Food, Beverage & Agribusiness
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FOOD, BEVERAGE & AGRIBUSINESS Q1 SECTOR UPDATE | MARCH 2018 CORPORATE STRATEGY | CAPITAL | ACQUISITIONS & DIVESTITURES | CORPORATE FINANCE WWW.OPUSAP.COM 1 FOOD, BEVERAGE & AGRIBUSINESS SECTOR UPDATE | MARCH 2018 INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS REPORT CONTENTS Opus Advisory Partners is pleased to provide you with its Q1 2018 Food, Beverage & Agribusiness (FBA) Sector Update, which • Industry Trends & Growth provides a summary of recent sector activity, market trends, operating metrics, valuation information and transaction activity. Opportunities • Food & Beverage Price Indices • Food & beverage input costs, as well as consumer prices, throughout the entire industry • Food for Thought have maintained stability over the past three years—we • Public company valuations and multiples are expected to • Subsector Stock Returns expect this trend to continue until the end of 2018 remain strong in 2018 despite earnings growth pressures • Acquisition Activity • Changing consumer preferences are driving increased and degradation of sales in traditional food staples • Notable Acquisitions demand for foods and beverages that are healthier and • We believe that selective acquisitions will continue to • Whole Foods Market Acquisition “better for you”—food and beverage manufacturers are enhance organic growth initiatives. Merger & acquisition • Growth & Valuation Metrics responding appropriately activity hit a high in 2017, and we expect the trend to • Operating Metrics • The Amazon-Whole Foods Market acquisition in August continue in 2018 as traditional food staples are replaced— • Appendix: Public Company Data 2017 has been transformative in many ways—we believe in particular for healthy, better-for-you foods and snacks • Appendix: Transactional Data that it will help shape overall consumer preferences, as well as niche brands with a strong consumer following. expectations and demand that will reverberate OPUS ADVISORY PARTNERS—OVERVIEW FBA TEAM CONTACTS FIRM OVERVIEW FOOD, BEVERAGE & AGRIBUSINESS (FBA) SECTOR Opus Advisory Partners publishes this Opus Advisory Partners advises clients on accelerating growth, Leveraging our midwestern and southern farming roots, and FBA sector update to support corporate building shareholder value, and maximizing returns. The firm having a genuine love and curiosity for foods and beverages, decision makers with their strategic provides advice and execution services to senior executives, our team is passionate about the FBA sector. planning, growth and transactional board members and key shareholders in the areas of corporate initiatives. strategy, corporate finance, M&A and debt & equity capital, This report is designed to provide insight to strategic decision Mark Forbess with a primary focus on growth and value creation. makers of standalone companies and divisions as it relates to Managing Director the food, beverage & agribusiness (FBA) sector, which we (404) 476-4471 Corporate Strategy define broadly to include foods and beverages, agricultural [email protected] • Shareholder Value Enhancement products and services, and related participants in the FBA • Market Expansion & New Market Entry ecosystem. Within the FBA sector, we include the following Lee Miklovic • M&A Integration end markets and niches: Managing Director (404) 476-4470 Investment Banking • Food, beverage and ingredient manufacturers [email protected] Debt & Equity Capital • • Growers, producers & processors Acquisitions & Joint Ventures Josh Baker • • Equipment & technology providers Divestitures & Buyouts Vice President • • Agricultural products manufacturers • Recapitalizations (404) 476-4472 [email protected] Corporate Finance Advisory More specifically, we cover branded and private label products, natural/organic foods, baked goods, dairy, non-alcoholic and • Valuations & Opinions To subscribe to our FBA sector update, alcoholic beverages, snacks, meats, fruits & vegetables, and • Scenario Modeling & Analysis please visit our website or email us at ingredients & flavors. • Restructurings [email protected]. 