Reigniting CPG Growth Through Portfolio M&A and Divestitures
CPG companies are using M&A to prune slow categories, rotate into premium and better-for-you growth pockets and capture cost synergies, so deal value rose even as deal count fell.
Summary
Deal value grew over 50 percent to about $152 billion in 2025 while deal count fell from 180 to 140, driven by megadeals such as Kimberly-Clark/Kenvue (about $49 billion) and Keurig Dr Pepper/JDE Peet's. Food value rose nearly 70 percent excluding the 2024 Mars-Kellanova outlier. Companies are splitting up (Kraft Heinz, Keurig Dr Pepper) and chasing synergies. Expected 2026 drivers are spin-offs, activist investors, consolidation for efficiency and GLP-1 demand shifts.
Editor's opinion
CPG M&A is accelerating (food deal value +70% excluding 2024 outlier); companies are using acquisitions and divestitures to restructure portfolios as growth slows and consumer loyalty erodes in
Key concepts
Portfolio realignment · Separations and spin-offs · Cost synergies · Rotation into high-growth adjacencies