World's Largest Food And Beverage Companies 2017: Nestle, Pepsi …
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Sugar is one of the world’s biggest vices — and it’s also the key ingredient behind some of the largest food, beverage and tobacco companies in the globe.
According to the 2017 FORBES Global 2000– our annual and comprehensive list of the world’s most powerful public companies as measured by a composite score of revenue, profit, assets and market value — , and are the top three food and drink companies in the world.
Nestle continues its reign at the top of the food industry; it dropped one spot to #34 on the 2017 Global 2000 but dominates the field thanks to the more-than $90 billion in revenue and $8.6 billion in profit it recorded for the trailing twelve months ending on April 7, 2017. The company is virtually synonymous with “chocolate” and “sweets,” but 2016 found it adapting to an increasingly sugar-wary world and, as a result, building out its nutritional offerings and finding ways to cut back on the sugar in its famous cocoa. In the latter area, the company thinks it cracked the code: in November, Nestle touted “groundbreaking” research that has the ability to reduce the sugar in its chocolate by 40% — and without sacrificing taste.
Pepsi and Coca-Cola are no strangers to the vagaries of the war on sugar, either. Sales for both soda giants have been challenged in recent quarters, and company executives have pledged time and money towards finding ways to diversify beyond soda and revamp existing product lines. Yet despite these struggles, the two companies have maintained their places at the top of the food and beverage industry. Pepsico jumped six spots to the 84th position on the 2017 Global 2000, while Coca-Cola slipped three places to #86.
One of the biggest gainers in the category was Molson Coors: it went from #1280 in the 2016 list to #655 for the 2017 edition. The jump came in part to its acquisition of the 58% stake in MillerCoors: the deal, which was part of SAB’s divestiture efforts as it attempted to close its own merger with , closed in October and turned Molson Coors into the third largest brewer in the world.
The top 25 companies in the sector generated $741.2 billion in revenue last year and $86 billion in profit. (Global 2000 datalooked at financialperformance for the trailing twelve months ending on April 7, 2017.) To see all 25, click through here:
For more coverage of the FORBES Global 2000 ranking of the world’s largest public companies, see below:
