Large FMCG Companies ignore the future
Why Seeing Change Is Not Enough in FMCG
We have created a generation of large FMCG companies that can’t be Future-Proof.
FMCG companies are strange animals. First and foremost, because while they are concentrated on consumers, they often forget to use, and/or consider, the consumer's point of view in what they do. With a tiny bit of arrogance, marketers in FMCG assume they know their consumers better than the consumers themselves, and need constant reminders that’s not true.
Despite the millions spent on market and consumer research, FMCG companies often treat consumption as stable, maybe naturally growing, but it is not. Consumption shifts continuously, shaped by seasons, social norms, cultural change, short-term shocks and longer-term cycles. It is the most dynamic part of the industry, yet it is frequently analysed through static frameworks. The craft beer movement made this visible. After years of consolidation around a narrow set of standardised products, consumers moved back towards variety, local production, and older recipes. Demand did not disappear. It changed direction faster than most large players were prepared to respond.
But despite the dynamism of demand, we have created large corporations that dominate an industry in continuous transformation through M&A. In other words, the leaders are hardly able to build their future internally, by reshaping or remodelling their operating models, or through product innovation.
FMCG is not future-proof. And to a certain extent, it is not even present-ready given that a big chunk of the largest consumer companies have spent the last two years stuck in the conundrum of growing their sales either through price increases or volume growth.
Future-proofing in FMCG is a company’s ability to keep selling and growing as consumer demand shifts by adjusting its products, pricing, and distribution without being slowed by its own size or complexity.
It means not being locked into a fixed portfolio, a fixed supply chain, or a fixed view of the consumer, so the business can respond when tastes change, retailers shift priorities, or new competitors take share.
