CPG Chatter

As we count down on 2011, I can’t help but think about what lies ahead. This was another difficult year for both consumers and businesses.  The current economic environment really puts a strain on all the participants throughout the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry — consumers, manufacturers, distributors, brokers, retailers, etc.  Unfortunately, next year doesn’t look much better.

Despite this past year’s many challenges, I am proud to say that here at MEI we had one of our most successful years ever. I can’t help but smile every time I read the quote about us from Gartner – “By our count, MEI did more new-client TPM deals in 2010 than its next closest three rivals combined. We attribute this to its growing reputation, ongoing client service, and use of existing clients as spokespeople/references.”  Believe it or not, we did even better in 2011.

Now, the one thing I have learned is that you can’t sit back and enjoy success.  You need to stay a step ahead by closely studying the potential twists and turns the industry might take. That’s why I like to engage in scenario planning.  I find that it really fires me up to think about what could lie ahead. What should I be paying attention too?  What are the game changers? How should I position my company? What type of innovation could really help MEI jump the performance curve to another level?

As the year comes to an end there won’t be a shortage of prognostications for 2012. There is a lot of talk right now about ”how increases in food prices will be passed along through the industry” and “how the use of private label brands will evolve.” Social media is certainly re-shaping consumer behavior and every business’s marketing plan. And of course, one of my favorite topics is how many companies are dissatisfied with their visibility into trade promotions effectiveness.  A lot of the technology consultants seem to feel that 2012 could be the year that many companies leave their manual, Excel®-based processes and adopt a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution.

But what really fascinates me are the developments that could go either way, that is, turn out to be an industry altering event or just some short-term ‘fad’. Some of these include:

• Development of Trade Promotions Optimization (TPO) software
• Creation of a preferred food broker network aka the Delhaize announcement
• The increasing role of Farmers Markets in society
• The growth of the Natural and Organic industry

These are just some of the issues we will be thinking about here at MEI as we head into 2012.  What else would you put on this list?  I’d love to hear from you.