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Les 100 premiers groupes  agroalimentaires mondiaux - 2008 : 

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The World's Top 100 Food Companies - 2008 :

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■ The World's Top 100 Food Companies : presentation & methodology / présentation & méthodologie : download 

Top 100 2008 Presentation / Présentation du Top 100 2008 :

This “World's Top 100 Food Companies 2008” was carried out starting from the Food Intelligence global database “WFC 1000” (World Food Companies 1000).                                                                                                       It presents, analyzes (strategic study) ang lists (ranks) the 100 main (big, large,...) food and beverage (or "drinks") groups (firms, enterprises) in the world. The ranking is updated every year.

The ranking gives for each firm its global net sales and its food net sales.  
The rank allotted to the company is a function of food net sales exclusively.

Net sales are expressed in € million (millions of Euros). The figures are those of the last closed fiscal year (ending in 2007 or in 2006) published by the companies (very exceptionally estimated by Food Intelligence). The conversion basis of a currency is its average exchange value in Euros during the whole year 2006.

                                              ■ Food Universe

 The “food” (and beverages!) products sphere adopted by Food Intelligence rests in fact on a widened meaning of the “agri-food” term. This universe includes all the activities taking their source in agriculture, fishing or aquiculture, whatever are the final stage (processed or not…) and the final use of the foodstuff - food/feed or not (bio-energy, materials, molecules…) - given that “traditional” nonfood (e.g.: “conventional” textile like cotton, decorative horticulture…) - except as a minority and dependent activity - should be excluded, if possible.

For “ethical” reasons tobacco industry has been excluded…

The universe includes the “internal” inputs of the end products (e.g.: raw materials of course, but also seeds, animal selection & breeding or animal nutrition, ingredients, etc…). It can also include, but only as a minority or dependent activity, products having a simple role of “maintenance”, protection, improvement or growth of the plants or animals (e.g.: fertilisers, plant health, animal health…).

But it does not include, in theory, the “external” inputs of the end products (in particular: packaging, tools, production or transformation equipment, agricultural machinery…). Nonrenewable energy and renewable energy having a nonagricultural origin are excluded.

The “food” universe not only includes physical “products” but can also include “services”, in particular those intended for the farmers…

                                                ■ Companies

Food Intelligence took only into account the companies carrying out at least 50% of their activity (in terms of sales) in the agri-food industry (in the broad sense, as indicated above) except if this activity, even minority, is clearly identifiable (preferably in a specific structure…) and, above all, clearly considered as a strategic business / segment for these groups. 

For this reason groups whose distribution / logistic (e.g.: food retailing) or foodservice activities are in a majority in their total sales are normally excluded, except when food manufacturing activities are clearly identifiable (as explained above) and…measurable!

A contrario, when these activities are in the minority they can be integrated with food businesses in the perimeter of “food” net sales…

Big beverage companies which are acting principally and directly as “bottlers” (under Coca-Cola, Pepsi and the like brands), even if they also sell under proprietary brands, are not eligible for our ranking.

As far as possible Food Intelligence only took into consideration the whole industrial group and not such or such subsidiary belonging to it…

However, given the independence of their different food subsidiaries some conglomerates had to be excluded - at least partially - of the scope. For example it was clearly the case for a part of Mitsubishi food activities. As a matter of fact we didn’t consider the Mitsubishi food companies as a unique food business but as different entities. That’s why whereas Kirin (whose own food net sales amount 7794 millions Euros) appears in the ranking, the other subsidiaries (each having insufficient food net sales) - like Sanyo, Nosan or Princes - don’t appear in this classification (although it would have been the case if we had taken into account as the whole the entire food activities which all are part of the “Essential Living” division whose aggregate net sales reach nearly…34 millions Euros!). 

Of course, beyond the widened vision to which Food Intelligence has given priority, the extent to which such or such group has been taken into account in this ranking is more a question of “bon sens” than a question of theoretical definitions or even of common criteria and segmentations people are accustomed to use or think with.

■ More information : 

-          http://www.foodintelligence.fr

-          wfc.food.top100@foodintelligence.fr

-          foodintelligence@foodintelligence.fr

-          33 (0)2 28 13 03 67 : contact : Serge Guégan