Africa Eats Valuation Multiples

Founded in 1886, Atlanta-headquartered Coca-Cola is the world’s largest nonalcoholic beverage company, with a strong portfolio of 200 brands covering key categories including carbonated soft drinks, water, sports, energy, juice, and coffee. Together with bottlers and distribution partners, the company sells finished beverage products bearing Coca-Cola and licensed brands through retailers and food-service locations in more than 200 countries and regions globally. Coca-Cola generates around two thirds of its total revenue overseas, with a significant portion from emerging economies in Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

With a 150-year-plus history, Nestle is the largest food and beverage manufacturer in the world by sales, generating roughly CHF 90 billion in annual revenue. Its diverse product portfolio includes brands such as Nescafe, Maggi, Nespresso, and Purina. The company employs 270,000 people around the world and has a vast portfolio of global products, with more than 30 brands each achieving more than CHF 1 billion in sales annually and a geographic presence that spans 185 countries.

PepsiCo is a global leader in snacks and beverages, owning well-known household brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Lay’s, Cheetos, and Doritos, among others. The company dominates the global savory snacks market and also ranks as the second-largest beverage provider in the world (behind Coca-Cola) with diversified exposure to carbonated soft drinks, or CSD, as well as water, sports, and energy drink offerings. Convenience foods account for approximately 58% of its total revenue, with beverages making up the rest. Pepsi owns the bulk of its manufacturing and distribution capacity in the US, but uses bottlers overseas for beverages. International markets made up 40% of both total sales and operating profits in 2024.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is the largest brewer in the world and one of the world's top five consumer product companies, as measured by EBITDA. The company's portfolio contains six of the top 10 beer brands by volume, according to Euromonitor, and we estimate it distributes 23 brands with retail sales over $1 billion. AB InBev was created by the 2008 merger of Belgium-based InBev and US-based Anheuser-Busch. The firm holds a 62% economic interest in Ambev, an 87% stake in Budweiser APAC, and in 2016 it acquired SABMiller.

Unilever is a diversified beauty, wellbeing, and personal care (44% of 2024 sales by value), homecare (20%), and packaged food (36%) company. Its brands include Dove personal-care products, Knorr soups and sauces, Hellmann's mayonnaise, Axe and Rexona deodorants, and TRESemme haircare. The firm has been acquisitive in recent years; notable purchases include Paula's Choice, Liquid I.V., Horlicks, and Wild deodorants. The company derives 58% of its sales from emerging markets and 42% from developed markets. The US is its largest market, accounting for around 20% of sales, followed by India, which accounts for 11% of sales.

Monster Beverage is a leader in the energy drink category within the nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverage market, generating two thirds of revenue in the US and Canada. The well-known Monster trademark includes brands such as Monster Energy, Monster Ultra, Java Monster, and Juice Monster. The firm also owns other energy drink brands, such as Reign, NOS, Burn, Bang and Mother, and brews and distributes beers and flavored malt beverages following the acquisition of a craft brewer in 2022. Monster controls branding and innovation but outsources beverage manufacturing and packaging to copackers and finished goods distribution to bottlers in the global Coca-Cola system (pursuant to a 20-year agreement inked in 2015). Coke is the largest shareholder of Monster with a 19.5% stake.

Mondelez has operated independently since its split from the former Kraft Foods North American grocery business in October 2012. The firm is a leading player in the global snack enclave with a presence in the biscuit (49% of sales as of the end of fiscal 2024), chocolate (31%), gum/candy (11%), beverage (3%), and cheese and grocery (6%) aisles. Mondelez's portfolio includes well-known brands like Oreo, Chips Ahoy, Halls, and Cadbury. The firm derives around one-third of its revenue from developing markets, more than one-third from Europe, and the remainder from North America.

Founded in 1996, Nongfu Spring is a leading beverage producer with products primarily in the packaged water, ready-to-drink tea, juice, coffee, and functional beverages sectors in China. It holds the number-one share in the bottled water market; this segment contributed approximately 40% of the firm’s revenue and EBIT in 2024.

Corteva is an agricultural inputs pure play that was formed in 2019 when it was spun off from DowDuPont. The company is a leader in the development of new seed and crop protection products. Seeds generate the majority of profits with the remainder coming from crop protection products. Corteva plans to spin off its seeds business in late 2026 and will become a pure-play crop protection company following the divestiture. Corteva operates globally, but around half of revenue comes from North America.

