In the last 18 months, women have driven some of the most consequential decisions in food and beverage. Food Industry Executive’s 2026 list of the most influential women in food and beverage puts numbers to that shift, starting with PepsiCo’s $21 billion division now under new female leadership.
TLDR
- Food Industry Executive released its 20 Most Influential Women in Food list for 2026.
- A new CEO took the helm of PepsiCo’s $21 billion business unit.
- The list spans executive leadership, sustainability, and digital transformation roles.
- Women are driving both operational and strategic change across the sector.
- Recognition lists like this signal where the industry’s power is shifting.
Influential Women in Food and Beverage Are Moving the Needle
Food Industry Executive published its annual 20 Most Influential Women in Food & Beverage list for 2026. The outlet notes that the last 18 months produced some of the sector’s most consequential moves. Women led them.
PepsiCo’s $21 billion business unit is the headline example. A new female CEO took the helm. That is not a symbolic appointment. That is operational authority over one of the largest food portfolios on earth.
Leadership, Sustainability, and Digital Transformation
The honorees span three converging priorities: executive leadership, sustainability strategy, and digital transformation. These are not separate tracks. They are the same race.
Food manufacturers are under pressure from all sides. Retailers demand cleaner labels. Regulators are tightening traceability requirements. Consumers are reading ingredients. The women on this list are navigating all three pressures simultaneously.
Additionally, the list’s framing aligns with broader industry data. Food Industry Executive’s own research on food manufacturing trends consistently shows sustainability and digital investment as top priorities for operators in 2025 and 2026.
In short, this list is not a celebration. It is a map. It shows where decision-making authority now lives in an industry that spent decades concentrating power elsewhere.
Watch this space. The companies these women lead are the ones most likely to move first on clean-label commitments, supply chain transparency, and AI-driven quality control. The ones they do not lead should be paying close attention.
Source: Food Industry Executive. https://foodindustryexecutive.com/2026/05/most-influential-women-food-and-beverage-2026/