Global News and Digital Insights
for the Consumer Goods Industry

November 20, 2021

E-commerce accounts for 12% of Unilever’s sales

Unilever’s online sales accelerated by 38%, accounting for 12% of sales in the third quarter of the fiscal year. The sales have grown in the US, China, and India but were down in North America, South East Asia, and Europe. Unilever brands including, Marmite and Graze, sell direct to consumers via their website, online marketplaces, and supplying online retailers around the globe. Unilever has identified e-commerce as a future key channel for sales and advertising. Its strategy is evolving, moving away from traditional platforms such as TV and towards gaming and streaming platforms to create brand awareness. Unilever is fostering its educational program for marketers, creating advanced abilities and adjusting its employees to the future shopper patterns. Read more from Internetretailing

Blas Maquivar: An insight on how to keep up with continuously evolving market

Blas Maquivar, President of Mars Wrigley, has discussed the evolving snacking trends, strategies to accelerate digital capabilities. According to him, three trends shape consumers’ snacking behaviours 1, Boost in e-commerce 2, Interest in home-based activities like cooking and indoor games 3, Health consciousness. He added that the company had built digital capabilities by transforming its digital portfolio. In India, the company has offered personalized M&Ms, while in Mexico, a chocolate gifting brand named Turin is established with Turin Digital Store. He emphasized that the company has excelled through mental availability. The brand created awareness via digitalization and physical availability to reach the right consumer at the right time. Besides this, he stated that the company’s purpose is to create better moments to make the world smile by offering a sustainable range of snacks to its consumers, so they choose as per their needs and taste. Read more from Mckinsey

Nivea cream maker, Beiersdorf, anticipates growth in the travel retail and automotive industry

Beiersdorf, the Nivea cream making firm, anticipates a recuperation in travel retail and interest for sun care items in 2022. The Nivea maker also expects a boost in the sales of adhesives which would reboot the automotive industry. Beiersdorf anticipated it because the last quarter deals rose by 4.3% to $2.2 billion. The consumer business saw a rise of 4.1% in the sales of organic items. As individuals returned to beaches, the Nivea brand saw soaring demand for sun creams, shower gels, and deodorants. Beiersdorf plans to dispatch its Eucerin Sunline in the US towards the beginning of 2022. The Tesa adhesive category, which makes about a fifth of sales, reported an increase of 4.6% organic sales, helped by development in the Chinese electronic business. The firm has expanded its 2021 outlook up to 11% to 13% to grow Tesa’s organic sales and expects the automotive industry to recover from the shortage of computer chips in 2022. Read more from Reuters

Kraft Heinz relaunched its print publication, What’s Cooking as a digital platform for chefs

Kraft Heinz is relaunching its print publication What’s Cooking as a digital platform for chefs. This platform will expand their audience and find motivation, with assistance from Top Chef alum Chef Edward Lee. Created in Kraft Heinz computerized lab in Toronto, the food devoted publication permits chefs and home cooks to share their culinary voices, promote food content and work with each other. The website offers a low-upkeep source for thriving cooks to generate an audience and make their home base for their food content. The multi-stage launch incorporates new elements to assist chefs in commercializing and updating them regarding cooking hacks. Kraft Heinz has established an information centre hub inside its organization. This centre helps the firm react to changing consumers’ patterns and market demands proactively. Read more from Strategyonline

Tate and Lyle eliminated coal-based energy from its global operations

Tate and Lyle, a US-based global supplier of food and beverages ingredients, has eliminated the use of coal-based energy across its global operations. This elimination has completed the multi-year capital investment program, which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Tate and Lyle plants. This mission has been accomplished by supplanting coal frameworks with natural gas-fired combined heat and power systems at four factories in Loudon, Tennessee, Decatur, Illinois, and the two plants in Lafayette, Ind. The elimination would result in less water usage, and local communities would breathe in purified air. Read more from Foodincanada