BASF is one of the world’s leading chemical companies. It's headquartered in Germany near the Rhine River, which helps with logistics-related savings. Founded in 1865, it produces a vast array of chemicals, plastics, resins, and agricultural solutions. While the company serves multiple industries, it most prominently serves the automotive, agricultural, construction, and pharmaceutical industries. BASF is a first mover in the energy transition and aims to rapidly expand its recycled and bio-based product portfolio.

Danone is a global food and beverage industry leader with more than EUR 27 billion annual revenue. Its operations are organized into three broad segments: essential dairy and plant-based products, representing just over half of group revenue; specialized nutrition; and bottled water. The firm's portfolio includes well-known brands such as Danone/Dannon dairy products, Alpro plant-based dairy, Aptamil infant milk formula, Evian and Volvic bottled water, and leading medical nutrition brands.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd is an Indian consumer goods company. The firm offers different brands from distinct categories, from cosmetics and hygienic items, including detergents, soaps, shampoos, skincare, toothpaste, and deodorants, to food and beverages (tea, coffee, packaged foods). Its product portfolio contains household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Pepsodent, Closeup, Pureit, Axe, Brooke Bond, Bru, Knorr, Kissan, Pond's, Vaseline, Lakme, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Kwality Wall's, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, and Fair and Lovely. The company's segments include Home Care, Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Foods, and others. Geographically, it generates a majority of its revenue from India.

CCEP is the second-largest bottling partner in the Coca-Cola system by volume, behind Coca-Cola Femsa, and primarily operates in developed Europe, Australasia, and Southeast Asia. In 2025, CCEP sold 3.9 billion unit cases of beverages, which we estimate equates to roughly 9% of the global Coke system volume.TCCC owns 19% of the equity of CCEP, Olive Partners, a holding company of bottling operations, owns a further 36%, and the remaining 45% is free float.

Grupo Nutresa SA is a processed food company that operates through eight business units: Cold Cuts, Biscuits, Chocolates, Tresmontes Lucchetti, Coffee, Retail Food, Ice Cream, and Pasta. The company's revenue comes from food products, Beverage, and others. The majority of the company's production and sales take place in Colombia.

Keurig Dr Pepper was established in 2018 following a merger between Keurig Green Mountain Coffee and Dr Pepper Snapple. The company manufactures and distributes coffee systems (including coffee brewers and single-serve coffee pods) under the Keurig and Green Mountain brands, as well as ready-to-drink beverages including flavored (non-cola) sparkling soft drinks under well-known brands such as Dr Pepper, Snapple, and Canada Dry. The company controls production and route to market for its own brands through in-house manufacturing plants and distribution infrastructure and leverages these facilities to manufacture and distribute for third-party coffee and beverage brands via licensing and partnership agreements. The US and Canada make up 95% of revenue, with the rest from Mexico.

Sysco is the largest US foodservice distributor with 18% share of the highly fragmented $377 billion domestic market. It distributes roughly 500,000 food and nonfood products to restaurants (60% of fiscal 2025 revenue), education and government buildings (8%), healthcare facilities (8%), travel and leisure (7%), and other locations (17%) where individuals consume away-from-home meals. In fiscal 2025, 70% of the firm’s revenue was derived from its US foodservice operations, while its international (18%), quick-service logistics (10%), and other (2%) segments contributed the rest.

Archer-Daniels-Midland is a major processor of oilseeds, corn, wheat, and other agricultural commodities. The company is also one of the largest grain merchandisers through its extensive network of logistical assets to store and transport crops around the globe. ADM also runs a nutrition business that focuses on both human and animal ingredients and is a large producer of corn-based sweeteners, starches, and ethanol.

Spun off from Roche in 2000, Givaudan is one of the world's leading flavor and fragrance manufacturers, with a presence in more than 80 countries. It sources more than 11,000 different ingredients from over 100 countries. The company serves end consumer markets with fragrances for personal, home, and laundry care brands, including prestige perfumes. In flavors, customers are in beverages, savory, snacks, sweet goods, and dairy. Givaudan has nearly 10,000 employees, and its perfumery team is the largest in the industry.

Hershey is a leading US confectionery manufacturer (around a $54 billion market, according to Euromonitor), controlling around 36% of the domestic chocolate aisle. Beyond its namesake label, the firm's portfolio has expanded over the last 85 years and now comprises 100 brands, including Reese's, Kit Kat, Kisses, and Ice Breakers. Hershey's products are sold in about 80 countries, albeit with just a high-single-digit percentage of sales coming from markets outside the US, including Brazil, India, and Mexico. The firm has sought inorganic opportunities to extend its reach beyond its core confectionery business, adding Amplify Snack Brands and its Skinny Pop ready-to-eat popcorn to its portfolio, as well as Pirate Brands and Dot's Pretzels over the past few years.

