Food & Beverage

Rated A-Z

Anheuser-Busch Inbev	Belgium	B-
Arla	Denmark	B+
Asahi	Japan	B+
Bonduelle	France	B
Campbell Soup	U.S.	C+
Carlsberg	Denmark	B+
Cloetta	Sweden	A
Coca-Cola	U.S.	B
Conagra Foods	U.S.	C
Danone	France	B+
Diageo	UK	B+
Frieslandcampina	Netherlands	B
General Mills	U.S.	B+
Heineken	Netherlands	B
Hershey	U.S.	C
Kellogg	U.S.	C+
Kirin	Japan	B
Kraft Heinz	U.S.	C-
Lindt & Sprüngli	Switzerland	B
Nestle	Switzerland	B+
Parmalat	Italy	C+
PepsiCo	U.S.	B-
Pernod Ricard	France	B+
Sapporo	Japan	B-
Wessanen	Netherlands	B+

Ranked

Screenshot of Cloetta's annual report 2016

Cloetta	Sweden	A
Arla	Denmark	B+
General Mills	U.S.	B+
Danone	France	B+
Pernod Ricard	France	B+
Wessanen	Netherlands	B+
Asahi	Japan	B+
Carlsberg	Denmark	B+
Diageo	UK	B+
Nestle	Switzerland	B+
Heineken	Netherlands	B
Bonduelle	France	B
Kirin	Japan	B
Lindt & Sprüngli	Switzerland	B
Coca-Cola	U.S.	B
Frieslandcampina	Netherlands	B
Anheuser-Busch Inbev	Belgium	B-
Sapporo	Japan	B-
PepsiCo	U.S.	B-
Parmalat	Italy	C+
Kellogg	U.S.	C+
Campbell Soup	U.S.	C+
Conagra Foods	U.S.	C
Hershey	U.S.	C
Kraft Heinz	U.S.	C-

Compared

Chart comparing food and beverage companies

Noticed

Arla

A pleasant read from a land of milk, e.g. about the focus, business priorities, and the risk landscape. The cooperative model for profit appropriation is well explained too. A separate booklet displays financial highlights, and notes to statements are a model of clarity.

Asahi

Rich in strategic content and developments yet sometimes labyrinthine.

Carlsberg

Not bad but not refreshingly cool either. Still, notes to statements and accounting policies are presented to be read methodically and effectively.

Coca-Cola

A smooth handover from the past to the future CEO, backed with confident statements: We manage this business not only for the next quarter but also for the next quarter century. But summaries are very, er, summarized, and the 10-K is indigestible.

Diageo

We are passionate about alcohol playing a positive role in society as part of a balanced lifestyle (sic): PCness at its best, sustained (?) in later sections. That said, the review of businesses -and depth of segmentation- and performance indicators are dealt thoroughly.

General Mills

Not too much the run-of-the-mill report made in USA, especially thanks to a Global Responsibility report (published apart) that contains an appreciable amount of information (e.g. Material issues across our value chain, matter-of-fact overviews and strategies and actions, performance dashboards...).

Heineken

No heady brew. Design lacks character and looks like a number of reports made in... London over at least three decades. Strategy sounds as if was business as usual.

Kellogg

Unpalatable (reporting) food.

Lindt & Sprüngli

The quality of chocolate might be exceptional -at least for some- but the report is quite conventional nevertheless.

Nestle

A curious way of defining Operational pillars, Growth drivers and Competitive advantages circling around an all-embracing objective. Geographical segmentation is questionable. Why distinguishing organic growth from real internal growth (sic)? Published alongside, Nestlé in society fairly assesses progress made on an impressive number of issues.