Diogo Dias

Did you know 65% of breakfasts are whipped up in under five minutes? Fascinating new Food and Beverage insights in the latest Circana report. Consumer tastes and trends continue to evolve! Access the report today.

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I had the distinct pleasure of sitting with Kantar BrandZ for an in-depth conversation about global brands through the lens of PepsiCo's iconic portfolio -- what makes a brand valuable, the role of brands, how to stay relevant, deploying distinctive assets in a consistent and connected way, how the best-of-the best do it and so much more. I believe brands have a bigger role to play than before and at PepsiCo we talk about Positive Brands. We want to inspire people to make better choices for them and the planet. We are developing programs that leverage the scale and power of our brand marketing to accelerate our sustainability journey and connect with consumers. And we recognized brands are only relevant to people to the degree that they connect to something meaningful in their lives; something bigger that connects to core human needs like community, security, control, connection, enjoyment, etc. When it comes to deploying distinctive assets, we have to be very humble as marketeers. Memory structures, distinctiveness, brand meaning is built over generations. As marketeers, we stand on the shoulders of the giants that went before us. I'm very humble to the generations of incredible marketeers who have built these brilliant brands. Thank you Kantar for recognizing PepsiCo in the BrandZ Top 100 Brands Global Report 2024. Check out the full conversation: https://lnkd.in/eE3mtGxZ #PepsiCoProud #BrandZ #Kantar

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AB InBev has reported a rise of 2.6% in first-quarter sales, in line with forecasts, but the impact of a roughly year-old U.S boycott of key brand Bud Light continued to hurt the brewer. AB InBev also sold slightly more beer than anticipated, with volumes falling 0.6% versus the 1% anticipated by analysts. Own beer volumes declined by 1.3%, while non-beer volumes rose by 3.5%. Read more https://lnkd.in/dCKmtukA

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Check out the most recent episode on the Spotlight Series!

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#FMCG companies aim to divest their way to growth Divesture value has been exceeding acquisitions value for the world largest #CPG players since 2023, and it is likely to continue considering recent announcements (Unilever Ice Cream) & on-going rumors (Kraft Heinz & Oscar Mayer...) Few reasons for this: 1) Pressure is on to get back to mid-term guidance on top-line which is often hard in a post price increase context (>50% of the top 50 listed FMCG companies missed their topline guidance in Q4 2023) while recovering pre-COVID profitability (at end 2023 >70% failed to do so) 2) Divesture is often the fastest/ easiest way to improve organic growth & profitability footprint especially when companies have a large business with much lower growth, much lower profitability & that comes with limited di-synergies in case of carve-out 3) If leverage level for the top 50 FMCG companies is on average at an acceptable level (x2.7 at end 2023 vs. the generally accepted x3 level), some FMCG companies exceeds the threshold (AB InBev, Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, Mondelēz, General Mills, Danone, HEINEKEN, Asahi, CCEP...) 4) At a time top-line growth is becoming tougher, shares buy-backs are increasingly leveraged to drive EPS growth. So the proceeds of divesture can really help there especially for the companies with the most constrained B/S 5) Finally, high ROI M&A remain scarce because of the rarity of quality (mid-size, same categories than acquirer's, strong growth track record, complementary to acquirer's portfolio, scalable growth model that could benefit from GTM synergies) & well-priced assets PE funds & public markets (thru IPOs) will be most often the exit scenarios for those divestures. If large FMCG carve-out assets can sometimes deliver better results under (partial) private ownership (cf. Froneri), not all end up being a success. So caution prevails Exciting times ahead on divesture and M&A front in the FMCG industry in 2024 To read our full perspective: FMCG CEOs: M&A Q1 2024 In Review - A New Bottom & Four Reinforcing Trends 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: https://lnkd.in/efD5RNWX 𝗧𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸, 𝗽𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀/ 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗖𝗘𝗢𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: https://lnkd.in/ea4gy65y #strategy #mergersandacquisitions Frederic Fernandez & Associates