An insight on how creators influence consumers’ shopping behaviours

Brands can indirectly showcase their products to audiences via YouTube creators and influencers. Ipsos, a market research firm, claims that half of the US consumers feel confident when buying from a brand promoted through creators’ stories or product reviews. Brands including Ritz, Madewell, and Schick have engaged with audiences in three ways through creators that are as follows. 1, Find a creator with personal connection; creators build trust by sharing authentic and vulnerable stories. 2, Connect with diverse creators; brands can reach global and diverse audiences if they partner with global YouTube creators. 3, Increase in search rate; YouTube creators influence online and offline consumer shopping behaviour and help them discover brands through interactive videos or stories. Schick, an American razor brand, saw a 45% increase in purchase intent and a 3,540% lift in the branded keyword search on Google and YouTube. Read more from Thinkwithgoogle

Lexus campaign speaks personalization with emotionally intelligent ads

Lexus, a Japanese automaker, has promoted its new car model, ES Self-Charging Hybrid, through “emotionally intelligent advertisement.” The brand has launched its campaign named Feel Your Best by collaborating with The&Partnership and MorphCast. It uses facial expressions of the viewers to read and adapt to viewers’ emotions as they watch the video. The ads change the music, colour and intensity in real-time after a camera assesses the emotional state. They offer montage for a total of 3,125 possible combinations. The campaign also involves elements like social media placements, TV spots, and OOH. Read more from Marketingdive

Consumers of the APAC region have given rise to the Home E-commerce

E-commerce has increased by 384% in the APAC region. The global home market is expected to grow to $184 billion by 2025. Amid a thriving home e-commerce market, retailers can consider the following three ways to cater to the expectations of pandemic-adapted consumers. 1, Rethink digital commerce; if the brand does not offer easy and quick delivery options like click-and-collect or curbside pickup, 58% of the APAC consumers switch retailers. BMW launched their new second-generation X5 through augmented reality experience in Malaysia. Consumers would see, hear, and feel the vehicle through their smartphones while sitting at home. 2, Utilize technology and AI; brands need to use human insights with AI to predict emerging trends and communication through live chats and chatbots. 3, Accelerate social shopping; in the APAC region, social shopping is expected to cross $4 trillion by 2024. Retailers need to utilize their social media platforms to grasp the attention of audiences. Read more from Thedrum

An insight on how US top 5 companies prepare for a consumer-first future

Covid-19 pandemic has prepared the companies for a customer-first future. Five of the top US companies gave an insight on how they plan to deal with business in the post-pandemic world, regardless of the industry. 1, Lauren Weinberg, CMO of Square, emphasized fostering connections to create community. For this purpose, the company allows customers to share their struggling stories, which Square featured on its seller stories. As a result, the company generated an 82% uplift in customer web traffic. 2, William White, CMO at Walmart US, provided improved home delivery services, curbside pickup, and Walmart+ membership. The firm saw a 37% increase in sales. 3, Julia Vander, SVP at Hyatt Hotels, recommended putting content in context using first-party data. The brand utilized first-party data to provide the right information to the right consumer at the right time and increased its consumers by 13 times. 4, Fara Howard, CMO at GoDaddy, suggested staying authentic to the audience to cater to their emerging needs. 5, Suzy Deering, CMO at Ford Motor Company, emphasized delivering unique experiences to audiences to grasp their attention. Read more from Thinkwithgoogle

Accelerated demand for American cheese in APAC region

Consumers of the APAC region have adapted a western diet, which has boosted the demand for American cheese. The shipment of American cheese has increased by 71%, as per the USDA data. The global cheese market is expected to reach $105.9B by 2026. The international demand for American cheese has resulted in an increased market value of the cheese industry. Stephen Cain, U.S. Dairy Export Council Economic Analyst, claims that the global cheese trade, for the year 2021, has crossed 2.6 billion pounds. The top U.S. cheese trade partners are East Asia and Latin America, while the main partners are Mexico, Japan, and South Korea. Read more from Foodinstitute

Series C funding: Future Farm raises $58 million

A plant-based meat manufacturer, Future Farm, has raised $58 million in Series C funding in association with BTG Pactual and Rage Capital. The firm offers plant-based patties made of soy, peas, beetroot, and chickpeas since 2019. The products are available on the shelves of more than 10,000 retail shops across Latin America, Europe, APAC, and the US. The company is working on its True Texture Technology to manufacture healthy plant-based alternatives that taste, look and cook like traditional animal-based meals. The company plans to utilize its total funding of $89 million to accelerate product development, expand its market and launch 100% sustainable and plant-based packaging made of sugar cane. Read more from Foodbusinessnews

Consumers returned to shops to buy sustainable cosmetic products

Accenture, a research firm, conducted its 15th Annual Holiday Shopping Survey, sampling 1500 US consumers. The survey results showed that a quarter of these surveyed consumers plan to buy more cosmetic products following this holiday season. As face-to-face socialization has returned, 44% of consumers plan to go to festive events, more than 50% plan to go out for a meal, and 50% plan to visit family and friends. The results further demonstrated that 48% of young consumers plan to continue shopping for cosmetic products from stores. Besides this, the environmental impact of the products is also shaping consumer shopping behaviours. 39% of respondents preferred cruelty-free products, 35% of consumers have become considerate of the prices. Read more from Cosmeticsdesign

Innovations in Salesforce’s Trade Promotion Management help CG companies drive revenue

Salesforce, an American cloud-based software company, announced innovations in CG Cloud to redefine the promotional strategies and improve retail execution. The Trade Promotion Management manifests that the following strategies could help retailers better engage with consumers and drive revenue. 1, Promotion planning could help account managers to manage customer business plans and account budgets while growing trade spend effectiveness. 2, Trade promotion analytics allows them to analyze the trade spend effectiveness and maximize promotional ROI to adapt success-driven promotional strategies. 3, Funds and claims management enables the account manager to view the trade budgets and execute a trading plan accordingly. 4, The use of updated software can help companies manage their promotional activities, which would generate revenue. Read more from Salesforce

E-commerce accounts for 12% of Unilever’s sales

Unilever’s online sales accelerated by 38%, accounting for 12% of sales in the third quarter of the fiscal year. The sales have grown in the US, China, and India but were down in North America, South East Asia, and Europe. Unilever brands including, Marmite and Graze, sell direct to consumers via their website, online marketplaces, and supplying online retailers around the globe. Unilever has identified e-commerce as a future key channel for sales and advertising. Its strategy is evolving, moving away from traditional platforms such as TV and towards gaming and streaming platforms to create brand awareness. Unilever is fostering its educational program for marketers, creating advanced abilities and adjusting its employees to the future shopper patterns. Read more from Internetretailing

Blas Maquivar: An insight on how to keep up with continuously evolving market

Blas Maquivar, President of Mars Wrigley, has discussed the evolving snacking trends, strategies to accelerate digital capabilities. According to him, three trends shape consumers’ snacking behaviours 1, Boost in e-commerce 2, Interest in home-based activities like cooking and indoor games 3, Health consciousness. He added that the company had built digital capabilities by transforming its digital portfolio. In India, the company has offered personalized M&Ms, while in Mexico, a chocolate gifting brand named Turin is established with Turin Digital Store. He emphasized that the company has excelled through mental availability. The brand created awareness via digitalization and physical availability to reach the right consumer at the right time. Besides this, he stated that the company’s purpose is to create better moments to make the world smile by offering a sustainable range of snacks to its consumers, so they choose as per their needs and taste. Read more from Mckinsey

Nivea cream maker, Beiersdorf, anticipates growth in the travel retail and automotive industry

