The Organic Food Craze and Rise of GLP-1’s: US Packaged Food Industry Landscape
How Will Shifting Retail Dynamics Impact the Packaged Food Industry in the US Market?
The US packaged-food industry looks mature on the surface, but Morningstar's analysis shows meaningful competitive separation beneath it. The packaged-food sector stands out in Morningstar's coverage, with 77% of companies earning an economic moat rating versus a 59% average across all sectors. That advantage traces back to intangible assets: brand strength and retailer relationships that make leading manufacturers difficult to dislodge from the supply chain.
Market concentration tells a more fragmented story. The top five US packaged food companies by revenue (PepsiCo, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, and Hershey) collectively hold just 17% of total US packaged-food sales. The industry's Herfindahl-Hirschman Index score of 155 sits far below the Department of Justice's threshold for a highly concentrated market.
Morningstar's Packaged Food: Industry Landscape report gives advisors, wealth managers, and asset managers the independent research needed to evaluate moat strength, margin resilience, and growth catalysts across 17 covered companies shaping the US industry.
