Beverages

EU firms’ barriers to Russia re-entry are sky-high

10 Mar 2025

Groups like Renault and Inditex quit the country after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Contracts make it theoretically feasible for them to return. But even if a peace deal proves possible, the risks are too great for European groups to go back.

Bubble tea giant gives Hong Kong needed IPO jolt

3 Mar 2025

The 42% pop in early trading for Mixue, China’s dominant chain with more shops than Starbucks, shows scale still sells on the street and in the market. The city’s largest listing this year augurs well for bigger debuts to come — including battery maker CATL’s $5 bln offering.

Sober Diageo makes for a sour investor cocktail

4 Feb 2025

CEO Debra Crew abandoned the $64 billion drinks maker’s sales target, without offering new guidance. And her twin engines of tequila and Guinness are exposed to US tariffs, or not richly valued by investors. High debt may force her to cut costs and sell assets, risking growth.

Big Booze speeds towards low-growth tobacco status

7 Jan 2025

The US surgeon general wants health warnings on alcohol bottles. Declining drinking rates have already shrunk the valuations of brewers like Carlsberg to 12 times forward earnings, nearing tobacco levels. Higher-rated spirits groups like $70 bln Diageo may have further to fall.

Moutai will raise a glass to its LVMH moment

2 Jan 2025

China’s $260 bln liquor giant wants to appeal to young shoppers. A tie-up with local sportswear retailer Li Ning can be the answer. Moutai’s $25 bln cash pile and the potential target’s beaten-down valuation offer a tantalising opportunity to create a national consumer champion.

Starbucks coffee in China is better served to-go

27 Nov 2024

New boss Brian Niccol has a geographical dilemma. Crazy concoctions are flustering US baristas while Chinese customers want more new beverages. He’s better off focusing on the home market and spinning off the second-biggest business. It’s probably only worth about $7 bln anyway.

Drink giants’ risky new plan: quantity not quality

1 Oct 2024

Liquor makers like $80 bln Diageo until recently focused on ‘premiumisation’, where customers consume less alcohol but pay up for fancy brands. With punters feeling the pinch, that strategy looks dicey. Yet flogging more cheap booze is optically awkward and financially painful.

Franco-US food M&A is $10 bln recipe for heartburn

26 Sep 2024

Sodexo, the $13 bln caterer, is eyeing US rival Aramark according to Bloomberg. The returns look low, absent huge cost savings, and a cash deal would leave a debt headache. Recent iffy takeovers in the business-services sector show that scale isn’t always worth the risk.

New consumer CEOs start life in the slow lane

24 Sep 2024

Nike joined Campari, Nestlé and Starbucks in abruptly ditching its boss. There’s plenty of scope for the new CEOs to remedy their predecessors’ missteps. But a common thread at the four groups is slowing sales amid consumer weakness, making the turnaround jobs much tougher.

Seven & i deal will test Japan’s financial renewal

5 Sep 2024

Couche-Tard’s takeover interest in the 7-Eleven owner is a pivotal moment for the country’s efficiency drive. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain why Tokyo ought to wait to see how the target reacts before opining, and how a deal could easily turn hostile.

Nestlé’s CEO switch serves up unappetising menu

23 Aug 2024

The $275 bln consumer-goods group is replacing its boss of eight years, Mark Schneider, with insider Laurent Freixe. Weak sales and a sliding valuation probably justify the abrupt change. But investors will fear it heralds a more painful turnaround than they previously expected.

Big Beer’s stumbles leave investors ice cold

14 Aug 2024

Heineken shares are down after it disappointed investors hoping for a sport-fuelled profit party. Rival Carlsberg’s valuation has fallen due to a $4 bln soft drinks takeover. For CEOs, emerging markets growth and deals in the right areas are the only way to add fizz to stocks.

Diageo’s succession hangover has fuzzy duration

30 Jul 2024

The $67 bln drinkmaker’s 2023 promotion of CEO Debra Crew was seamless. But Diageo’s share price has slumped since, and some of the problems are self-inflicted. Crew’s future may hinge on a rebound of US consumer sentiment, rather than any bold change of strategy.

Consumer titans have Covid-era issue, in reverse

26 Jul 2024

In the pandemic, Nestlé and Unilever’s higher prices were accompanied by falling sales. Now they are tempting consumers to buy more products, but prices are harder to budge. One issue hasn’t changed: the giants’ vulnerability to cheaper and healthier eating habits.

Booze-free beverages are no small beer

11 Jul 2024

Carlsberg’s $4 bln deal to buy soft-drinks maker Britvic is just the latest foray by a big brewer into serving the alcohol-averse. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss whether it’s a seismic tobacco-like shift or a frothy attempt to fizz up profit margins.

EU’s China trade weak spots hide in plain sight

9 Jul 2024

Beijing may retaliate after Brussels imposed tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Of the 5,000 product groups the People’s Republic imports from the EU, many are too crucial or too small to bother with. But luxury goods, petrol cars and some foods are plausible targets.

Big Beer’s low-alcohol Plan B has too much froth

9 Jul 2024

Carlsberg, AB InBev and Asahi have set toppy targets for their teetotal products. Health concerns and Gen Z’s aversion to alcohol imply that’s a safe bet. But at $13 bln the market is still puny – and if the likes of Coca-Cola muscle in there will be a smaller barrel to share.

Moutai rout is China’s latest confidence crisis

9 Jul 2024

Falling liquor prices have lopped $60 bln off the market cap of the world’s most valuable distiller, once viewed as resilient in the face of sluggish consumption. The sudden sell-off shows just how fragile sentiment in the world’s second-largest economy has become.

Britvic can swerve Carlsberg dilution

21 Jun 2024

The soft drinks maker rebuffed a $4 bln cash deal from the Danish beer giant. Carlsberg wants to boost its no-alcohol business, so may yet return with a more generous offer. But Britvic’s cocktail of geographic expansion and low-sugar drinks means it can also grow on its own.

Big Macs are pricing out American shoppers

23 May 2024

The driving force of the world’s largest economy, US consumers, may be buckling under higher costs on everything from lattes to burgers. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate whether Main Street stalwarts like Starbucks or McDonald’s face a reckoning.