Want to know where the consumer is headed? A look at some of the biggest deals in the ingredients business in 2021 is a veritable rundown of major trends shaping food and beverage development.
Several deals this year extended ingredients manufacturers’ reach into clean label — a movement that picked up steam during the pandemic, as consumers actively sought out food and beverages boasting natural flavors, preservatives, sweeteners and colors. From Kerry’s $1 billion purchase of Niacet’s clean-label preservatives portfolio to Givaudan’s acquisition of natural colors provider DDW, this drive toward more recognizable ingredients kept players eyeing their next pickup opportunity.
Interest in ingredients that support gut health also continued to fuel its share of deals, including Archer Daniels Midland’s purchase of Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes, and International Flavors & Fragrances’ $26.2 billion merger with DuPont’s Nutrition & Biosciences unit. And Tate & Lyle aimed to sharpen its focus on the burgeoning market for sugar and calorie reduction by selling off its Primary Products division, which produced corn-based sweeteners, industrial starches and acidulants.
Here’s a roundup of some of the most consumer-focused M&A deals shaping the ingredients space in 2021.
