Marketing AI Professor | AI x Food x Marketing | Demand x Growth | Strategic Advisor & Consultant | Fractional CMO | Keynote Speaker
The Del Monte Foods bankruptcy is a warning for the food industry. Del Monte survived 140 years. Two world wars. The Great Depression. Countless recessions. But it couldn't survive changing grocery shopping habits. Think about it… for most of human history, the biggest food challenge was preservation. How do you keep fruit fresh when there's no refrigeration? How do you feed soldiers on long campaigns? How do you stock remote mining towns? Del Monte's answer: Put it in a can. Genius. For over a century, shelf stable was a competitive advantage. Now we think: canned = processed preservatives = unhealthy shelf-stable = why not just buy fresh? That same preservation technology is now the exact reason consumers reject them. We've moved from a world of food scarcity to food abundance. When food was scarce, preservation was valuable. When food is abundant, freshness becomes the premium. Del Monte’s $125M interest expense and rising steel tariffs are just the financial symptoms. The root problem is existential: their core competency became their core liability. They’re not alone. Over the last 18 months, the food industry has experienced its most dramatic restructuring in decades: → $40B+ in M&A deals → 49% spike in bankruptcies → 30+ food companies filed with liabilities exceeding $4B combined Mars dropped $35.9B to buy Kellanova. PepsiCo is spending billions too to scoop up better for you brands. Many legacy players are quietly restructuring or going away altogether. The companies that survive market shifts don't just adapt their products…they completely reimagine what problem they're solving. So I keeping asking myself…What strength in the food industry might actually be tomorrow's weakness? Because if a 140 year track record can vanish that fast...what is truly safe?
Well damn! This is quite insightful. What are some warning signs to recognize the paradigm shift?
Good reminder that preferences and trends can change - even industries that have been around for over a century.
Great insight Alicja Spaulding and pivotal question posed, what brands will shift, and adjust to our evolving industry???
Spot on, strong positioning is contextual and often short-term, i.e. canned = processed. The associations have dramatically shifted! As a marketer outside the food industry, I was surprised they fell off, but your breakdown makes it reallllly clear how they became irrelevant.
TLDR: corporate greed. Don't sell. Stay Family Owned For a brand that is approaching 140 years my take is that this is more about the financial markets than anything else. For the last 30 years Del Monte has been In & out of ownership and receivership from PE, multinationals, ConAgra and hi-net worth family owned, where there was ample opportunity for personal wealth management taxation policies chosen over corporate health. It is an incredible opportunity as they currently own private label, branded, and budget friendly to organic certified. In an age where prepping and war mongering spur on bunkernomics and canned and frozen food resurgence Del Monte's system of source and distribution are worth their weight in golden hues of corn they are so famous for. Snap this baby up for revivalnomics. -Joshua 💙,🧥
I read this a couple of years ago, it struck a cord, average lifespan of a Fortune 500 company is now estimated at 15 years... https://www.ey.com/en_us/insights/consulting/how-businesses-can-stand-the-test-of-time
Here's an episode of Plain English on the related issues of UPFs. https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/plain-english-with-derek-thompson/2025/06/11/why-are-americans-so-unhealthy-part-i-is-ultra-processed-food-killing-us
Thanks for the wonderful insights here. There are better technologies and positioning that serve modern customer needs. I have marveled for years at our supposed challenger brands positioning, archaic, low quality, food in environmentally unfriendly steel and aluminum cans as a form of innovation. Clearly, it is not. The future belongs to the bold.
Alicja Spaulding your analysis of Del Monte's downfall is insightful, aligns with the 2025 Voice of the Consumer findings. With 62% of respondents prioritizing concerns about ultra-processed foods over price, nutrition and sustainability. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/c-suite-insights/voice-of-the-consumer-survey.html
Strategic Event Expert | Project & Program Management | Product & Process Design Optimization | Distributed Communications Specialist | Logistics and Operations | CMP | CTS | SMM Certified
2moWhat If: it is all by design. Leveraged roll ups, further consolidation and control over the food supply. What if? Is it too far fetched to imagine, or even question?