Yesterday, (30 December) farming protest groups revealed that they were planning to take action and blockade supermarket distribution centres in response to the government’s refusal to reverse its ‘family farm’ inheritance tax.

The protests, which the government is understood to already have drawn up contingency plans for, have left retailers bracing for disruptions to food supplies, with the campaigners insisting that the 20% agriculture levy announced during the Autumn Budget posed a risk to the security of the UK’s farming and grocery sector.

This is not the first time the farming sector has petitioned the government for change in 2024. The year witnessed a series of protests from farming groups, including in November when 20,000 farmers hosted a demonstration against the levy, and Riverford Organic’s ‘Farmers Against Farmwashing’ campaign, which reached over 11,000 letters to MPs.

However, campaigning within the farming sector is not the only major story to emerge in 2024. We reviewed the year’s biggest headlines and rounded up the top nine stories that shaped the grocery sector this year.

Despite first receiving the royal mark of recognition in 1854, King Charles III withdrew Cadbury from the list of almost 400 brands which had been awarded Warrants due to regularly supplying the Royal Household for at least five years.

The landmark decision, which Cadbury’s owner Mondelez labelled as “disappointing”, came as a huge blow to the chocolate manufacturer, following over 170 years of being granted the royal award.

It follows continuous calls from campaigners for FMCG giants to take accountability and withdraw from Russia. Earlier this year fellow consumer good giants, Danone, Unilever and Carlsberg all withdrew from the country, selling their respective divisions at a loss for £1bn, £332bn and £252bn respectively, all lower than market value.

In 2024, supermarket giant Asda found itself undergoing a series of leadership changes following a shift in ownership under the billionaire Issa brothers.

In June, co-owner Zuber Issa resigned from his non-executive role on the grocery chain’s board and sold his 22.5% stake in Asda to co-owner TDR Capital, giving the private equity firm majority ownership with 67.5%.

Just months later in September, Mohsin Issa stepped down from his executive leadership role at Asda to focus on his other business interests – such as a new business venture with protein supplement producer Applied Nutrition.

The move came weeks after then Asda chairman Lord Stuart Rose admitted he was “embarrassed” by the supermarket’s performance and called for Mohsin to step down from its day-to-day running, while former Asda exec Judith McKenna said the retailer was “clearly not where it should be” and its current state “hurt [her] heart”.

Last month, the grocery retailer named former CEO Allan Leighton as its executive chairman, replacing Lord Stuart Rose, as the supermarket chain continues its long-running search for a CEO.

Earlier this year, Carlsberg agreed to purchase Robinsons manufacturer Britvic in a £3.3bn deal that intends to see the two companies merge to a single integrated beverage company in the UK, called Carlsberg Britvic.

The Danish brewer also confirmed it will acquire its UK joint brewing venture with Marston’s for a total of £206m for its 40% stake. The successful acquisition follows Britvic originally declining two previous bids, including a £3.1bn proposal.

At the time, Carlsberg group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said: “The proposed transaction is attractive for shareholders of Carlsberg, supporting our growth ambitions, being immediately earnings accretive and value-accretive in year three.

“We are excited about expanding our global partnership with PepsiCo and believe that the longer-term opportunities will be very beneficial for both companies.”

However, it is not the only major FMCG giant acquisition in 2024, as in August, confectionery maker Mars revealed it had reached an agreement to snap up Pringles manufacturer Kellanova for more than $29bn (£22bn).

In April, Morrisons completed the sale of its petrol forecourts for £2.5bn to Motor Fuel Group (MFG).

The transaction included 337 petrol forecourts and over 400 associated sites on the grocery chain’s car parks across the UK for ultra-rapid electric vehicle charging development.

The deal marked the start of a new strategic partnership between the two companies, which are both majority-owned by private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).

It is understood that Morrisons took a minority stake of 20% equity interest in MFG and entered into commercial and supply agreements with the fuel group, while the supermarket giant said at the time that it intended to use the cash proceeds of £1.8bn to strengthen its structure and help to repay some of its £8bn debt pile.

This year witnessed a series of developments among both governmental regulations and individual supermarket’s security measures, in a bid to crack down on the record high epidemic of shoplifting and retail crime.

In November, the new crime and policing minister unveiled the Labour government’s plan to reverse the current £200 threshold in the 2014 shoplifting charter, which had made which shop theft involving property with a value of £200 or less a summary-only offence.

Alongside scrapping previous legislation, Dame Diana Johnson also revealed that the government is to introduce a new law on assault on shopworkers, adding that the UK was “long overdue a change”.

The new government measures followed ongoing calls from leading grocery retailers for government intervention as retail crime hit record highs over the past year, forcing many supermarkets to take measures into their own hands with the introduction of a slew of technology, including security robots, body worn cameras, and suggestions of AI facial recognition technology to clamp-down on crime.

In March Unilever announced plans to offload its $15bn ice cream division as it sought to become “leaner and more accountable”.

However, weeks later it became apparent that the consumer goods giant was facing difficulty in finding buyers for the division, which includes brands such as Magnum, Wall’s and Ben & Jerry’s, due to its sheer size, forcing Unilever to scrap its plans.

It is understood the food and drinks manufacturer is now looking to spin-off the unit in an independent listing, although a bidder for the division could still emerge.

Its search for a buyer has not been the only challenge within its ice cream division this year. In November, Ben & Jerry’s sued its parent-company over claims it was silenced from speaking out about Palestinian refugees amid the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The attempt to show public support for causes including a ceasefire and safety for refugees, is not the only time the ice cream brand has clashed with Unilever over its stance on social, climate, and human rights issues.

In September, Asda was brought before the Employment Tribunal over an equal pay claim by its workers, thought to become a landmark case for the industry that could potentially cost the supermarket giant billions.

The court case, which represents over 69,345 employees represented by the GMB union and law firm Leigh Day, is expected to see the grocery retailer explain why it pays its predominantly female retail workforce up to £3.74 an hour less than its warehouse workers, who are mainly male.

It became the latest retailer to face such legal proceedings, after clothing giant Next was last month forced to pay £30m. Fellow supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Co-op are set to face the respective next stages in their equal claim cases.

Leigh Day partner and barrister Elizabeth George said the outcome of the equal pay claims could mark a landmark change in the retail and grocery industry, with Asda potentially forced to fork our billions in compensation to its workers.

In April, Getir exited the UK market in a move that impacted over 1,500 jobs. The fall of the rapid grocery delivery service, which also exited both Europe and US markets, came just two years after it was valued at $12bn (£9.6bn).

Founded in Turkey in 2015, Getir revealed it would focus on its domestic market in Turkey instead – which accounts for 93% of its sales.

However in June, Getir was forced to split into two separate companies, in a decision aimed at injecting fresh capital of £197.5m ($250m) into the business.

Earlier this year, Nestlé appointed executive vice president and CEO of the businesses Latin America zone Laurent Freixe as its new chief executive, as Mark Schneider stepped down after eight years with the FMCG giant.

Weeks later, Freixe announced changes to the food and drink manufacturer, restructuring the business and its executive team to be “leaner” as it cut its guidance after weaker-than-expected sales.

Among other changes, the chief executive revealed it was to slash costs by £2.2bn by 2027, and boost marketing and advertising.

Elsewhere, Nestlé revealed its decision to carve out its water and premium drinks beverages into a separate global unit from January 2025. Frexie said he believed the reallocation of the funds and the separating of the division would boost innovation and sales.