As we close out a chaotic 2024, the only thing everyone seems to agree on is more unpredictability in 2025. But it’s always a good idea to follow the money, which led us to Janica Lane, co-head of consumer investment banking at Piper Sandler, who joined BevNET’s Jeff Klineman on stage at BevNET Live earlier this month to offer insights into the beverage investor mindset at the start of a new year, including the state of the market for strategic investment and M&A, alternative exit options like private equity, public markets, and platform formation.
Coming just a few weeks after a fraught presidential campaign, there has been much hand wringing over the potential for punishing tariffs, as promised by president-elect Donald Trump. Lane said that while many in the industry are worried about that possibility, she believes that beverage is not likely to be as heavily hit as other sectors will be. Another unknown is the effect that GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes drugs will have in the food and beverage space, but Lane said that early signs suggest sales could even increase as a result of these new drugs’ prevalence – a sentiment echoed by speakers last week during Nosh Live. Thinking more structurally, Lane noted that “a business has to do what’s most strategic for the business,” meaning running lean, a commonly accepted notion, is not always the answer. “We’ve had CEOs that have been very big on this concept of ‘big shoulders’ – bring in a few people who are very capable,” she noted. “I certainly advocate for that if it is a sustainable way to grow the business. But in this category, things like merchandisers have become very important, so if you are say doing a warehouse model and not a DSD model and you want to make sure there is product on the shelf, it may be very strategic to have 50 merchandisers out there.” Overall, Lane projected a positive outlook for beverage as categories like energy and sports drinks have demonstrated room for disruption and new brands to gain a foothold. “I am hugely bullish on beverage,” she said. “I think that if you look in the retail sales data, it’s some of the biggest categories in terms of sales. I think it’s some of the highest potential for growth and for new companies to emerge.” Watch the full conversation here. Watch the full lineup of presentations from BevNET Live here. | 
