Food and beverage mergers and acquisitions closed out 2025 with a full-year recap and a forward look at 2026, published by CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) on claconnect.com.

The report, titled "Food and Beverage M&A 2025 Recap, 2026 Outlook," surveys transaction activity across the food and beverage sector over the past year and frames expectations for dealmaking in the year ahead. CLA, a professional services firm with an established middle-market advisory practice, positions the piece for operators, investors and owners weighing exits, acquisitions or recapitalizations.

What does the recap cover?

Year-end M&A recaps of this kind typically track deal volume, valuation multiples and sector appetite across food manufacturing, beverage and adjacent hospitality supply categories. For restaurant and foodservice operators, the practical question is what the 2025 transaction record signals about buyer interest, financing conditions and the cost of capital entering 2026.

CLA's analysis lands as food and beverage companies continue to weigh margin pressure from input costs and labor against sustained private-equity interest in scalable food brands. The 2026 outlook portion of the report addresses where that balance is expected to shift.

Why it matters for operators

For owners of mid-sized food and beverage businesses, a recap-plus-outlook format serves as a benchmarking tool: it indicates whether the window for favorable exits is widening or narrowing, and which subsectors drew the most buyer attention in 2025.

The full report is available through claconnect.com.