FTSE 100 news / Companies and sectors / Consumer staples / 1 October 2026
Consumer staples: sector news on Thursday 1 October 2026
Average tone +3.6 (positive) across 8 companies with relevant coverage, from 59 stories.
Company by company
| Company | Tone | Stories | What the coverage was about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associated British Foods | +7.7 | 10 | Coverage was dominated by Primark's long-term deal with Circ to scale textile-to-textile recycled polyester, which reads as a clear positive. |
| British American Tobacco | +6.3 | 10 | Coverage centred on BAT's Capital Markets Day, with 2030 smokeless growth and cash flow targets and Jefferies reiterating its Buy rating. |
| Diageo | −1.3 | 10 | Coverage was mostly routine AGM paperwork, alongside new India-focused Johnnie Walker and Blue Label launches. |
| Reckitt | +2.3 | 10 | Coverage was mostly mild positives, including Reckitt reiterating its 2026 expectations, a Bernstein Buy rating and a health partnership in Pakistan. |
| Unilever | +2.3 | 10 | Coverage was mixed, with a Bernstein Buy rating, dividend commentary and a better festive outlook for Hindustan Unilever set against a 52-week low for Hindustan Unilever and an 8.6% fall for Unilever Nigeria shares. |
| Imperial Brands | +4.5 | 5 | Coverage focused on Imperial extending its Paramount range with a new Red Superkings variant, alongside its continuing £1.45bn buyback and renewed attention on its dividends. |
| Coca-Cola Europacific Partners | +1.2 | 2 | Coverage was light, with a stock-analysis piece pointing to risk and a separate report on the company's brand initiatives and logistics. |
| Coca-Cola HBC | +5.5 | 2 | Coverage was light, with the company named as a dividend stock to watch and promoting its youth empowerment programme reaching almost 1.3 million young people. |
Strongest stories in the sector
- +9.2 British American Tobacco Targets Smokeless Growth, £50B Cash Flow by 2030
Smokeless growth and £50B cash flow target by 2030. - −9.2 Is the tequila boom over? Sales of Don Julio and Casamigos plummet in the United States
Falling US sales of Don Julio and Casamigos, Diageo tequila brands. - +9.2 Unilever PLC : Buy rating from Bernstein
Bernstein Buy rating supportive - +8.7 Jefferies Reaffirms Buy on British American Tobacco (BTI) After Capital Markets Day
Jefferies reaffirms Buy after Capital Markets Day. - +8.3 Primark Signs Multi-Year Deal with Circ to Use Recycled Material from Textile Waste in Clothing Lines
Multi-year recycled material deal for Primark clothing - +8.3 Primark Signs Long-Term Deal with Circ to Scale Textile-to-Textile Recycling
Primark long-term recycling deal with Circ - +8.3 Primark Signs Long Term Circ Deal to Scale Textile-to-Textile Recycling
Primark long-term recycling deal supports sustainability goals - +8.3 Circ and Primark announce long-term partnership to scale the use of textile-to-textile recycled fibres
Primark and Circ partnership on recycled fibres - +8.3 British American Tobacco p.l.c. : Jefferies reiterates its Buy rating
Jefferies reiterates Buy rating. - −8.3 Hindustan Unilever - PB Fintech, Wipro among 8 stocks that hit 52-week low and slipped up to 45% in a month
Hindustan Unilever hit 52-week low - +8.2 Primark to scale use of textile-to-textile recycled fibres
Primark to scale textile-to-textile recycled fibres - +8.0 Circ and Primark agree textile-to-textile recycled polyester partnership
Primark recycled polyester partnership with Circ