Hamdi Ulukaya

What an incredible 3 days in Chicago at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Event and Expo with colleagues, friends, partners, investors, and customers. Great to attend with Todd Rands, Paul Vajda, Holden Sasser, Bill Aimutis, and Jonathan McIntyre ! The #startup pavilion was brimming with action, people, ideas, and innovation. Highlights from the week: > Innovation startups led by laser-focused founders: I met several innovative startups. While their tech was impressive, the founders stood out even more! They were SMART in their leadership and relentless focus. These founders are careful in how they spend money (like it was their own!), and laser focused on getting product-market fit, proving their first customer, and building an annual recurring revenue stream. >  A wave of women-led startups: It was also great to see a range of startups creating success with founders who were young and talented and women-led! > Old guard, new technology. Also, it’s energizing to see so many successful startups being launched by the ‘old guard’ like myself, bringing 30+ years of experience to new technology in our industry. It’s exciting times in #FoodTech—despite the challenging investment environment. I applaud the perseverance and resilience from founders and innovators that keeps our talent driving forward. Keep going! 

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Diageo doubles down on non-alcoholic spirits with the acquisition of Ritual Zero Proof & now owns three of the five world's largest non-alcoholic spirit brands Ritual Zero Proof was founded in 2019, and became the #1 non-alcoholic spirits player in the US after joining Diageo’s accelerator program in 2020. Five reasons why this deal makes sense: 1) Fast growing: The US non-alcoholic spirits has been the fastest growing category with +31% L5Y CAGR. 2) Incremental: 94% of non-alc buyers in the US also purchase alcoholic beverages, spending on avg $292 more than households exclusively purchasing alcohol demonstrating the incrementality of the category to beverage alcohol. 3) High Right-to-Win: Ritual is already a #1 non-alcoholic spirits player in the US, with a strong market position and tailwinds 4) Synergistic: being a #1 player globally in both alcoholic and non-alc spirits Diageo is well positioned to build on Ritual’s current success and scale it up further leveraging its GTM muscle and category expertise 5) Close to the Core: being a part of Diageo’s accelerator (Distill Ventures) since 2020, Ritual already knows what it takes to make cooperation with a spirits giant successful, limiting risks of integration challenges Exciting times for Diageo 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘂𝘀: FF&A solves the most complex strategic problems of the world's largest FMCG companies across Corporate Strategy, Organic Growth, Digital RTM (eCommerce, DTC, and eB2B) and M&A. 14 out of the world's 20 largest FMCG companies are repeat Clients 𝗧𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗰𝗳. 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗠&𝗔 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄: https://lnkd.in/efD5RNWX 𝗧𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 & 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: https://lnkd.in/ea4gy65y #fmcg #cpg #mergersandacquisitions https://lnkd.in/dXAZQ242 Pernod Ricard The HEINEKEN Company AB InBev Carlsberg Group Campari Group William Grant & Sons The Coca-Cola Company PepsiCo

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"Focusing on #yield may generate wins in the medium term, but it the long term it can place strain on the land and surrounding ecosystem – which further exacerbates the vulnerability of #coffeefarmers." - Coffee Intelligence “When dealing with nature and complex ecosystems, analysing them through the lens of a single metric, such as yield per hectare, is simplistic and often fails in the long term,” shares Beto Bina, CEO & Founder of FarFarm. To learn more, Sarah Charles speaks with Beto Bina and David Batres from Finca Batres, fourth generation coffee grower and CQI Php Assistant Instructor in Guatemala, about scaling isn’t always the answer for coffee producers. https://lnkd.in/exM3BEwn