Beiersdorf, the Nivea cream making firm, anticipates a recuperation in travel retail and interest for sun care items in 2022. The Nivea maker also expects a boost in the sales of adhesives which would reboot the automotive industry. Beiersdorf anticipated it because the last quarter deals rose by 4.3% to $2.2 billion. The consumer business saw a rise of 4.1% in the sales of organic items. As individuals returned to beaches, the Nivea brand saw soaring demand for sun creams, shower gels, and deodorants. Beiersdorf plans to dispatch its Eucerin Sunline in the US towards the beginning of 2022. The Tesa adhesive category, which makes about a fifth of sales, reported an increase of 4.6% organic sales, helped by development in the Chinese electronic business. The firm has expanded its 2021 outlook up to 11% to 13% to grow Tesa’s organic sales and expects the automotive industry to recover from the shortage of computer chips in 2022. Read more from Reuters

Kraft Heinz relaunched its print publication, What’s Cooking as a digital platform for chefs

Kraft Heinz is relaunching its print publication What’s Cooking as a digital platform for chefs. This platform will expand their audience and find motivation, with assistance from Top Chef alum Chef Edward Lee. Created in Kraft Heinz computerized lab in Toronto, the food devoted publication permits chefs and home cooks to share their culinary voices, promote food content and work with each other. The website offers a low-upkeep source for thriving cooks to generate an audience and make their home base for their food content. The multi-stage launch incorporates new elements to assist chefs in commercializing and updating them regarding cooking hacks. Kraft Heinz has established an information centre hub inside its organization. This centre helps the firm react to changing consumers’ patterns and market demands proactively. Read more from Strategyonline

Tate and Lyle eliminated coal-based energy from its global operations

Tate and Lyle, a US-based global supplier of food and beverages ingredients, has eliminated the use of coal-based energy across its global operations. This elimination has completed the multi-year capital investment program, which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Tate and Lyle plants. This mission has been accomplished by supplanting coal frameworks with natural gas-fired combined heat and power systems at four factories in Loudon, Tennessee, Decatur, Illinois, and the two plants in Lafayette, Ind. The elimination would result in less water usage, and local communities would breathe in purified air. Read more from Foodincanada

An insight on how creators influence consumers’ shopping behaviours

Brands can indirectly showcase their products to audiences via YouTube creators and influencers. Ipsos, a market research firm, claims that half of the US consumers feel confident when buying from a brand promoted through creators’ stories or product reviews. Brands including Ritz, Madewell, and Schick have engaged with audiences in three ways through creators that are as follows. 1, Find a creator with personal connection; creators build trust by sharing authentic and vulnerable stories. 2, Connect with diverse creators; brands can reach global and diverse audiences if they partner with global YouTube creators. 3, Increase in search rate; YouTube creators influence online and offline consumer shopping behaviour and help them discover brands through interactive videos or stories. Schick, an American razor brand, saw a 45% increase in purchase intent and a 3,540% lift in the branded keyword search on Google and YouTube. Read more from Thinkwithgoogle

Lexus campaign speaks personalization with emotionally intelligent ads

Lexus, a Japanese automaker, has promoted its new car model, ES Self-Charging Hybrid, through “emotionally intelligent advertisement.” The brand has launched its campaign named Feel Your Best by collaborating with The&Partnership and MorphCast. It uses facial expressions of the viewers to read and adapt to viewers’ emotions as they watch the video. The ads change the music, colour and intensity in real-time after a camera assesses the emotional state. They offer montage for a total of 3,125 possible combinations. The campaign also involves elements like social media placements, TV spots, and OOH. Read more from Marketingdive

Consumers of the APAC region have given rise to the Home E-commerce

E-commerce has increased by 384% in the APAC region. The global home market is expected to grow to $184 billion by 2025. Amid a thriving home e-commerce market, retailers can consider the following three ways to cater to the expectations of pandemic-adapted consumers. 1, Rethink digital commerce; if the brand does not offer easy and quick delivery options like click-and-collect or curbside pickup, 58% of the APAC consumers switch retailers. BMW launched their new second-generation X5 through augmented reality experience in Malaysia. Consumers would see, hear, and feel the vehicle through their smartphones while sitting at home. 2, Utilize technology and AI; brands need to use human insights with AI to predict emerging trends and communication through live chats and chatbots. 3, Accelerate social shopping; in the APAC region, social shopping is expected to cross $4 trillion by 2024. Retailers need to utilize their social media platforms to grasp the attention of audiences. Read more from Thedrum

