Having delivered a strong first quarter, with net revenues up 5%, The Coca-Cola Company’s chairman and CEO, James Quincey, highlighted the continued uncertainty in the trading environment, driven by the different phases of the pandemic across different markets. Asynchronous recovery When the pandemic struck just over a year ago, most markets went into lockdown simultaneously. While the impa...

Having delivered a strong first quarter, we highlight 10 key facts we learnt from PepsiCo’s results and what they indicate about the post-pandemic environment. What we learnt? 1. Pandemic trends persist - large formats and ecommerce are continuing to perform well, benefitting from at-home consumption trends, supported by consumer-centric innovation. This aligns with the experiences of oth...

Conagra Brands delivered a strong third quarter performance with net sales up 8.5% to $2.8bn and net income up 37.8% to $281.4m. Although the outlook for COVID-19 is improving in many regions, including enhanced mobility, the company expects demand for food-at-home to remain elevated, underpinning future growth. Four years’ worth of incremental new buyers Given the unprecedented trialling o...

Hindustan Unilever’s rural distribution network, composed of Indian women micro-entrepreneurs, has become a lifeline during the pandemic.  The project has given them a source of income, while distributing Unilever’s products directly to rural consumers, without the need for a physical store. 140,000 female entrepreneurs across 18 states benefit from this project In the early 2000s, HUL starte...

Following a strong first quarter, with sales up 22% and operating income up 35% year-on-year, McCormick has increased its sales outlook to expected growth of 8-10%. The strong performance reflects its efforts to capitalise on four accelerating consumer trends which the company expects to persist beyond the pandemic. 1. A continued sustained consumer preference for cooking more at home, includi...

With at-home demand remaining elevated and most retailers picking online orders from stores, the centre store is under pressure for the first time in many years. We look at how retailers are responding to this and what the longer term implications could be. Retailers and suppliers are generating positive returns as they implement omnichannel-focused initiatives. In our latest report for Retail...

As General Mills reports a strong third quarter, with net sales up 8% to $4.5bn and operating profit up 27% to $827m, we look at how it plans to introduce a two-year growth metric to benchmark its performance as it annualises pandemic-driven growth. Better visibility into the underlying momentum of the business Looking ahead to Q4, General Mills will be competing against pandemic-driven gro...

With Q2 delivering a 5% increase in organic net sales and market share gains, we look at how the Campbell Soup Company (Campbells) plans to sustain its performance as the COVID-19 pandemic eases. 1. Building on earlier momentum in its snacks business Like many large CPGs, Campbells had a turnaround plan in progress ahead of the pandemic. This had helped to fuel growth within it snacks busin...

As most markets in Europe and the Americas continue to operate in a pandemic environment, characterised by lockdowns and travel restrictions, we look at how five of the initial strategies adopted by suppliers have evolved over the last 12 months. 1. From retaining new households to building deeper connections The pandemic created a product trial event unlike any other. Many major suppliers ...

Now that the Chinese New Year festivities are over, retailers and suppliers have started to shift their campaigns to clean and healthy eating.  The timing is appropriate as shoppers would usually look for guilt-free offerings after indulging with a lot of food over the holidays. Cold Storage Singapore: Eat Wholesome, Live Better Cold Storage has recognised that people are looking to make chan...

Instacart has raised $265m in new funding led by its existing investors to drive further growth and development of the business. This values the company at US$39bn. Rapid expansion in 2020 Instacart is the leading on-demand grocery fulfillment company in North America, working with over 600 retail partners, including over 200 added in the last year. This has enabled it to expand its reach t...

Mars Wrigley has partnered with US-based retailer, Wakefern, to pilot a robotic kiosk in-store to offer a range of its impulse products for sale. Designed to engage and entertain shoppers Deployed at Wakefern’s ShopRite store in Monroe, New York, the robot has been developed to offer shoppers the opportunity to purchase products which can be found within the checkout zone. Mars Wrigley is par...

We look at how suppliers are evolving their approach and increasing their investments in a different set of capabilities as they look to build on the momentum of 2020. Competing against tough comparables from 2020 Over 20 global CPG companies participated in the annual CAGNY (Consumer Analyst Group of New York) event this year, sharing updates to their commercial frameworks, investmen...

UK’s number one vitamin company is a good example of how Western brands can find success in Asia by tapping into existing ecosystems. Using Tmall as the launchpad The company launched its first flagship store on Alibaba’s Tmall Global platform in 2015, then a second store in 2020 just before the 11.11 Shopping Festival. Vitabiotics plugs into Alibaba’s existing ecosystem and utilizes d...

The pandemic has triggered the decline of the beauty market in 2020, but key suppliers such as Procter & Gamble and L’Oréal are now expecting growth to return, through their online sales. L’Oréal: ecommerce to aid return to growth of cosmetics Although the total sales of L’Oréal has dropped for the full year of 2020, APAC is the only region that reported growth during the year.  This is mai...

We look at the plans that PepsiCo has put in place this year to build on the pandemic-driven growth of 2020 through its ‘Faster, Stronger, Better framework. Faster: strengthening its focus on winning in the market and improving market share PepsiCo will prioritise the growth opportunities in its top 20 snack markets and selected beverage markets. Building on the almost doubling of ecommerce...

We look at how the Kellogg Company plans to take the momentum of 2020 into 2021, building on the lessons learnt, and changes made, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic 1. Increased consumer communication The pandemic provided the company with a “sampling event like none other,” gaining millions of new households. Last year it shifted much of its advertising and promotions budget into the se...

Unilever closed its FY 2020 with underlying sales growth (USG) of +3.5% in Q4, bringing the full year USG to +1.9% for a total turnover of €50.7bn. During this challenging year, Unilever took the decision to prioritise volume-led competitive growth, absolute profit and cash delivery. The group is now looking into the future, announcing a strategy refresh, focused on five key areas. Source...

While its away-from-home business continues to be negatively impacted by the pandemic, and its at-home operation benefits from consumers spending more time at home, we look at the expectations The Coca-Cola Company has for 2021. Forecasting revenue growth in the high-single digits Although trends improved at the start of the quarter, a resurgence in the virus and new lockdowns in many count...

American football’s Super Bowl is one of the largest sporting events globally. With almost 200m viewers, the game is major event in both the sporting and social calendars of Americans. While one of the largest advertising opportunities for major brands, including theatrical in-store execution displays, this year retailers and suppliers are adjusting their approaches, reflecting key pandemic theme...