Created in 2018 as a result of the merger between PotashCorp and Agrium, Nutrien is the world’s largest fertilizer producer by capacity. Nutrien produces the three main crop nutrients—nitrogen, potash, and phosphate—although its main focus is potash, where it is the global leader in installed capacity with a roughly 20% market share. The company is also the largest agricultural retailer in North America and Australia, selling fertilizers, crop chemicals, seeds, and services directly to farm customers through its brick-and-mortar stores and online platforms.

Muyuan Foods Group Co Ltd is engaged in pig farming and pig sales. Its business activities include livestock breeding, the production and trading of breeding livestock and poultry, the trading of live livestock and poultry for Hong Kong and Macao, feed production, livestock slaughtering, food production and sales, and animal treatment services.

Novonesis was formed in 2024 through the merger of Novozymes and Chr. Hansen. Following the merger, the company became the world leader in industrial enzymes and microbial solutions, with a nearly 50% market share in both. The firm supplies a wide range of industry groups: household care, food and beverages, bioenergy, agriculture and feed, technical and pharmaceuticals. Its biological solutions create value for its customers by improving yield efficiency and performance, while saving energy and generating less waste. The company is headquartered in Denmark, employs around 10,000 people, and works across more than 30 research and development and application centers and 23 manufacturing sites.

Ajinomoto was founded in 1909, and it began manufacturing the world’s first umami seasoning, MSG, made from amino acids. It has since grown to be one of the top manufacturers of sauces and seasonings and has diversified into frozen foods and the manufacture of other amino acid-based materials. Its sauces and seasonings are sold across Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas and are found in most supermarkets, making up approximately 60% of its revenue. The remaining 40% is roughly divided into the healthcare and others segment and the frozen food segment. Its healthcare and others segment also includes functional materials, which include an organic resin material, Ajinomoto Build-up Film, which is currently the industry standard for ABF substrates for semiconductors.

In July 2015, Kraft merged with Heinz to create one of North America's largest food and beverage manufacturers. Beyond its namesake brands, its portfolio includes Oscar Mayer, Velveeta, and Philadelphia. While the retail channel drives around 85% of its total sales, the firm also maintains a growing foodservice presence. Outside North America, Kraft Heinz's global reach encompasses a distribution network in Europe and emerging markets, which accounts for around 25% of its consolidated sales base. The company's products are sold in more than 190 countries and territories.

Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food Company was founded in 1955 through the consolidation of 25 condiment producers in Foshan, Guangdong province of China. The company mainly manufactures soy sauces, oyster sauces, dipping sauces, and seasoning sauces. It is the leading condiment producer with number-one market share in soy sauces and oyster sauces in China.

Nestle India Ltd is a subsidiary of Nestle of Switzerland with business divided into milk products and nutrition, beverages, prepared dishes and cooking aids, chocolate and confectionery, and vending food services. Milk products and nutrition consist of nutritional products for infants and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. The Powdered and Liquid Beverages product division sells tea and instant coffee under the Nestea, Nescafe Classic, and Nescafe Gold brands. Prepared dishes and cooking aids comprise food-enriching flavors under the Maggi brand. The Confectionery products in chocolate and confectionery are KitKat, Munch Nuts, and Nestle Alpino. The company's business activity falls within a single operating segment, namely Food.

Swiss-based Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Spruengli is a manufacturer of premium chocolate. Key brands include Lindt, Lindor, Ghirardelli, Russell Stover, Whitman's, and Caffarel. The company bought US-based Russell Stover, its largest-ever acquisition, in 2014. It derives the bulk of its sales from Europe (47% of its consolidated base) but also competes in North America (40%) and the rest of the world (13%). The company operates 11 manufacturing plants in Europe and the United States. Its distribution network includes more than 550 own stores.

Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group is the largest dairy products producer in China, with the majority of revenue (around 70%) coming from the liquid milk segment. The company also manufactures ice cream, milk powder, and cheese products. Some flagship lineups include Satine, Yili Pure Milk, Ambrosial, and Changqing. The company also expands its overseas presence through setting up R&D centers and acquiring foreign dairy brands such as Westland in New Zealand and Chomthana in Thailand.

Church & Dwight is the leading global producer of baking soda. Its portfolio extends beyond its legacy category to include laundry products, cat litter, oral care, deodorant, and nasal care, all sold under the Arm & Hammer brand. Its brands also include Batiste, OxiClean, Vitafusion, Hero, and TheraBreath, which, together with Arm & Hammer, account for around 70% of its annual sales and profits. Most recently, the firm added Touchland and its hand sanitizer business to its fold. Even as it works to expand its product reach, Church & Dwight still derives around 80% of its sales from its home market in the US.

Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co Ltd operates in the dry inland Qarhan Salt Lake in Qinghai province. It is engaged in salt lake resource extraction and potash production. The company is engaged in the manufacture of chemical raw materials and chemical products. The company's main products include potassium chloride and lithium carbonate.

Coca-Cola HBC is the third-largest bottling partner in the Coca-Cola system by volume, behind Coca-Cola Femsa and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. In 2025, CCHBC sold 2.9 billion unit cases of beverages. There is a long tail of Coca-Cola distributors, including brewers and independent operators with very small distribution territories.CCHBC is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Kar-Tess, a Luxembourg-based holding company, owns 23% of the equity of CCHBC, and Coca-Cola holds a further 21%. The remaining 56% is free float.

Bunge Global SA is an agribusiness solutions company, connecting farmers to consumers and delivering essential food, feed and fuel to the globe. The company segments include Soybean Processing and Refining; Softseed Processing and Refining; Other Oilseeds Processing and Refining; Grain Merchandising and Milling; and Corporate and Other. It generates maximum revenue from the Soybean Processing and Refining segment, which includes integrated business principally involved in the purchase, storage, transportation, processing, distribution, refining, marketing, and sale of soybeans and soybean related products, as well as biodiesel and fertilizer production and distribution. Geographically, the company operates in United States, Switzerland, Netherlands, and Rest of the World.

General Mills is a global packaged-food company that produces snacks, cereal, convenient meals, dough, baking mixes and ingredients, pet food, and superpremium ice cream. Its largest brands are Nature Valley, Cheerios, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Blue Buffalo, and Haagen-Dazs. In fiscal 2025, 81% of its revenue was derived from the United States, although the company also operates in Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Latin America. Although most of General Mills' products are sold through retail stores to consumers, the company also sells products to the foodservice channel and the commercial baking industry.

Tyson Foods is a protein-focused food producer, selling raw chicken, beef, pork, and prepared foods. Chicken and beef are its two largest segments, composing about 40% and 30% of sales, respectively. Prepared foods constituted 18% of fiscal 2025 sales and include brands like Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, and Sara Lee. However, most of these are in product categories rife with competition where Tyson does not have a massive market share lead. Tyson sells some products overseas, but the international segment accounts for just 4% of total revenue. The company is an active acquirer, with more recent years' purchases focused on international and food-service markets.

Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co Ltd is engaged in research and development, production, and sales of kitchen food, feed ingredients, and oil technology products. The company operates through three segments: Kitchen Food; Feed raw materials and oil technology; and Others. The Kitchen Food segment covers household and industrial products, including edible oils, rice, flour, noodles, condiments, and related raw and auxiliary materials. The Feed raw materials and oil technology segment provides soybean meal, bran, rice bran meal, along with oil-based and oil-derived chemicals, nutritional products, and daily chemicals from palm oil and other oils. The Others segment is engaged in other businesses. It generates the majority of its revenue from the Kitchen Food segment.

Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients, and retail group with 138,000 employees and operations in 56 countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Australia. The group sells branded groceries, grows and processes sugar, supplies farmers with crop input and animal feed, and runs the multinational Primark clothing retail chain. It also supplies ingredients like bakers' yeast, enzymes, lipids, and cereal specialties. In fiscal 2025, approximately 36% of sales came from the UK, and Primark accounted for around 60% of operating profit.On Nov 4, 2025, ABF announced it has been conducting a strategic review to potentially separate the Primark and Food businesses. A final decision is expected within 12-18 months.

CF Industries is a leading producer and distributor of nitrogen, which is primarily used in fertilizers. The company operates nitrogen manufacturing plants primarily in North America. CF also produces nitrogen in the United Kingdom and holds a joint venture interest in a nitrogen production facility in Trinidad and Tobago. CF makes nitrogen primarily using low-cost US natural gas as its feedstock, making the company one of the lowest-cost nitrogen producers globally. It is also investing in carbon-free blue and green ammonia, which can be used as an alternative fuel to hydrogen or as a means to transport hydrogen.

Arca Continental is a major bottler for Coca-Cola, generating 94% of sales and nearly all profits by manufacturing and distributing sodas and nonsparkling drinks under Coca-Cola brands, which it sells to retailers and foodservice providers in the US and Latin America. Food and snacks under Arca’s own brands make up the rest of its revenue. By region, Mexico remains the largest beverage market, contributing 43% of sales, followed by the US (34%), Peru (8%), Ecuador (4%), and Argentina (5%). Coca-Cola has a 20% stake in AC Beverages, the entity that holds Arca’s beverage assets in the US and Latin America.

