At the Virtual Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference, executives of the major CPG companies revealed how they are coping with the labour issue in the post-pandemic era. Mark A. Clouse, CEO of Campbell Soup Co., mentioned that they have attracted and retained labour by offering flexible work schedules, improved environmental facilities, and converting most gig workers into permanent full-time workers. Jonathon J. Nudi, president of General Mills Inc., said they had employed major and minor control towers at the working team levels to address the labour issue and remove hurdles. Andre P. Callahan, CEO of Hostess Brands Inc., added that they coped with labour issues through employee value proposition by providing safety and giving the employees their due liability. Read more from Foodbusinessnews

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

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 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

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

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

To survive in today’s marketplace, brands can no longer rely on conventional media. Instead, they must consider and reflect the real-world events by evolving continuously to welcome the new normal. Here are three changes brands need to consider: 1, Project “clean house;” Most global companies recycle their marketing campaigns yearly. Instead, they should run daily campaigns to assess whether the needs are attuned to global events. 2, Utilize available resources; In a data-driven world, brands should use data to quantify brands’ progress on embracing significant changes. 3, Create change; brands should step out of their comfort zone and create change by educating and monitoring themselves. Read more from Thinkwithgoogle

Procter & Gamble’s sales increased by 9% to $19.3 billion in the first quarter of 2021. The company’s e-commerce sales accelerated by 50% in this quarter which consequently constitutes 11% to 12% of its total sales. The brand increased the budget for marketing to $100 million while cutting media, production, and agency expenditures. P&G keeps on reducing expenses and is reinvesting in advertisements as the organization sees flooding sales of items, particularly from cleaning, wellbeing and cleanliness categories. Read more from Marketingdive