Blog
Learn about big data technology and trends for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail industries.
Sales | high-order attributes | off pack attributes
Four out of five global respondents said that it is “extremely” or “very” important that companies implement programs to improve the environment. And 30% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for products that deliver on social responsibility claims.* Sustainability has a myriad of meanings to consumers. And there’s a broad spectrum of practices that encompass what it means to be sustainable in their eyes.
Share
“Did you know that ketchup has more sugar than ice cream?” You may have heard claims like this thrown around, but they aren’t entirely true. Yes, most often, if you eat a spoonful of ketchup and a spoonful of ice cream, you’d be getting more sugar from the ketchup, but who eats a spoonful of ketchup? It’s a questionable comparison. Luckily, the FDA has standard sizes for different types of foods called Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACCs).
Share
We start this week with an interesting article that points to how search can directly influence how products are conceived (and category management). Yet another example of how we need to look to how changing consumer behavior will disrupt the industry. Following that, we include some articles about changes in the retailer space, and then we finish with some self promotion with an announcement of our product development with Topco, and how we're hoping to move the industry forward. As always, we hope this helps you kick start your week. The Amazon algorithm spawned a skin care line called Belei - vox.com A moisturizer isn’t just a moisturizer anymore. People have become a lot savvier, thanks to forums like Reddit’s /r/SkincareAddiction and Instagram, and robust media coverage of the intricacies of skin care. Affordable brands like Deciem’s the Ordinary have helped democratize skin care and increase ingredient awareness. As a result, shoppers are looking for hyaluronic acid, retinol, vitamin C, and peptides now — they expect brands to talk to them about ingredients. Product descriptions often include these keywords and tout the benefits. (curated by @joe100books)
Share
This week we've got a bit of a deep dive video. Titled: "Tomorrow's Category Management Today, The Future of Online Category Management", the video makes the argument that most growth in the foreseable future is going to come from online channels and that this is going to change the way we think about Category Management. “e-commerce is shopped one item at a time; every product detail page must stand on its own" – Danny Silverman, Clavis Insight The video is a deep dive, lasting 45 minutes, but is worth the time if you have any interest in the future of grocery, and in particular if you are in the category management function. Of particular interest, I found the way the video discusses the difference in customer needs between the "Push" of Brick and Mortar versus the "Pull" of e-commerce, and also how Brick and Mortar is more of a compromise for customers who take the brand that is available on the shelf, whereas e-commerce becomes a more discerning environment. If any of this is true, the demand for transparency and experiences that support better decision making is only going to increase. Hope you get out of it as much as i did. Have a good weekend.
Share
Sometimes, the ingredient declaration is just not enough to answer the long asked consumer question, “what’s in our food?”. Now, more and more people want to know what ingredients are and why they are being used in addition to the statement of their presence. However, it can be difficult for them to find reliable information. When searching for an ingredient, there can be an overwhelming amount of results, some of which are not reliable, but may appear above other more reliable resources. Obviously, this information is too much to print on a package, so it can be difficult for brands to provide this information in a manner that is easy for customers to find.
Share
The news this week starts off with 3 more acquisition announcements that our team found particularly interesting in the news this week. The acquisitions point to the disruption that is taking place across the industry, representing activity by a retailer (walmart), a CPG Brand (Unilever), and a 3rd party solution provider (Syndigo). Following from the acquisition news the team found news articles related to non traditional foods interesting and they found and shared posts around pickle chips and meatless hamburgers - for some reason. Lastly the list of curated news ended up with an informative article about the challenges of large retailers making the change to support e-commerce. In this case it was a fairly detailed exploration of Kroger's challenges. Definitely worth a read. Hope you had a great Easter weekend. Have a great week ahead. Walmart acquires ad-tech startup Polymorph to capture more brand dollars - marketingdive.com Walmart has acquired Polymorph Labs, which offers a cloud-based ad serving platform, in a deal whose terms were not disclosed, according to a blog post by the retailer. Polymorph's founders, product developers and engineers will join Walmart Media Group and Walmart Labs. (curated by @davebyman)
Share
We wrap up this week with a video that discusses the evolution of Category Management practice over the last 3 decades, and explores whether Category Management is working presently. “If all you have is a hammer, then everything starts to look like a nail" – Marc Childs, principal of Childs Davidson Limited The high level coverage of the evolution of Category Management is very helpful context for those that may not be aware of how we got to where we are. The second part of the video discusses Category Strategy, and how this, in differentiation from category management, can help to move retailers and brands forward more productively by giving category management some focus and guidelines, therefore aligning category captains and insights within a framework. It seems clear that to get to the future of grocery retail, there needs to be significant further evolution of the category management practice. It's fascinating to watch this space to see those changes coming. I hope this helped give you a slightly new perspective. Have a good weekend.
Share
There are 4 key returns on investment (ROI) stories that we help our customers to understand before they make a decision about LabelSync. All can be found here, outlined on the LabelSync solution page. Today we’re going to dive into “Improved Operational Efficiency” to better understand how and why a CPG manufacturer would get a return on their investment in LabelSync. Who is LabelSync for? To start with, LabelSync is a best-in-class solution that helps CPG manufacturers and brands manage their product data for digital transparency. The LabelSync solution is for brands who want to finally solve their digital product data challenge, after years of struggling to create, verify, and manage product data that meets all needs. LabelSync is utilized for such use cases as best-in-class SmartLabel product data (there is an option to add on the pages for an all-in-one solution) but can also go beyond SmartLabel to power all digital product data initiatives.
Share
This week we partake in some gratuitous self promotion with 3 posts published by some of the brightest among our team!!??!! The first is a post by yours truly, published in fooddive.com exploring how the consumer demand for transparency is changing the way we think about Category Management. The second is a guide to help brands with their SmartLabel decision making process, and the third is an exploration of how off-package attributes can change the way your brand is perceived in the market. The remaining articles this week are largely related to developments in retail and in particular e-commerce, exploring the space from both a trend and business model perspective as well as a user experience perspective. Hope this keeps you curious heading in to this week. Transparency and buying behavior are changing the game for category management - Fooddive.com The last several years have proven challenging for the CPG industry. With more emphasis than ever on convenience and experience, customers are demanding a personalized shopping experience. Busy shoppers no longer want to spend time walking down each aisle in the grocery store. That quest for convenience has driven many customers to buy groceries online. Nielsen and the Food Marketing Institute forecast that e-commerce could grow more than $100 billion from 2017 to 2025. This fundamental shift has created both a massive challenge and opportunity for CPG brands. (curated by @antonxavier)
Share
Another video about Alibaba's Freshippo (formerly known as Hema) shopping experience in China. I'm a little obsessed about the new ideas and the connectedness of these stores. “If I have any questions at all about a product, I just scan and get the full ingredient list on my phone." – Alibaba I continue to get excited about the level of data competency that Alibaba displays in the Freshippo execution. In this video in particular the host talks about the importance of freshness using the example of how some fresh produce has a large "3" printed on the packaging so that you know it arrived and was packaged that day (Wednesday in the video) and is therefore fresh. The bringing forward and connecting of data competency, logistics innovation, and a digital shopping experience can truly change the way we shop. As you can tell, i remain very excited about the future of grocery. Have a good weekend.
Share