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The orange 🍊 crisis continues unabated as climate-driven extreme weather, citrus greening disease and political instability in key orange-growing regions have severely disrupted supply chains and driven up prices to unprecedented levels. In an exclusive interview with Food Ingredients First, Kerry's Erlon Pereira dives into the perfect storm of challenges facing the orange 🍊 (and wider juice ) industries, as well as difficulties in the citrus 🍋 🍊 flavors sector. Supply chain constraints due to heatwaves, drought and citrus greening disease — an incurable bacterial infection that causes bitter, stunted fruit and kills trees within a few years — have led to soaring prices 💵 💲, up by more than 20% in a year. This price increase continues to create significant challenges for companies in the F&B industry while harvests are at a low. Meanwhile, the surge in prices 💰is forcing manufacturers and consumers to adapt, considering alternative fruit juices like pear, apple 🍎 🍏 and grape 🍇 to mitigate costs and supply chain disruptions. How can the team at Kerry help? The Kerry team has been working with beverage manufacturers for quite some time to help address the challenges they are facing with the citrus commodity market. Depending on the product application, whether it be a juice, soft drink or an alcoholic drink, Kerry has a comprehensive toolkit available that our applications teams can use to help our customers reduce their reliance on citrus commodities or truly reinvent their product with innovative consumer-focused concepts. Please do read the full article on the link below to find put more, and please do get in touch with the beverages team at Kerry, we are here to help. #beverages #orangejuice #taste #cirtus #orangejuicecrisis #Kerry #orange Thomas Hahlin Ahlinder John Savage Leigh-Anne Vaughan Sheelagh Pentony Samantha Fagundes de Toledo Marc LEJEUNE Farrah Gilsenan Breda Kelly Tiphaine BEAU Carol Dunne Gwyneth Kelly Michelle Osagie Gilles Halotel Michel Aubanel Sergio Saavedra Rodríguez Ian Chesworth Birgit Schaaf Aoife Mc Donald Elaine Druhan Erika Minaguchi Magdalena Edyta Przewoźnik Barbara Lezzer John Craven Mark Gallo Francois Sonneville Stephen Rannekleiv Bourcard Nesin Jim Watson Ton Mesters Sean Ging Sinéad Smith David Deeley Brian Short Kerry: Reducing reliance on citrus commodities as orange crisis continues to bite (foodingredientsfirst.com)

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When Consumers Pull Back, Only brands with high perceived value earn the right not to be traded down. This WSJ article (may be paywalled) made me reflect on how food companies adjust to consumer feedback. - Consumers are pulling back in the U.S. and China, indicating a slowdown in spending. - Restaurant chains and food manufacturers are responding to consumer dissatisfaction with high prices by offering deals and introducing new products. - Companies like Domino's Pizza are raising prices at a slower pace and implementing more discounts to attract customers back to their brands. Profit Margins Remain Strong for Food Industry: - Major restaurant chains and food manufacturers have seen profits soar, with some reaching or surpassing 2019 levels. - Gross margins for many food makers are at or near prepandemic levels, indicating financial stability. Economic Growth Boosts Food Company Earnings: - Food companies have enjoyed record quarterly profits, aligning with economic growth trends. - Efforts to become more efficient and scale back pandemic-era measures have contributed to increased profits. Consumer Response to Pricing Strategies: - Consumer sentiment on food prices is mixed, with concerns about overcharging and shrinking product sizes. - While some consumers are cutting back on dining out, others are adjusting to higher prices and looking for value deals. Promotions and Discounts to Drive Sales: - Companies like McDonald's and Starbucks are launching promotional offers to attract customers back and improve sales volumes. - Food makers like Mondelez and General Mills are lowering prices, offering discounts, and enhancing product taste to drive consumer interest. Challenges in Winning Back Consumer Trust: - Executives acknowledge the challenge of winning consumers back post-inflation, requiring sustained efforts and investments. - The slow pace of consumer trust rebuilding highlights the complexity of addressing pricing concerns and ensuring affordability. Focus on Value and Affordability: - Restaurants are emphasizing value meals and affordable options to retain and attract customers. - Food manufacturers are reducing prices, offering discounts, and improving product quality to maintain competitiveness. Future Strategies and Consumer Engagement: - Companies anticipate a gradual process in winning back consumer trust post-inflation and emphasize the need for sustained investments. - Enhanced promotions, discounts, and product improvements aim to engage consumers and drive sales growth. Hiring Slowdown Fuels Bets on Rate Cut: - A hiring slowdown is fueling expectations of a larger rate cut by the Federal Reserve. - This development reflects concerns about the economic outlook and the potential need for monetary policy adjustments. I write about training marketers so that CMOs have a focused team to build profitable brands. Get a copy of my BrandTips® newsletter. See more in the comments. #marketing #branding #management #mentoring

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