For decades, food and beverage companies could count on population growth and geographic expansion to create results. That engine has sputtered out, and investors have punished the sector for it—the industry shed nearly $1 trillion in enterprise value. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partners Duncan Miller and Frank Sänger speak with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about what’s behind the massive valuation drop, why the industry’s old moat—scale and brand loyalty—no longer holds, and why leaders in food and beverage should view AI not just as a cost-cutting tool but as the engine that funds growth itself.

The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.

 

Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com

 

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

For decades, food and beverage companies could count on population growth and geographic expansion to create results. That engine has sputtered out, and investors have punished the sector for it&mdash;the industry shed nearly $1 trillion in enterprise value. On this episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, Senior Partners <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/duncan-miller">Duncan Miller</a> and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/frank-sanger">Frank S&auml;nger</a> speak with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about what&rsquo;s behind the massive valuation drop, why the industry&rsquo;s old moat&mdash;scale and brand loyalty&mdash;no longer holds, and why leaders in food and beverage should view AI not just as a cost-cutting tool but as the engine that funds growth itself.
The McKinsey Podcast&nbsp;is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.
&nbsp;
Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com">TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com</a>
&nbsp;
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

The McKinsey Podcast, our new flagship podcast series, takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

The McKinsey Podcast features conversations with experts from global management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company, focusing on the issues that matter most in business and management.

The McKinsey Podcast

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey &amp; Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.