2 FOOD, BEVERAGE & AGRIBUSINESS SECTOR UPDATE | MARCH 2018 INDUSTRY TRENDS AND GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES In the last 12 months, there have been meaningful contain healthier Omega-3 fats with reduced sugar. We to growing consumer preferences while realizing developments within the overall FBA sector. Led by expect greater market penetration within plant-based greater efficiencies, improving food quality, and Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods in August 2017, dairy, including milk, yogurt, kefir and other related reducing labor costs. In addition, we expect that new we expect more industry changes in 2018. Changing products. food safety technologies, such as chromatography and consumer trends, especially among millennials, as well spectroscopy testing, will be utilized for more rapid as social media acceleration, have helped to rapidly Growth in Healthy, Better-For-You Products detection and increased accuracy. shape demand for healthier, natural, organic and more Foods and beverages are transitioning to healthier, customized food options. Evolving consumer tastes will more natural ingredients as consumers are prioritizing Continued Growth in Private-Label Brands require manufacturers to modify their product health and well-being over cost. Healthier alternatives Based on research from Nielson, private-label brands portfolios accordingly, largely through acquisitions of that include natural ingredients with reduced sugar, have grown 3% in the last year versus a decline of 0.5% proven, niche brands rather than commercialization of sodium and unhealthy oils, but without GMOs, artificial for branded products. Premium tier-5 private labels, in in-house R&D efforts. These changes in food flavorings or preservatives, are quickly becoming the particular, have grown 10% during the same period. preferences will likely motivate growers and processors norm. Consumers are becoming indifferent with regard to to modify their operations to accommodate natural and brand preferences, and we believe that this trend will organic offerings while adapting to changes in demand. Moderate levels of merger & acquisition activity are become the norm as private labels take over greater Traditional manufacturers will closely scrutinize their expected to continue in the healthy and better-for-you market share. Grocery retailers will be pressured to portfolio of products to make sure they are poised to categories, with particular emphasis on snack products. further develop their proprietary brands for grow shareholder value in line with consumer trends Acquisitions of growing niche brands with established differentiation, brand loyalty and profitability reasons, over the next five years. We expect increased consumer loyalty are likely to generate higher returns not to mention e-commerce scalability. Specialized acquisition activity in 2018 as a result. than unproven, internally developed products, which grocery retailers such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and require time and resources to develop a following. Over Sprouts have been particularly successful in growing Focus on Plant-Based Alternatives the last 12 months, we have seen notable acquisition their private labels and generating sustainable customer In the last several years, consumer demand for plant- activity in this overall category: loyalty. based foods (tofu, meat alternatives, dairy alternatives and egg substitutes) has accelerated. Plant-based • Kellogg’s acquisition of RXBAR ($600 million) Consumer Demand for Locally Sourced Foods products are now projected to grow to $5 Billion by • Hershey’s acquisition of Amplify Snack Brands A growing number of consumers are demanding “local” 2020. In 2017, Nestle announced the acquisition of ($1.6 Billion) foods and are willing to pay a premium, especially for Sweet Earth, a plant-based foods manufacturer of 48 • Conagra’s acquisition of Angie’s Artisan Treats foods that are fresh, healthy and have a story. The U.S. unique products that contain tofu, legumes and seitan ($250 million) Department of Agriculture estimates that sales of as meat alternatives. • Campbell Soup’s acquisition of Pacific Foods of locally produced foods, which were approximately $12 Oregon ($700 million) billion in 2014, will increase to $20 billion in 2019. As a Within the plant-based food segment, dairy alternatives • Unilever’s acquisition of Tazo Tea ($384 million) result, larger, national food brands are working hard to are growing rapidly, principally driven by taste and the appeal to consumers through a more localized brand elimination of artificial ingredients and GMOs. Plant- Advances in Food Processing presence. We believe that partnerships or co-branding based milk is a $2.1 Billion market that has grown 61% Food processing plants will begin to adopt more opportunities between national brands and regional from 2012 to 2017 (Mintel). Almond, soy, coconut and advanced technologies that increase flexibility, food producers could be an answer to consumer other dairy alternatives have been particularly popular customization, product traceability and safety among demand while generating greater revenue opportunities with consumers who are seeking options for health or other benefits. New extrusion methods have led to for food suppliers and brand loyalty to grocery retailers. lifestyle reasons. Other plant-based dairy products such upgrades or new introductions in healthy snacks that Such partnerships will need to be balanced with the as flax, hemp, oat, pecan