The CPG Guys – Live from FMI Midwinter 2026 with AWS’s Justin Honaman
Date: February 14, 2026
Guests:
- Hosts: Peter V.S. Bond & Sri Rajagopalan
- Featured Guest: Justin Honaman, Head of Worldwide CPG, Retail, and Restaurant Go-to-Market Business Development, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Episode Overview
Broadcast live from the FMI Midwinter 2026 Executive Conference in San Diego, this episode features a dynamic conversation between host Peter V.S. Bond and AWS’s Justin Honaman. Focused on the evolving landscape of CPG (consumer packaged goods), retail, and the role of technology, the discussion dives deep into agentic commerce, data strategy, AI, and innovation enablers, offering insights and anecdotes for brands and retailers navigating the rapidly shifting digital commerce terrain.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The New Commerce Landscape: "2026 – The Year of Agentic Commerce"
- Agentic Commerce Defined (04:26–06:21)
- 2026 is identified as a turning point with agentic commerce taking center stage.
- Major technology enablers: cloud computing, the explosive investment and growth in AI (especially generative AI and large language models), and the increasing accessibility of scalable, flexible tech infrastructure.
- The shift: Not just for IT—business unit leaders can now deploy and orchestrate "agents" for automation, innovation, and efficiency.
Notable Quote:
“A year and a month ago, we weren’t even talking much about agentic… Last year, it was all generative AI. Now, the enablers are in place… cloud, investment in AI, and the scale/flexibility that allows business leaders to take an agent, assign it, train it, and connect it to do real business tasks.”
— Justin Honaman (04:47–06:21)
2. Winning the AI Race: What Sets Leaders Apart?
- Business Model Integration (06:51–08:13)
- Leading brands are embedding AI and agentic approaches into their organizational DNA, moving beyond seeing AI as just a series of discrete projects.
- CEO and C-suite engagement is critical—AI is woven into KPIs for growth, efficiency, and innovation.
- Example: PepsiCo as a leader in integrating AI throughout business operations.
Notable Quote:
“AI isn’t an IT project. AI is part of the fabric of what we do—marketing, sales, collaboration with retailers.”
— Justin Honaman (07:01–07:12)
3. The Rise and Reality of Clean Rooms
- Data Strategy Essentials (08:16–10:21)
- Brands relying solely on publicly available LLMs are at risk of falling behind.
- Developing and activating a clean room strategy—which enables secure, privacy-safe collaboration on proprietary data—is named as “non-negotiable” for manufacturers wanting to win in agentic commerce.
- AWS's Bedrock platform and Amazon Marketing Cloud highlighted as robust, secure environments for such data collaboration.
Notable Quote:
“If you don’t have a clean room strategy in place that you’re activating against this year, you are behind the curve.”
— Peter V.S. Bond (08:18–08:53)
“That’s been one of our biggest value propositions—security, availability, scalability, and optionality of models… Clean rooms enable secure data collaboration.”
— Justin Honaman (08:53–09:41)
4. Retailer Challenges: Size and Agility Matter
- Tech Investment Barriers and Partnerships (10:23–11:57)
- Large retailers with in-house tech/data teams have a leg up; small/regional chains face resource constraints.
- For smaller players, partnerships (with AWS and others) are crucial to scale, innovate, and remain competitive amidst accelerating change.
Notable Quote:
“It’s challenging for a couple-hundred-store retailer with a small tech org—you’re trying to run the business, keep POS up… Many are leaning on partnership to help them scale.”
— Justin Honaman (10:51–11:10)
5. Media Networks and Retail Media Investment
- Shift Toward Openness & New Platforms (11:57–15:35)
- Increasing willingness from retailers to partner with Amazon, even those who once saw Amazon only as a competitor.
- The Amazon Retail Ad Service (RAS) lets retailers deploy Amazon’s ad engine on their own sites.
- Forward-looking retailers are “leaning in” to tech, despite heritage or legacy models—wait-and-see is no longer viable.
Notable Quote:
“It’s moving faster than even the biggest can keep up with… Now’s the time to lean in, despite how we’ve always done things.”