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Is upselling (cost-of-living-stressed) consumers with premium innovations the optimal way to grow for #CPG players? At a time all #FMCG companies are doubling down on organic growth, most are accelerating their innovations machine, often with premium priced innovations. That could end up being a large resources misallocation (dilution of scarce shelf space, marketing investments, supply chain & organizational resources) & a major strategic misstep for many At a time the largest threat is de-consumption, more premium priced innovations will just not cut it The painful truth is that too many FMCG marketing organizations do not own the 4Ps and are solely focused on ‘global innovations/ marketing campaigns’. Then the organizational bias/ 'default setting' is to try to solve all brands’ problems with those two levers (global product innovations & media) In the current context, those could be deadly mistakes We continue to be amazed by the little resources that get into: i) Generally, understanding rigorously Consumers, esp. their barriers/ drivers/ triggers/ 4Ps preferences ii) Specifically understanding what: - The Heavy Consumers have in common/ try to recruit more of them - Are the addressable lapse/ non-users’ barriers iii) Leveraging strategic segmentation to identify under-served segments & craft ownable strategies to address them iv) Rethinking how to recruit/ retain Consumers with innovative marketing/ point of market entry strategies Etc… Marketing leaders need to have a holistic view on what are the levers across all the 4Ps that will drive the most disruptive return There will be no sustainable (volume) growth outperformance in many FMCG organizations without strenghtening the Marketing Function & giving them formally full 4Ps ownership. That goes against the last decade Doxa but it is essential 𝗧𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 (𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲) 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 & 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: FMCG CEOs: Managing Finally For Sustainable (Volume) Growth Or How To Stop Shrinking To Glory - From ZBB to ZBG® (Zero-Based-Growth) https://lnkd.in/eG62xkNE To receive the corresponding deck, pl. leave your name in comment To get all our insights, follow us/ subscribe to our CEOs newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eR8vDpvE #strategy Frederic Fernandez & Associates

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Modernizing legacy brands for a new generation of consumers is no easy feat. Earlier in my career, I was fortunate to work on teams that accomplished that for two legacy Kraft Heinz brands: Jell-O and Crystal Light. Critical to those successes were the same lessons Gail Hollander discusses in this article: * how to successfully update a brand by understanding its role in the culture and category without walking too far away from the brand truth and its DNA * creating winning marketing strategies by leveraging the art (creative thinking) and the science (data-driven decisions); and * breaking down silos to align the entire organization around long-term brand building I took these lessons I learned and recently wrote an article about how integral they also are for building successful CX strategies: https://lnkd.in/ecPhFpMz

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Why do Duopolies tend to dominate in so many aspects of modern business and what does this mean for emerging CPG? The news last week was that The Walt Disney Company and HBO are teaming up to offer a massive streaming bundle to complete with Netflix. It seems like a very predictable cycle unfolded here…After a few years of disruptive innovation, investors started to lose patience with negative EBITDA, which results in waves of consolidation until we have a De Facto Duopoly in streaming media. Nilesh Sharma wrote an interesting article on how this is common across many industries(link in comments)…there are so many examples: Coke/Pepsi, Apple/Android, and in national retail grocery distribution UNFI/KeHE is obvious. If not for antitrust regulations, these duopolies would more often than not eventually merge into monopolies until some disruptive force comes along to change the paradigm. 👉CPG brands: take a look at national market share in the subcategory you operate in. There is a good chance that it is dominated by two brands, and if not, there is at least trend toward this outcome. 👉Is your product different ENOUGH, to break this cycle? 👉Retailers, in any given metro market, who are the dominant two mainline grocery chains in your market by total share? 👉Are you differentiated ENOUGH from them to compel consumers to change their habits? We all have one thing in common as innovators: we’re trying to break the cycle and acquire market share from what tends to be the natural order of things. In order for us to disrupt, we need to think outside the box. Slightly better versions of what already exists won’t get it done. Pod Foods has been able to take so much national share in the past few years, BECAUSE it is so radically different from the inbumbent model…the same thing is true for ANY disruptive brand. I’ll be at Sweets & Snacks Expo this week and looking forward to seeing a lot of you there. What I’ll be looking for is the product that is the MOST different from the status quo and how we can reach early adopters with it. #disruptiveinnovation #Disneymaxbundle #emergingcpg #podfoods Flowspace Total Quality Logistics Green Spoon Sales Melissa Pashko Caroline Grace https://lnkd.in/d7dYis2C

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The non-alcoholic spirits category is building amazing momentum in the US. In fact, over Easter the non-alc spirits became the fastest growing category within alcohol. Sales were up a huge 101% YoY and growth was 3x faster than any other category! It's great to see non-alc spirits continue to gain traction amongst consumers, and what's even more impressive is that CleanCo continue to outperform the category so far in 2024! --- Source: NIQ Measured Off Premise Channels (Easter = 2 weeks ending 04/06/24) #nonalcoholic #nonalc #nonalcoholicspirits #drinksindustry

