The food industry saw 505 mergers and acquisitions in 2016, according to the Food Institute as reported by Food Processing. This is up a smidge from 2014, which saw 503 deals, but still way below the record of 813, recorded in 1999.
Among industry segments, food processors were the most active, beating their 2015 M&A activity by 6%. This movement was driven by larger manufacturers acquiring smaller artisanal brands.
Read a more detailed summary at Food Processing or download your own copy of the report.