— Justin Honaman (13:34–14:27)
6. Focusing on Customer Experience
- Staying Grounded Amid Tech Hype (15:35–18:29)
- Start with the customer experience vision—then back into required technology enablement.
- AWS team’s industry backgrounds enable consultative approach.
- AWS’s robust partner ecosystem fills capability gaps, building loyalty even when AWS can't directly deliver a solution.
Notable Quote:
“We ask: What’s the customer experience you want to create… Then we back into what AWS or our partners can bring. If we don’t have the capability, we’ll refer customers to someone who does.”
— Justin Honaman (15:59–18:29)
7. Peer Learning and Executive Advisory Boards
- Community-Building & Cross-Learning (19:21–21:28)
- AWS established dedicated executive advisory boards for both consumer goods and retail, mixing leaders from digital, tech, supply chain, and marketing for quarterly, sales-free knowledge sharing.
- Value: Real conditions for open dialogue, learning, and networking—even among competitors.
Notable Quote:
“Leaders [or] organizations that fail to listen will soon be surrounded by those that have nothing to say.”
— Justin Honaman (21:18–21:38)
8. Conference Season Insights: CES, NRF, FMI
- Themes and Takeaways from Early 2026 (21:58–28:15)
- CES: Inspiration, trend-spotting, and leadership engagement for many top brands.
- NRF: Retail tech focus, heavy on store operations, supply chain, and demonstrating AI/agentic solutions in action.
- FMI: Chief commercial officers and heads of retail media gather—critical for discussions on retail media investments and strategies.
Notable Quote:
“If you’re going to FMI and you’re not bringing your head of retail media, you don’t understand where decisions are really being made.”
— Peter V.S. Bond (24:01–24:34)
9. Looking Ahead in CPG/Retail
- Momentum and Next Steps (27:38–28:44)
- Social commerce highlighted as an exploding channel—brands and agencies are making major platform partnerships (e.g., TikTok Shop, Instacart).
- Leadership teams are eager and energized for new year initiatives, workshops, and partnership opportunities.
Notable Quote:
“There’s a lot of positive momentum… The next weeks are game on—for customers and internally, informing the team about what really matters to talk about with customers.”
— Justin Honaman (27:38–28:15)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On clean rooms vs. public AI models:
“If you don’t have a clean room strategy in place that you’re activating against this year, you are behind the curve.”
— Peter V.S. Bond (08:18) -
On innovation pace:
“It’s moving faster than even the biggest can keep up with.”
— Justin Honaman (13:34) -
On partner ecosystems:
“Our partner ecosystem is incredible… When you go global, you need partners to help scale.”
— Justin Honaman (11:26) -
On listening and leadership:
“Organizations or leaders that fail to listen will soon be surrounded by those that have nothing to say.”
— Justin Honaman (21:28)
Notable Timestamps for Key Segments
- The rise of agentic commerce: 04:26–06:21
- AI and what sets leaders apart: 06:51–08:13
- The importance of a clean room strategy: 08:16–09:41
- Retailer resource gaps and partnerships: 10:23–11:57
- Amazon’s ad tech for retailers & shifting mindsets: 11:57–15:35
- Customer experience focus and AWS’s consultative approach: 15:35–18:29
- Executive advisory boards and industry learning: 19:21–21:28
- Conference insights and industry networking: 21:58–28:15
- Social Commerce and new opportunities: 27:38–28:44
Episode Tone
The tone is informative, warm, and accessible, blending industry insider anecdotes with cutting-edge technical discussion. Host Peter balances playful banter with incisive questions, while Justin offers open, practical, and occasionally inspirational advice, sprinkled with humility and a focus on partnership.
Concluding Thoughts
This is a must-listen episode for CPG and retail professionals seeking a “state of the union” on commerce technology in 2026. It delivers an honest assessment of both opportunity and risk—from AI integration and data strategy to the importance of executive alignment, partnerships, and real peer-to-peer learning. The message is clear: lean in, listen, and build with speed and security—or risk falling rapidly behind.