来源：《经济学人》
原文刊登日期：2021年3月4日
People have to eat, so food firms the world over give consistent profits, even in lean times. Mexico is no different. The country’s 126m people buy $55bn-worth of packaged food annually. Sales of such fare have been growing quickly, notes Euromonitor, a research firm. Between 2015 and 2020 they expanded by 6.9% a year, compared with 4% in America.
人们不得不吃饭，所以世界各地的食品公司即使在经济不景气的时候也能提供稳定的利润。墨西哥也一样。其1.26亿人口每年购买价值550亿美元的包装食品。研究公司Euromonitor指出，这类食品的销量一直在快速增长。从2015年到2020年，墨西哥的年增长率为6.9%，而美国为4%。
This trend should have lifted the like of Bimbo, the world’s largest baker. Instead, like many Mexican businesses in recent years of sluggish economic growth, it has fallen out of favour with investors. Stable profits notwithstanding, its market capitalisation is well below its peak in the mid-2010s.
这一趋势应该会让世界上最大的面包生产商宾堡很高兴。然而，与近年来经济增长缓慢的许多墨西哥企业一样，它已经失去了投资者的青睐。尽管利润稳定，但其市值仍远低于2010年代中期的峰值。
To stimulate the stockmarket’s appetite for its shares, the firm is doubling down on foreign markets. America’s packaged-food market alone is nearly ten times the size of Mexico’s. A loaf of Bimbo bread that costs $1.76 in Mexico sells for $2.77 north of the border. Bimbo has also acquired several big American brands, most notably Sara Lee, a maker of poundcakes and cream pies, in 2010.
为了刺激股市对其股票的胃口，该公司正在加倍投资海外市场。仅美国的包装食品市场就几乎是墨西哥的十倍。一条宾堡面包在墨西哥的价格是1.76美元，在边境以北的价格是2.77美元。宾堡还在2010年收购了几家美国大品牌，其中最著名的是磅饼和奶油派制造商Sara-Lee。
These investments may at last be paying off, partly thanks to the pandemic inspired rush to comfort food. In 2020 Bimbo’s sales in America and Canada rose by 22%; operating profits in the region shot up by 84%. IRI, a data firm, puts it among the fastest-growing big consumer-goods companies in the United States. Revenues north of the border helped push Bimbo’s total sales to a record $16bn. Operating profit hit $1.2bn.
这些投资最终可能会得到回报，部分原因是疫情促使人们争相购买安慰食品。2020年，宾堡在美国和加拿大的销售额增长了22%；北美地区的营业利润猛增84%。数据公司IRI将其列为美国发展最快的大型消费品公司之一。在边境以北的收入推动下，宾堡的总销售额达到创纪录的160亿美元。营业利润达到12亿美元。
Further expansion will not be a cakewalk. Bimbo’s bread and butter is simple fare that lots of poor Mexicans can afford. To succeed in richer places like America the company will have to cater to more upper-crust consumers with varied tastes. It is now experimenting with premium products.
进一步的扩张不是一件容易的事。宾堡的面包和黄油是许多墨西哥穷人能负担得起的简单食物。为了在像美国这样的富裕地区取得成功，该公司将不得不迎合更多品味各异的上层消费者。它现在正在试验高端产品。
Some of those innovations may come in handy at home, too. Mexico’s government has developed a growing distaste for unhealthy food. In October it introduced a law forcing firms to label foods high in calories, sugars, salt or bad fats. Bread qualifies.
其中一些创新在墨西哥国内也能派上用场。墨西哥政府对不健康食品的厌恶与日俱增。去年10月，墨西哥政府出台了一项法律，强制食品公司在食品标签上标明高热量、高糖、高盐或有害脂肪。面包就是典型的不健康食品。