Yakult Honsha Valuation Multiples

AbbVie is a pharmaceutical firm with a strong exposure to immunology (with Humira, Skyrizi, and Rinvoq) and oncology (with Imbruvica and Venclexta). The company was spun off from Abbott in early 2013. The 2020 acquisition of Allergan added several new products and drugs in aesthetics, including Botox. The 2024 acquisitions of Cerevel (neuroscience) and ImmunoGen (oncology) help supplement AbbVie's portfolio.

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.

Since its founding in 1837, Procter & Gamble has become one of the world's largest consumer product manufacturers, with annual sales of nearly $85 billion. It operates with a lineup of leading brands, including more than 20 that generate annual global sales of more than $1 billion each, such as Tide laundry detergent, Charmin toilet paper, Pantene shampoo, and Pampers diapers. Sales outside its home turf represent just more than half of the firm's consolidated total.

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.

L’Oréal is the largest beauty product maker in the world, participating in categories including skin care (39% of sales), makeup (19%), hair care (24%), fragrance (14%), and sanitary products (4%). The firm also has a diversified geographic footprint, generating 33% of sales in Europe, 27% from North America, 24% in North Asia, and the rest from various emerging markets across South Asia, Latin America, and Africa. L’Oréal owns a mix of premium and mass beauty brands sold through a wide range of channels such as mass retail, drugstores, department stores, travel retail, e-commerce, hair salons, and medi-spas. Leading brands include Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Maybelline, Kiehl’s, L’Oréal Paris, Kerastase, CeraVe, Garnier, and Armani.

With roughly one-third of the global branded diabetes treatment market, Novo Nordisk is the leading provider of diabetes care products in the world. Based in Denmark, the company manufactures and markets a variety of human and modern insulins, injectable diabetes treatments such as GLP-1 therapy, oral antidiabetic agents, and obesity treatments. Novo also has a biopharmaceutical segment (contributing less than 10% of revenue) that specializes in protein therapies for hemophilia and other disorders.

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.

EssilorLuxottica is a combination of the leading manufacturer of premium frames and sunglasses and the leading manufacturer of optical lenses. Both companies are significantly larger than the next biggest competitor and command over 15% of the fragmented global eyewear market. The company has a broad geographical presence, with around 37% of sales in Europe, 45% in North America, and the rest in Asia and Latin America.

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.

Since its founding in 1806, Colgate-Palmolive has grown into a leading player in the household and personal care industry. In addition to its namesake oral care line (which accounts for more than 40% of its total sales), the firm manufactures shampoos, shower gels, deodorants, and home care products sold in over 200 countries. International sales account for about 70% of its total business, including approximately 45% from emerging regions. It also owns specialty pet food maker Hill's (around one-fifth of sales), which sells a majority of its products through veterinarians and specialty pet retailers.

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.

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.

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.

Galderma was formed in 1981 as a joint venture between Nestle and L’Oreal. It subsequently became a subsidiary of Nestle, called Nestle Skin Health, before being carved out and launched as a stand-alone company in 2019, acquired by a consortium led by Sweden-based EQT fund. The company went public in March 2024 and is listed on the SIX Swiss exchange. Galderma’s science-based portfolio spans multiple dermatology categories, including injectable aesthetics, dermatological skincare, and therapeutic dermatology. It derives around 40% of net sales from the US and employs around 7,00 people.

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.

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.

Bayer is a German healthcare and agriculture conglomerate. Healthcare provides close to half of the company's sales and includes pharmaceutical drugs (39% of total sales in 2024) as well as vitamins and other consumer healthcare products (13% of total). The firm's crop science business (49% of total) sells seeds, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, which was expanded through its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto.

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.

Reckitt Benckiser was formed in 1999 through the merger of the British firm Reckitt & Colman and Dutch-based Benckiser. Recently rebranded under the corporate name Reckitt, it sells a portfolio that includes a variety of household and consumer health brands, such as Lysol, Finish, Durex, and Mucinex, many of which hold a number-one or number-two position in their categories globally. Reckitt has repositioned its portfolio and has entered the infant formula market through the acquisition of Mead Johnson in 2017, expanded its consumer health presence by acquiring Schiff Nutrition, K-Y, and Biofreeze, and has exited the food industry. The firm operates in 60 countries and sells products in more than 200, generating over 35% of sales from emerging markets.

Haleon is one of the largest consumer health companies in the world. Formed by a combination of consumer health divisions of GSK, Pfizer, and Novartis, Haleon separated from GSK and went public in July 2022. The firm generates 60% of sales from global power brands including Sensodyne, Advil, Centrum, and Poligrip, that play in many geographies and are often leaders in their respective categories. It also has a number of local brands, including Emergen-C, Eno, Tums, and Caltrate, that are more tailored to regional needs and have strong local brand equity. Overall, Haleon’s brands tackle a variety of silos within consumer health including oral care, digestive health, pain relief, and nutrition.