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Beverage alcohol companies are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for research and new product development. The potential benefits of AI in the industry are vast, paving the way for significant advancements. AI is set to play a pivotal role in transforming the beverage alcohol sector in the near future! Read more about how AI can benefit the beverage alcohol industry: https://lnkd.in/gtfMTjs7

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Beverage brands—learn what top acquirers like Coca Cola are buying through their corporate transcripts   Coca Cola executive management openly share 3 key themes in how they're thinking about the brand portfolio at the CAGNY consumer conference in February '24:   1. There's still ammo to acquire 💲   --- Coca Cola plans to increase investments into its brand portfolio in 2024 up to $2.2 billion.   --- The company still sits well below its net debt leverage target of 2.5x (1.7x in 2023) => access and appetite to acquire more brands.   --- It's clear from their concurrent divesture of bottling plants that they want to double down on the asset-lite approach with brands. 2. Focus on buying fewer, more scalable brands 📈   --- The company is turning away from buying smaller brands to only fit 1 or 2 markets.   --- Management is making sure "inorganic plays have got a higher probability for a scalable impact" so that its cost base is more efficient. 3. Keep betting on sparkling beverages 🥤   --- The CEO, James Quincy, continues to stay excited about sparkling beverages and has bets across all the subcategories like caffeinated, zero sugar, and all forms of flavors.   --- He sees strong growth continuing without much in the way to stop it. Comment about a beverage category you're particularly excited about!

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Some very good information here for emerging brands to understand as it relates to getting their brands from the store into the consumer's shopping carts (the hard part) vs. getting their brand into the store (the easier part). Fun stuff!

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CPG Is Constantly Changing - Except When It's Not (part 8 in a series) The Role of Sales in CPG The role of sales has actually changed little since trade promotion escalated over 30 years ago - and even before then. Sales has always been charged to increase a brand's DSMP - Distribution, Shelf Position, Merchandising Support & Pricing Effectiveness to improve profitable revenue and volume. The key phrase there being 'improve PROFITABLE revenue and volume'. And trade promotion is over 25% of your gross revenue - even though a lot of it may be buried in those distributor deductions. So, what does that mean? Here are a few quick questions to ask yourselves: * Are we securing the RIGHT doors, not necessarily the most doors. * Are we finding the RIGHT everyday price point to increase profitable revenue and volume, not just what happens based on the various markups. * Have we developed the RIGHT promotional mix, not just doing what the retailer or distributor thinks is great. So, how do you get there? I constantly have heard, 'We don't want our sales folks behind a computer, we want them out selling'! Let's face it, selling in CPG requires more analytical skills than most positions. Yes, both your sales team and brokers need to be with customers, but they need a lot to most of their time developing profitable brand plans for DSMP, developing profitable customer plans, executing & revising the plans as the environment is constantly changing, and then addressing the process all over again. That's happening with fact-based analysis. And it grows progressively. So, if you're an investor, founder, owner or leader, think before suggesting your sales team needs to get out from behind a computer - instead ask them more questions on how their volume / profit mix is being addressed by brand and by customer. And on every event. Then decide.

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When is it time for a brand to find a new home?... The potential sale of Oscar Mayer reflects a proactive approach to adapting to evolving consumer demands and market dynamics. Here are some thoughts that this WSJ article sparked in me. 1. Brands and companies at some point lose alignment. Brands can be very strong and consistently deliver a consumer promise. However, the brand promise may not be permanently in alignment with a company strategy. By prioritizing healthier product options and realigning its portfolio, Kraft Heinz shows a commitment to long-term growth. The focus on improving nutrition in its products reflects a broader industry trend towards addressing concerns over ultra-processed foods and health-related issues linked to diet. 2. The best decisions are grounded on the consumer. Kraft Heinz is considering selling Oscar Mayer to restructure its portfolio amidst growing consumer interest in health and nutrition. This move can help align with changing consumer preferences towards healthier options. 3. Stock performance and financial results matter. This strategic move is crucial for boosting the company's stock performance, which has been stagnant over the past five years. Kraft Heinz is facing challenges in its quarterly results due to cooling demand for some products and increased input prices. Profitable growth is about having the right portfolio for the long term. When brands lose alignment to the broader business strategy, they part ways with companies. In the end, it is about the consumer, what the consumer wants / expects and the competitive advantage of an organization to win with the consumer in a profitable way. What do you think? #marketing #branding #management #mentoring

