Guide to CPG Industry Trends from Creative Displays Now

Rising Trends in the CPG Industry

The consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry spans many sectors, including food and beverage, pet supplies, nutrition, cosmetics and toiletries, consumer electronics, and cleaning supplies. While each category has its own demographics and marketing strategies, CPG companies often borrow tactics and strategies from one another. A new trend in the food and beverage market can lend itself to a pet supplies brand and vice versa. The CPG industry also caters to the mass market, both in the brick-and-mortar retail landscape and, increasingly, online.

Therefore, a few broad trends span most CPG sectors. Some of them include:

  • A shift towards online marketing and e-commerce.
  • Eco-friendly packaging, retail displays and business practices.
  • New direct-to-consumer brands and purchasing options coming from traditional CPG companies.
  • More stable, diversified and resilient supply chains.

A Quick Primer on the CPG Industry

Consumer packaged goods include any merchandise that customers use and often replenish, such as snacks, drinks, makeup and hygiene products, paper goods, pet food and cleaning products. They are usually sold in individual packaging, traditionally in physical stores such as club stores, pharmacies, grocery stores and big-box retailers.

The CPG industry is vast because it includes so many seemingly different categories. Before we dive into the latest CPG trends, let’s talk a little bit more about the industry as a whole.

  • What is a CPG company? First, it’s helpful to distinguish between a CPG company and a CPG brand. The largest CPG companies often encompass hundreds of CPG brands. For example, PepsiCo is a CPG company that includes many individual brands, such as LAY’S®, Pepsi®, Doritos, Tropicana®, Quaker Oats and many more. The brands are the consumer-facing products lining retail shelves, while the CPG company is the overarching organization driving strategy.
  • How big is the CPG industry? The size of the industry as a whole can vary depending on what companies you count as CPGs. According to the latest numbers from the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), the CPG industry had a total market size of $1.53 trillion in 2020. CBA also estimated that the industry contributed $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2017, alongside 20.4 million jobs and $1.1 trillion in salaries, wages and benefits. Data for the first quarter of 2021 indicates that the industry continues to surge, achieving 8% year-over-year growth and totaling $1.62 trillion in projected annual sales.
  • What is the difference between CPG and retail? The CPG industry includes the manufacturers, sellers and marketers who deal with the physical CPG goods. Retail is the sale of those products to end customers, either at the store or online. CPG companies usually work with retailers such as grocery and big-box stores to sell their products. They might also partner with e-retail giants like Amazon.
  • What is the difference between FMCG and CPG? FMCG stands for “fast-moving consumer goods.” It is a subcategory of CPGs. For example, cans of cat food that a consumer buys weekly could be considered an FMCG. In contrast, a container of kitty litter that a shopper replenishes once a month is still a CPG but does not sell fast enough to be considered an FMCG.

What Will I Learn in This Guide?

In this guide, you’ll learn about some of the major trends influencing the CPG industry, including:

  • How the digital transformation is driving e-commerce and digital marketing for CPG brands.
  • Why sustainability is so critical for CPG companies, and how to incorporate sustainable practices into your business.
  • How traditional CPG brands are adopting direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce strategies.
  • What CPG companies are doing to bolster their supply chains and tackle some of the unprecedented supply chain challenges they face.

We’ll highlight each of these trends by the numbers, some of the well-known CPG companies and brands succeeding with these new strategies, and how your organization can do the same. To see how Creative Displays Now! can help you incorporate these CPG industry trends into the brick-and-mortar retail landscape, get in touch with us today.

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