Wilmar International Ltd is a processor of palm and lauric oils and a producer of consumer pack edible oils. Its operating segment includes Food Products; Feed and Industrial Products; Plantation and Sugar Milling, Associates and Joint Ventures and others. The company generates maximum revenue from the Feed and Industrial Products segment. Its Feed and Industrial Products segment comprises the processing, merchandising, and distribution of products, which includes animal feeds, non-edible palm and lauric products, agricultural commodities, oleochemicals, gas oil, and biodiesel. Geographically, it derives a majority of revenue from the People's Republic of China.

Coca-Cola Femsa, a subsidiary of Femsa, is the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola in volume terms. The company purchases beverage concentrates and syrup from Coca-Cola, which it then processes and packages for distribution through modern trade, traditional trade, and the on-premises channel. Mexico and Brazil make up 80% of the total volume and sales, with the rest from other Central and South American countries, including Panama, Guatemala, Uruguay, and Argentina. Femsa and Coca-Cola hold 47% and 28% economic interests in Coca-Cola Femsa through nonpublicly traded A and D shares, respectively, while controlling 56% and 33% of the voting power.

Industries Qatar QSC, along with its subsidiaries, operates in the following reportable segments: Petrochemicals, Fertilisers, and Steel. Maximum revenue is generated from the Fertilisers segment, which produces and sells urea, ammonia, and other by-products. The Petrochemicals segment produces and sells ethylene, polyethylene, MTBE, methanol, and other petrochemical products; and the Steel segment produces and sells steel pellets, bars, billets, and others.

SABIC Agri-Nutrient Co is engaged in the production, conversion, manufacturing, and trade of agri-nutrients and chemical products. Also, the Company is engaged in the marketing of agri-nutrient products of all types inside and outside KSA. The Group is organised into two segments; The Agri-Nutrients and The Petrochemicals. The majority of revenue is derived from the Agri-Nutrients segment.

Kerry Group is a leading taste and ingredient technology company and an innovation partner for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical sectors. The company has more than 200 locations that supply clients in more than 50 countries. Its taste and nutrition unit earns around 70% of its revenue from developed countries and 30% from the developing world, servicing a wide range of sectors, such as meat, meals, snacks, dairy, drinks, and pharmaceuticals. Kerry has expanded through a combination of organic development and dozens of tuck-in acquisitions.

Varun Beverages Ltd is engaged in manufacturing, selling, bottling, and distribution of beverages of the Pepsi brand in geographically pre-defined territories of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Zambia, Morocco, and Zimbabwe. Its brands include Seven-Up, Mountain Dew, Mirinda, Nimbooz, Tropicana Slice, and other related products. The firm generates a majority of its revenue within India.

Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV is an international baking-products manufacturer. The company operates in over 22 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The firm's key product categories are packed bread, sweet baked goods, salty snacks, cookies, solutions (tortillas, pitas, wraps), prepacked foods, confectionery, and others. The key brands are Bimbo, Ideal, Ricolino, Oroweat, Arnold, Thomas, and Sara Lee. Grupo Bimbo has a large direct distribution network that allows the company to distribute products from its plants (based in Uruguay, Rio de Janeiro, China, Santiago de Chile, and Argentina) to sales centers and warehouses.

In its 135-plus-year history, McCormick has become the leading global manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of spices, herbs, extracts, seasonings, and other flavorings. Beyond consumers, McCormick's customer base includes quick-service restaurants, retail grocery chains, and other packaged food and beverage manufacturers. Its reach is extensive, with nearly 40% of sales generated beyond its home turf to 150 countries and territories. In addition to its namesake brand, the firm's portfolio includes Old Bay, Zatarain's, Thai Kitchen, Frank's RedHot, French's, and Cholula, among others.

JBS NV is a protein food company, selling protein products, which include fresh and frozen cuts of beef, pork, lamb, fish, whole chickens, and chicken parts, to retailers (such as supermarkets, club stores and other retail distributors), and foodservice companies (such as restaurants, hotels, foodservice distributors and additional processors). The food products are marketed under different brands such as Swift, Just Bare, Pilgrim’s Pride, Sunnyvalley, Reserva Friboi, Great Southern, etc., globally. The company's reportable segments are Beef North America, which generates maximum revenue, Brazil, Seara, Pork USA, Pilgrim’s Pride, Australia, and Others. Geographically, it derives key revenue from North and Central America, followed by South America, Australia, Europe, and other regions.