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🚨FOOD INDUSTRY NEWS🚨 PepsiCo has reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations, despite weaker U.S. demand caused by Quaker Oats recalls and backlash to higher prices for its drinks and snacks. Shares of the company fell more than 2% in morning trading. Earnings per share: $1.61 adjusted vs. $1.52 expected. Revenue: $18.25 billion vs. $18.07 billion expected. 🥤 #pepsico #earnings #inflation #foodindustry #newsletter

What's the typical sports nutrition consumer? There isn't one! Prinoval's latest white paper found that while all respondents were more active than average, their activity habits varied drastically. For example, 20% exercised twice weekly and 22.5% did so daily. We also discovered regional variation, with a third of Spanish respondents exercising daily compared to just one in seven in Italy. What does this tell us? You can't put all sports nutrition consumers into one neat little box! Discover more insights with our white papers and market reports: https://lnkd.in/euZ-8R7Z #SportsNutrition #WhitePaper #Exercise #PrinovaGlobal #WeArePrinova

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Did you ever think of shopping as a team sport? Our #pepviz Hispanic Shopper Insights reveal that 79% of Hispanics go shopping with someone else. This makes them twice as likely to shop with others than shoppers in general and also 77% more likely to like and engage with store displays. This is why it’s so important for us at PepsiCo to innovate products and create new campaigns to engage with all of our customers and consumers.   Learn more interesting Hispanic Shopper behaviors and findings here: https://bit.ly/pepviz-data   Kate Garner, Antonio Escalona, Esperanza Teasdale, Erin Ness Cathey, Shannon Amundson, Ryan Sexton, Aracely (Cely) Moreno-Mosier, Valeria Rivas, Monica Bauer Mengelberg

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Global beverage alcohol 🍷🍸🍺 market set for moderate recovery in 2025, while challenges persist in 2024 IWSR data shows that India, China and the US will be key value growth drivers, adding US$30bn in incremental value by 2028; brand owners will have to navigate an increasingly complex macroeconomic and regulatory landscape. Following declines in 2023 and continued challenges in 2024, global beverage alcohol is expected to begin its recovery in 2025, according to comprehensive new data and forecasts from IWSR, the global authority on beverage alcohol data and intelligence. For the first time in nearly 30 years, IWSR recorded a decline (-2% in 2023) in the volume of spirits sold in the key US market. Meanwhile, global total beverage alcohol (TBA) declined -1% by volume and rose +2% by value (US$, variable exchange rate) in 2023. Excluding national spirits such as baijiu and shochu, global volumes were down -1% and value increased by +3%. While some more positive signs are starting to emerge in 2024, the global TBA market remains subdued after several years of above-trend growth, with challenges expected to continue until 2025 as household spending rebalances after strong inflationary pressures of the past 2 years. TBA volumes are expected to edge up by only +0.4% this year. Growth opportunities 💡 ✨️ are in RTD formats, premix cocktails, premiumisation, zero alcohol and signs of a (slight) rebound for the beer 🍺 segment. For any alcohol beverages manufacturer or brandowner looking to create the next great tasting innovative 💡 alcohol or zero alcohol 🍸 beverage, please do get in touch the team at Kerry is here to help. #alcohol #beer #wine #spirts #rtd #zeroalcohol #taste Lars Jensen Paul Villis Carol Dunne Jean Noel Ortal Kristof König Jean-Philippe Delforge Linda Chatton David Deeley Brian Short Thomas Hahlin Ahlinder John Savage Sheelagh Pentony Virginia Traldi Nina Riggins Elizabeth Horvath Travis Ralph Chantal Drolet Marc LEJEUNE Farrah Gilsenan Michel Aubanel Gilles Halotel Bourcard Nesin Jim Watson Francois Sonneville Stephen Rannekleiv John Craven Bryan Roth

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As consumer preferences continue to evolve towards convenience, major brands are capitalizing on the increasing popularity of tequila-based ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages. Leading the way are products such as White Claw's Tequila Smash, Boston Beer's Truly Tequila Soda, and Casa Azul's Playa Pack variety. This trend is being further fueled by health-conscious consumers seeking lower-calorie options, resulting in increased investments and indicating widespread acceptance within the market, with the potential for significant growth ahead. https://hubs.li/Q02s_JKd0 #TequilaTrends #ReadyToDrink #BeverageInnovation #MarketTrends #BeverageIndustry #ConsumerPreferences #RTD #TequilaSeltzers #WhiteClaw #Convenience #Packaging #BeveragePackaging

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