Dan Jones, Investors’ Chronicle Published October 2 2026. Rising costs and hard-pressed customers mean many consumer staples companies find themselves less essential than they had assumed. In the US, staples now make up a record-low 4.6 per cent of the S&P 500, according to investment manager Bespoke Invest. The sector’s ability to keep producing the steady, reliable growth on which its reputation was built is being called into question.
UK businesses have rolled out turnaround strategies, with varying degrees of success. While investors had warmed to Unilever’s plan to focus on its core divisions, the proposed merger of its food business with sauces maker Mc Cormick left some asking whether it had gone too far. Diageo has pinned its revival hopes on a plan to cut costs and put more marketing resources behind bright spots, such as Guinness, while making a bigger push into canned cocktails.
AG Barr is already feeling the impact of pre-mixed drink competition, given that its cocktail brand Funkin saw sales struggle again in the first half of 2026. But things look more positive for the group elsewhere. The Irn-Bru maker has diversified via a series of recent soft drink acquisitions and is making market share gains. Another attraction is its valuation: a price/earnings ratio of just 11.6 times January 2027’s estimated earnings is near bargain-basement territory, according to Fact Set.
BUY: AG Barr (BAG) 582p. SELL: Redcentric (RCN) 93p. HOLD: Saga (SAGA) 724p.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing