Just one week after March 15, 2020, when President Donald Trump claimed the US had ‘tremendous control’ of the coronavirus pandemic, California Governor Gavin Newsome ordered all state residents to stay home. “The order,” the New York Times reported, “represents the most drastic measure any governor has taken to control the virus.” Similar orders may become… Continue reading
Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are everywhere. However, most consumers know them by the brands they produce. Sprite, Tide, and Moleskine notebooks are all packaged goods purchased and used by millions every day. Coca-Cola, P&G, and Moleskine are the CPG companies that produce them. At a high level, a CPG company manufactures products, sells them… Continue reading
Last week the Campbell Soup Company announced that its recent investment in soup marketing paid off. This news is somewhat surprising. Nearly all research shows that consumers want fresh food. According to IRI, in 2017, fresh sales accounted for approximately 30.5 percent of all food sales, with produce, bakery, and deli meats accounting for most… Continue reading
How did things go so wrong for Kraft Heinz, one of the nation’s largest, most recognizable food companies that’s backed by one of the nation’s most beloved investors? In February, Kraft Heinz announced a 2.7% decline in net sales for 2019. This comes just one year after the company wrote down $15.4 billion because legacy… Continue reading
In theory, the relationship between CPG manufacturers and retailers is one of mutual interest and cooperation. A retailer needs healthy manufacturers to stock their stores with quality products that consumers want. One of the subtexts to my earlier article on Dean Foods is that retailer consolidation is weakening the power of manufacturers to the point… Continue reading
Negative externalities are an economics concept that is not often talked about, but incredibly intuitive. A negative externality is when an interaction between two parties harms a third party. If I buy new speakers from Sonos, Sonos gets money, and I get speakers. If I play them at all hours of the night, my neighbor… Continue reading
Unilever, the world’s largest tea producer, is looking to get out of the tea business. From Reuters: The company said the review was triggered by the sales slowdown of traditional black tea in developed markets as consumers shift towards herbal tea. Black tea is the dominant part of Unilever’s tea business, Pitkethly said, selling in… Continue reading
Coke announced it achieved or exceeded revenue and profits expectations for 2019. This came in stark contrast to 2017 when it looked like the Atlanta based fast-moving consumer product company faced an existential crisis over sugar. Consumers didn’t want to drink it anymore—bad news for a company whose portfolio revolved around sugary drinks. In two years,… Continue reading
In November 2019, during an economic expansion, Dean Foods declared bankruptcy. The nation’s largest dairy company, with the number one white and chocolate milk brand, could not make money. In January 2020, Borden Dairy followed suit. Most post-mortems dealt with the fact that both companies produced dairy — a product that fewer and fewer people… Continue reading
In early January, P&G announced plans to buy Billie, a subscription-based, direct-to-consumer brand focused on women razors. Female razors have long been a consistent revenue generator for CPG companies—not due to product quality—but because of a strange mix of sexism, product development and market concentration. The US female razor market is a $1 billion industry… Continue reading