2022’s top M&A deals in the food and beverage industry

Even as businesses grappled with inflation, supply chain headaches and other challenges during 2022, top executives didn’t lose sight of the need to make acquisitions to better position their companies for the future.

For many buyers, purchasing an already consumer-tested brand or company provides a way to immediately gain a foothold into a category or strengthen their position in a space where they have an existing presence.

These deals also generate valuable insight into where top leaders are taking their business.

In June, Mondelēz International agreed to pay at least $2.9 billion for Clif Bar & Company to further expand its reach into the high-growth bar business. Confectionery giant Ferrero Group announced in December a deal to acquire ice cream maker Wells Enterprises, giving it ownership of some of the biggest brands in frozen treats, including Blue Bunny and Halo Top.

Flavors and ingredients, which have been a hotbed of M&A activity in recent years, showed no signs of letting up with a pair of multi-billion dollar deals in 2022. Dutch chemicals giant Royal DSM announced plans to merge with Swiss ingredients maker Firmenich in a deal valued at roughly $21 billion, and Novozymes is dolling out $12.3 billion for Chr. Hansen, creating another global ingredients giant.

While there were many deals that were transformative during the last 12 months, here are a dozen of the most notable: