Portfolio changes, factory closures, food safety and initialisms like ESG and GLP-1 were among the topics on Just Food’s news pages that caught your eye throughout the year.
Stories from Unilever’s plan to offload its ice-cream arm, to the scrutiny of companies’ sustainability efforts and to the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss medication proved especially popular during 2024.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Scroll down for a flavour of the stories that shaped the food-industry agenda over the last 12 months.
Oatly greenwashing suit to be settled
21 February
Investors suing Sweden’s Oatly have asked a federal judge to approve a $9.25m settlement, after accusing the oat dairy-alternative business of greenwashing.
Nestlé launches Mexican, Asian cuisine brands in US
11 October
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By GlobalDataNestlé is set to launch a range of frozen meals in the US based on Asian and Mexican cuisines as it looks to tap into “new flavours and food options”.
PepsiCo to close US Quaker Oats facility hit by salmonella recall
4 April
PepsiCo is to permanently close a Quaker Oats factory in the US, local government officials have said.
UK competition regulator to examine infant-formula market
20 February
UK competition officials are to examine the country’s infant formula market after finding prices in the sector had jumped in recent years.
Tony’s Chocolonely “forced” to change packaging after Mondelez legal move
22 February
Tony’s Chocolonely has been “forced” to change the colour of its packaging in Germany after legal action from Mondelez International.
Nearly a third of jobs cut at PepsiCo US Frito-Lay plant
31 May
Close to 30% of jobs are set to go at a PepsiCo Frito-Lay crisps manufacturing factory in Middletown, New York State.
Unilever to address “disappointing” ice-cream performance amid private-label pressures
8 February
Unilever will seek to address headwinds in its ice-cream business this year after a poor performance in 2023.
Kerry Dairy launches “category-first” dairy-and-oat hybrid range
19 March
Kerry Dairy Consumer Foods has claimed a UK “category-first” with a new chilled brand, Smug Dairy, that blends oats and dairy.
Walmart to fork out up to $45m after settling food overcharging lawsuit
9 April
Walmart has settled a class-action lawsuit that accused the US retail giant of overcharging for certain food items.
Nestlé accused of “double standards” over sugar in baby formula, cereals
17 April
Areport claims Nestlé adds sugar and honey to certain brands of infant-formula and breakfast cereals in poorer countries, a practice not evident in Europe.
Oatly incurs hefty impairment for decision to abandon new factories
15 February
Loss-making Oatly has booked a hefty impairment charge related to last year’s decision not to proceed with the construction of three manufacturing plants.
PepsiCo ends Doritos partnership with Samantha Hudson after social media backlash
7 March
PepsiCo has ended a partnership between its Doritos crisps brand and the Spanish transgender influencer Samantha Hudson.
Carrefour confirms Polish delistings of PepsiCo products
8 January
Carrefour has also delisted PepsiCo products in Poland, the fifth country to feel the impact of the companies’ dispute over prices.
Fines for Bonduelle and Unilever in France over BPA law breach, General Mills also penalised
11 January
Bonduelle, Unilever and General Mills are among 11 food companies being fined for working to hide the presence or absence of bisphenol A (BPA) in their packaging, France’s official competition watchdog has confirmed.
Danone to close yogurt factory in Spain
12 January
French dairy giant Danone has confirmed it intends to shut its dairy and plant-based yogurts facility in Parets del Vallès, located north of Barcelona, Spain.
Lino Saputo to step down as dairy giant’s CEO as Carl Colizza named successor
15 May
Lino Saputo Jr. will relinquish his role as CEO at the Canadian dairy company that bears his name in August, a position he has held for more than two decades.
JBS struck off SBTi climate commitment register
11 March
JBS‘s targets on emissions have been removed from the website of the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), sparking more questions about the meat giant’s efforts to make its business more environmentally sustainable.
Nestlé to launch GLP-1-friendly products
21 May
Nestlé is set to launch a range of meals in the US designed as a “companion” for those taking GLP-1 weight-loss medication.
Kellanova to close sites in North America, Europe
8 February
Cereal giant Kellanova today (8 February) set out plans to close two factories as part of efforts to drive efficiency and increase productivity.
US-based Ocho Candy ceases operations
12 February
US-based organic confectionery maker Ocho Candy has ceased operations after 14 years in business.
Plenty enters joint venture for five vertical strawberry farms in GCC
18 July
Plenty Unlimited plans to build five vertical farms in the UAE in partnership with a local investor to cultivate strawberries.
Hundreds of jobs to go as fresh produce supplier UK Salads goes under
4 March
A major UK producer of salad items has gone into administration with some 200 employees being made redundant as a result.
McCain, Lamb Weston among frozen-food firms facing price-fixing lawsuits
19 November
McCain Foods and Lamb Weston Holdings are among a group of frozen-potato product suppliers facing US lawsuits linked to claims of price-fixing.
Two deaths in Canada linked to listeria in plant-based milk alternatives
18 July
Two consumers in Canada have died after listeria infections linked to the recall of plant-based milk alternatives sold by Danone and Walmart.