An insight on how US top 5 companies prepare for a consumer-first future

Covid-19 pandemic has prepared the companies for a customer-first future. Five of the top US companies gave an insight on how they plan to deal with business in the post-pandemic world, regardless of the industry. 1, Lauren Weinberg, CMO of Square, emphasized fostering connections to create community. For this purpose, the company allows customers to share their struggling stories, which Square featured on its seller stories. As a result, the company generated an 82% uplift in customer web traffic. 2, William White, CMO at Walmart US, provided improved home delivery services, curbside pickup, and Walmart+ membership. The firm saw a 37% increase in sales. 3, Julia Vander, SVP at Hyatt Hotels, recommended putting content in context using first-party data. The brand utilized first-party data to provide the right information to the right consumer at the right time and increased its consumers by 13 times. 4, Fara Howard, CMO at GoDaddy, suggested staying authentic to the audience to cater to their emerging needs. 5, Suzy Deering, CMO at Ford Motor Company, emphasized delivering unique experiences to audiences to grasp their attention. Read more from Thinkwithgoogle

Accelerated demand for American cheese in APAC region

Consumers of the APAC region have adapted a western diet, which has boosted the demand for American cheese. The shipment of American cheese has increased by 71%, as per the USDA data. The global cheese market is expected to reach $105.9B by 2026. The international demand for American cheese has resulted in an increased market value of the cheese industry. Stephen Cain, U.S. Dairy Export Council Economic Analyst, claims that the global cheese trade, for the year 2021, has crossed 2.6 billion pounds. The top U.S. cheese trade partners are East Asia and Latin America, while the main partners are Mexico, Japan, and South Korea. Read more from Foodinstitute

Series C funding: Future Farm raises $58 million

A plant-based meat manufacturer, Future Farm, has raised $58 million in Series C funding in association with BTG Pactual and Rage Capital. The firm offers plant-based patties made of soy, peas, beetroot, and chickpeas since 2019. The products are available on the shelves of more than 10,000 retail shops across Latin America, Europe, APAC, and the US. The company is working on its True Texture Technology to manufacture healthy plant-based alternatives that taste, look and cook like traditional animal-based meals. The company plans to utilize its total funding of $89 million to accelerate product development, expand its market and launch 100% sustainable and plant-based packaging made of sugar cane. Read more from Foodbusinessnews

Consumers returned to shops to buy sustainable cosmetic products

Accenture, a research firm, conducted its 15th Annual Holiday Shopping Survey, sampling 1500 US consumers. The survey results showed that a quarter of these surveyed consumers plan to buy more cosmetic products following this holiday season. As face-to-face socialization has returned, 44% of consumers plan to go to festive events, more than 50% plan to go out for a meal, and 50% plan to visit family and friends. The results further demonstrated that 48% of young consumers plan to continue shopping for cosmetic products from stores. Besides this, the environmental impact of the products is also shaping consumer shopping behaviours. 39% of respondents preferred cruelty-free products, 35% of consumers have become considerate of the prices. Read more from Cosmeticsdesign

Innovations in Salesforce’s Trade Promotion Management help CG companies drive revenue

Salesforce, an American cloud-based software company, announced innovations in CG Cloud to redefine the promotional strategies and improve retail execution. The Trade Promotion Management manifests that the following strategies could help retailers better engage with consumers and drive revenue. 1, Promotion planning could help account managers to manage customer business plans and account budgets while growing trade spend effectiveness. 2, Trade promotion analytics allows them to analyze the trade spend effectiveness and maximize promotional ROI to adapt success-driven promotional strategies. 3, Funds and claims management enables the account manager to view the trade budgets and execute a trading plan accordingly. 4, The use of updated software can help companies manage their promotional activities, which would generate revenue. Read more from Salesforce