Following a strategic investment in the company in 2017, Nestlé USA has acquired Freshly, a subscription-based meal delivery service. Removing the barriers to healthy eating Freshly is a weekly subscription service which delivers fresh, chef-cooked meals that can be heated and served in three minutes, directly to customers’ doors. Central to the company’s ethos is a focus on removing barrie...

We look at how the Kellogg Company continues to benefit from more meals being consumed at home and its focus on retaining new households. Elevated demand moderating The business delivered a strong third quarter performance with organic sales up 4.5% and reported operating profit up 55.9%. While the demand for food-at-home remains at an elevated level, the rate of growth is moderating. Sales...

We look at The Coca-Cola Company’s third quarter performance and its plans to discontinue around 200 brands globally. Away-from-home remains under pressure Net revenues declined by 9% to $8.7bn, reflecting the pressures it continues to face within the away-from-home segment. However, over the quarter, global unit case volume trends have improved from the volume decline of 25% in April, driv...

Following a strong first quarter performance, P&G has increased its full year guidance for sales growth, helping to reset expectations for the year ahead. Strongest performance since the start of the pandemic First quarter organic sales growth of 9% was driven by volume growth of 7% and supported by pricing (1%) and mix (1%) improvements. This was the strongest quarterly growth delivered by...

We look at PepsiCo’s strategic framework and how it’s using it to drive the potential of the business. Benefitting from at-home consumption trends The company delivered a strong third quarter, with net revenue up 5.3% and operating profit up 5.5%. Sales growth was led by its Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods divisions, benefitting from at-home consumption trends. It remains optimistic on its prosp...

We look how McCormick is benefiting from the shift to more eating at home and some of the challenges its continues to face. New behaviours becoming ingrained As one of the leading global companies in the flavours and condiments categories, McCormick has seen a major shift in consumer behaviour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its internal data indicates that consumers are cooking more from scr...

With the COVID-19 pandemic having provided “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to drive trial for our brands,” we look at how General Mills plans to retain its new customers. Net sales up 9.0% The company delivered a strong performance in Q1 with net sales up 9.0% to $4.4bn, and net earnings up 22.7% to $638.9m. It continues to benefit from elevated at-home demand, with expectations that it...

In an unveiling a major transformation plan, Kraft Heinz is adopting a new strategy, approach and operating model. We highlight some of key changes it has planned, including a shift from a category approach to consumer-driven platforms. Scale and agility Having been appointed last year, Miguel Patricio, CEO, has undertaken a significant review of the business. This has enabled it to identif...

Speaking at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference earlier this month, Colgate-Palmolive’s chairman, president and CEO, Noel Wallace, outlined three strategies for the business as it navigates the pandemic. 1. Staying true to its core principles The company has launched several new initiatives to support consumers, retailer customers and communities. These include providing educati...

As we transition out of the summer holiday period, in most geographies the COVID-19 pandemic has moved into a different phase. While latest trading updates from major CPG companies highlighted 12 broad areas of focus, five are being prioritised as companies adjust to the latest trading conditions. Uncertainty and volatility persist Although the virus path and nature of lockdowns continues t...

The Campbell Soup Company rounded off a strong full year performance with an excellent Q4 performance, underpinned by COVID-19 driven demand. We look at the steps the business is taking to drive stronger future growth. 1. Retaining new households Having captured millions of new households, even if retention is modest, it will offer significant incremental growth Retaining younger shop...

The Coca-Cola Company is establishing new operating units, global beverage category leads and a platform services organisation to align the business around a growth focus. Driving growth through strong brands The reorganisation has been developed to underpin the company’s ‘Beverages for Life’ strategy and capture growth opportunities. The aim is to optimise its global scale and local capabi...

As consumers look to avoid large scale gatherings in support of social distancing and efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 in the US, we look at how Mars Wrigley is adopting virtual approach to the Halloween season. Merging the digital and physical Building on the growth in virtual events, including since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mars Wrigley is launching a new digital exper...

As one of the leading private label manufacturers in the US, TreeHouse Foods has a great view of us food retail sector. We look at why it believes it is well positioned for the future. Branded suppliers responded faster to meet demand While the company was impacted in the second quarter by some plant closures and SKU rationalisation, which resulted in branded manufacturers gaining shelf spa...

In reporting full-year results, Procter & Gamble (P&G) saw ecommerce sales increase 40% to over $7bn, representing over 10% of the company’s sales. Ecommerce sales up 50% in second half P&G was one of the early investors in the ecommerce channel, focused on creating dedicated teams, products and strategies to grow its business significantly. Spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it saw a sig...

We look at why Mondelez is undertaking a significant SKU rationalisation exercise, simplifying its portfolio. Building on COVID-19 actions SKU rationalisation has been a key theme of the COVID-19 pandemic for suppliers and retailers. Most major suppliers simplified their offers temporarily to ensure the supply of key items and drive supply chain efficiencies during the initial surge in dema...

We highlight five consumer behaviour trends shaping Reckitt Benckiser’s strategic outlook and its investment plans. Unprecedented demand With a product portfolio centred on hygiene, health and nutrition, Reckitt Benckiser has been able to tap into significant growth opportunities shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has seen unprecedented demand for several of its products, making i...

We look at how The Hershey Company is planning for Halloween, a major event for suppliers and retailers in the second half, and its expectations for the season. Tapping into consumer creativity Halloween is the company’s largest season, representing 10 % of its annual sales. Given the impact of COVID-19, this year it expects the event to be different. Halloween is expected to start earlier,...

Following Unilever’s Q2 / H1 results announcement we look at five areas it highlighted and the learnings others can take from the global business. 1. Online shift seen globally and across operating models Much discussed as a driver of online’s expansion, the pandemic has led to fast paced growth globally. Unilever discussed how it was seeing the channel advance in several of its key markets...

We look at how The Coca-Cola Company continues to adjust to the COVID-19 trading environment and how it expects to emerge as a stronger business. Sequential improvement in the quarter The main impact on the business continues to be the shift from out-of-home to at-home consumption. Net revenue declined 28%, driven mostly by the out-of-home challenge, however, it saw sequential improvement i...