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.

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.

Kenvue is the world’s largest pure-play consumer health company by sales, generating over $15 billion in annual revenue. Formerly known as Johnson & Johnson’s consumer segment, Kenvue spun off and went public in May 2023. It operates in a variety of categories within consumer health, such as cough, cold and allergy care, pain management, face and body care, and oral care, as well as women’s health. Its portfolio has some of the most well-known brands in the space, including Tylenol, Listerine, Johnson’s, Aveeno, and Neutrogena. Kenvue announced November 2025 that it signed a deal to be fully acquired by Kimberly-Clark with the deal expected to close during the second half of 2026.

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.

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.

Estée Lauder is a leader in the global prestige beauty market, participating across skin care (49% of fiscal 2025 sales), makeup (29%), fragrance (17%), and hair care and others (5%). Top selling brands include Estée Lauder, Clinique, M.A.C, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, and Origins. The firm operates in more than 150 countries, generating 31% of revenue from the Americas, 37% from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (including travel retail), and 32% from Asia-Pacific. Estée Lauder sells its products through department stores, travel retail, specialty multibrand beauty stores, brand-dedicated freestanding stores, e-commerce, salons/spas, and perfumeries.

Two distinct customer groups constitute Henkel. The consumer segment (around 50% of consolidated 2024 sales) is laundry and home care, including the Persil and Purex laundry detergent brands, and beautycare, including the Schwarzkopf brand in hair care and the Dial brand in hand soap. The adhesives technologies segment makes up the remaining 50% of sales. Sales in Europe accounted for 37% of the firm's consolidated total in 2024, while Asia-Pacific and North America accounted for 16% and 28%, respectively.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ulta Beauty is the largest specialized beauty retailer in the US with about 1,500 freestanding stores. The firm offers cosmetics (39% of 2024 sales), fragrances (13%), skin care (23%), and hair care products (19%). It also has salon services, including hair, makeup, skin, and brow, that account for about 4% of its revenue and drive traffic. Outside of the US, Ulta acquired premium beauty retailer Space NK and its 83 stores in the UK and Ireland in 2025, is opening franchised stores in Mexico, and has formed a joint venture to expand into the Middle East. In addition, Ulta collects royalties through its Target partnership (set to end in 2026) and credit card revenue. Ulta was founded in 1990 and is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

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.

Essity is a health and hygiene company spun out of Svenska Cellulosa in June 2017. Essity's products span the feminine care, baby care, toilet paper, facial tissue, and wet wipes categories, as well as hand soap, hand sanitizers, and tissue dispensers for institutional customers. Essity also offers medical solutions in the form of wound care, orthopedics, and compression therapy, accounting for around 8% of net sales. Essity operates in 150 markets and generates 60% of its revenue in Europe.

The product of a merger between Jacobs Douwe Egberts and Peet’s Coffee in 2019, JDE Peet’s is the world’s largest pure-play coffee and tea group by revenue, with operations in more than 100 developed and emerging countries. Its portfolio of over 50 brands is the largest in the coffee and tea categories and includes global labels such as Peet’s, Jacobs, L’OR, Senseo, and Tassimo, regional brands like Douwe Egberts, Stumptown, Kenco, Moccona, Intelligentsia, OldTown, and Super, and local marks such as Maison du Cafe in France, Harris in Australia, and Mighty Leaf Tea in the US. The group has a diverse go-to-market approach across the consumer packaged goods, out-of-home, retail, and online sales channels. JDE Peet’s was listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange in 2020.

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.

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.

Beiersdorf is a Germany-based company that produces personal-care products, with a focus on manufacturing cosmetic products. The company operates through two business segments. The consumer segment provides skincare and beauty care products and operates portfolio brands such as Nivea, Eucerin, La Prairie, Labello, Hansaplast, Elastoplast, and Florena. The other business segment markets self-adhesive system and product solutions, primarily for industrial customers, under the Tesa brand. Beiersdorf is majority-owned by Maxingvest.

Kao is the largest household and personal care product manufacturer in Japan, with a footprint across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Japan remains its largest market, contributing about 50% of sales and operating profits with several leading brands, including Attack and Bioré. Initially a soap producer established in the 1890s, Kao has expanded into cosmetics, disposable hygiene products, and chemicals, in addition to its homecare and toiletry products. Asia, the largest overseas market, contributes around 15% of group sales. Kao has also acquired several Western skin- and haircare brands, including Jergens, John Frieda, Curél, Molton Brown, and the latest, Oribe.