF firms would “not fight so hard” if policies to curb intake of their products were ineffective, said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. “The lawsuits tell us that public health measures reduce sales of unhealthful products”….The tactics mirrored those used by the tobacco industry for decades, Nestle said, adding: “Food companies are well trained. They follow the tobacco industry playbook to the letter. When all else fails, sue.”

An article in Food Business News caught my eye: The companies most exposed to consumer UPF concerns. 

The article is based on an analysis by BNP Paribus, which tracks the effects of the new dietary guidelines on the food industry.

It looked at the percent of 12 food companies’ products that are ultra-processed (Nova 4 classification).

I had to look up Flowers Foods; they make popular bread brands.

Food Business News reports sales data:

Nova 1 products

• Outsell Nova 4 by 7%.
• Sales up 15% in yogurt, 10% in frozen meals and vegetables, 2.5% in fruit snacks and candy, 2% in nut butters and cereal/granola.

Nova 4 products

• Sales up approximately 2% in yogurt and less than 1% in cereals/granola
• Sales down 2.5% in nut butters, 2% in frozen meals and vegetables, and less than 2% in fruit snacks and candy

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This could indicate a trend toward healthier diets, depending on what else people are eating.

It’s hard to know whether these trends are due to the new Dietary Guidelines, which recommended limits on ultra-processed foods, to the effects of GLP-1 drugs, or to inflation.

Whatever the reason, major food companies making lots of ultra-processed foods seem to be vulnerable right now.

I’m guessing they will be reformulating their products as soon as they can.

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

The bottom line: Eating less is bad for business.

You might think of GLP-1 drugs as miracles of modern medicine, but the food industry views them as a threat.

Why?  Eating less is bad for business.

The Threat

• Data: Alarming new research reveals threat GLP-1s pose to food and drink sector: New research has revealed that as many as 8% of Britons now use weight loss drugs, with a further 14% considering their use in the future…. Read more
• GLP-1 in real life: Smaller shops, fewer ultra-processed foods: Enough with the predictions. How are GLP-1 drugs actually impacting purchasing behaviour?… Read more
• FoodDive: How GLP-1s are shaking up snacking: GLP1-s are reshaping how Americans eat, pushing more consumers toward smaller portions and nutrient-dense options packed with ingredients like protein or fiber. As sales for traditional packaged snacks decline, food companies are now rushing to tap into this fast-growing market.
• What is the ‘GLP-1 halo effect’?  The GLP-1 craze could end up changing more diets than expected – even those of non-GLP-1 users…. Read more
• GLP-1s: Is the industry asking the wrong question?  New data and clinical insight suggest the real impact of GLP-1 drugs isn’t less eating – it’s a rethink of how, when and why people eat… Read more

How food companies are responding

• How GLP-1s are reshaping product innovation:  For product developers, designing GLP-1 friendly foods will require new sensory approaches, emotional metrics and new nutritional architectures… Read more
• The Ozempic effect reaches the bread aisle: Bimbo redesigns bakery for GLP-1 users: The world’s biggest baker says GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are already reshaping how people eat, so it’s redesigning bread and snacks to keep up… Read more
• GLP‑1 drinks take off as brands race for $3.5bn functional growth: From protein shakes to collagen coolers, brands are reinventing beverages for the GLP‑1 era and the race for dominance in this fast‑growing $3.5bn category is just beginning… Read more

When customers go off the drugs

• After GLP-1: Weight regain, food fear and the industry’s next reckoning: With a growing number of people ditching GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, producers are being drawn into a far more complex conversation about nutrition, psychology and long-term eating behavior… Read more
• What happens after GLP-1s and why food will matter more than ever: Former GLP-1 users looking to keep the weight off are a potentially underserved consumer base looking for foods and beverages that will help the feel full longer, manage portions and meet their health goals… Read more

The marketing opportunities

• GLP-1 food boom: Market growth, big brands, and key challenges: GLP-1 fuels rapid food and beverage sector growth – but risks and costs mount… Read more
• GLP-1-friendly foods are booming – but the label is still taboo: From “high protein” to “supports muscle mass” claims, brands are coding GLP-1 benefits without naming the trend outright… Read more
• GLP-1 ranges: Should you launch one?  We round up the challenges and opportunities of entering the ‘GLP-1 friendly’ meals arena… Read more
• Food cravings on GLP-1s? What formulators need to know: It’s a common misconception that GLP-1 drugs erase food cravings. Actually, they alter them… Read more
• Could the GLP-1 boom open the door to shrinkflation? Users of the drugs want smaller portions – this could help food companies save money… Read more
• Beyond GLP-1 drugs: How dietary ingredients can naturally support body’s own satiety hormone: As interest in GLP-1-based weight management grows, emerging data on a dietary ingredient suggest there could also be a more natural approach to control appetite and metabolic health…. Read more

I always like to know what the food industry is thinking, and was interested to run across a new report from the National Association of Manufacturers: Manufacturers Feed America: Strengthening Communities, Fueling Innovation, Growing the Economy.

It begins:

Behind every grocery store shelf is a carefully designed system that ensures American families can count on safe, abundant and affordable food every day. The food and beverage industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the United States, connecting farms to factory floors to family tables. Anchored in world-class science and rigorous safety standards, the U.S. food and beverage supply chain is a global leader—strengthening communities, fueling innovation and growing the economy. This outcome is not accidental. It is because manufacturers feed America.

Here’s what it covers:

What is this report about?

A growing number of state laws seek to ban ingredients, impose warning labels or mandate disclosures based on hazard-focused explanations rather than risk-based science…Manufacturers cannot realistically produce multiple versions of the same product to satisfy differing state rules without incurring substantial costs, sacrificing quality or disrupting supply chains and distribution systems.

And, says the National Association of Manufacturers, these laws are going to raise food costs and cause job losses.

It’s helpful to see these arguments spelled out so they can be countered effectively.

With the new dietary guidelines taking such a strong stance on minimizing sugar intake, the sugar industry has its damage-control work cut out.

Lisa Sutherland, my co-author on our forthcoming (September 2026) Sugar Coated: Unboxing the Hidden Forces Shaping America’s Favorite Breakfast. Food, sent this link to information sent out to dietitian subscribers to Today’s Dietitian.

When it comes to added sugars, on one hand the public is hearing they should stop eating sugar entirely, on the other, they’re hearing that real sugar is healthier than other forms of added sugars and sweeteners. The fact is that added sugars currently make up around 13% of Americans total calories – the lowest amount in 40 years and close to the lowest amount ever recorded (11% in 1909). The steep decline in added sugars intake over the past 25 years has coincided with rising rates of childhood obesity and chronic disease – yet most people are unaware of these data and continue to demonize and place a significant amount of blame on real sugar for these conditions.

It then goes on to discuss all this under the following headings:

• Real Sugar plays a key role in healthy balanced diets
• Real Sugar is irreplaceable as a single ingredient
• Facts over fear

And it comes with great charts.  My favorite, too big to reproduce here, is titled “Sugar is a partner in nutrient delivery.”  This points out that high-fiber cereals, fruit yogurs, canned vegetables, salad dressings, peanut butter, and pre-packaged snacks all are more enjoyable to eat and have longer shelf-life with some sugar tossed in.