Consumer – Food Producers
BRBR BellRing Brands, Inc.
BYND Beyond Meat, Inc.
GIS General Mills, Inc.
GLB.ID Glanbia plc
HAIN The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
HLF Herbalife Ltd.
HSY The Hershey Company
JBS JBS S/A
KHC The Kraft Heinz Company
LTH Life Time Group Holdings, Inc.
MDLZ Mondelez International, Inc.
NOMD Nomad Foods Ltd
OTLY Oatly Group AB
POST Post Holdings, Inc.
PRIMO Primo Brands
SMPL The Simply Good Foods Company
STKL SunOpta Inc.
THS Threehouse Foods
UTZ Utz Brands, Inc.
Differentiated Product
The Food Producers team is known for detailed and deep-dive analysis evaluating overlooked company growth drivers, macroeconomic factors, and consumption drivers across Staples and the broader Consumer landscape. The team leverages diverse data sources, including proprietary surveys and Freedom of Information Act requests, to triangulate public and private data points for a more thorough understanding of industry fundamentals. The team has published insightful analysis of demographic factors driving demand, government spending as an influence on food consumption, corrective actions for big brands’ development challenges, and analysis of the structural drivers of health & wellness/nutrition category growth. The team has also developed a proprietary demand index that enhances visibility into quarterly food demand in emerging markets.
Key Reports
• Bro, Do You Even Lift? An Investor's Guide to Active Nutrition
• Private Label: Growth Potential Is Bright but More Work Needed for Conversion
• Protein Nutrition: Buyer Analysis Bullish for Shakes & BRBR
• Consumer Survey Sentiment Anything But Tariff-ic; New Warning Signs for Spending
• MDLZ: From Chocobakery to Chocopastry: Time to Re-evaluate Revenue Drivers
• LTH: Thinking Through the Next Steps for Growth
Notable Events
The team has hosted multiple NDRs over the past year including with SMPL and LTH that provided insights into the next phases of structural growth.
Analyst Bio
John joined Mizuho in April 2021 as a senior analyst based in New York, covering the US food industry including plant-based alternatives and healthy living companies. Prior to Mizuho, John worked at Wells Fargo Securities, where he most recently served as Director, Packaged Food and Agribusiness. His 20+ year sell-side career includes working as an Agriculture Strategist on Goldman Sachs’ Commodities Research team and consumer equity research roles spanning Food, Beverages, and Food & Drug Chains at Wachovia and Banc of America Securities. He holds a B.S. in Finance with Highest Honors from Rutgers University, and a M.S. in Business Analytics from the University of Virginia. He is also a CFA charterholder.