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- [00:00]
A
Hi, I'm Marta Boles, Chief Communications officer and head of the Global Marketing Centers of Excellence at niq. And you're listening to the CPG Guys Podcast.
- [00:14]
B
Hello and welcome to the CPG Guys Podcast. Sat at the intersection of commerce and tech. Your hosts Sree Rajagopelan and Peter V S Vaughn explore how brands and retailers engage consumers in a digitally driven world. And now, here are the CPG Guys.
- [00:33]
C
Hello and welcome to the CPG Guys. I'm of course Sri, a co host and also CR on co founder of Think Blue Consulting, your trusted partner in your omnichannel development journey. Get in touch with me at sri@thinkblueconsulting co. Please do listen to my older daughter's music@www.rearaj.com who's on tour beginning December 2, five cities US and Toronto and follow Lara Raj, My younger daughter is a member of the world's fastest growing global girls group Cat's Eye and winner of an MTV VMA this year, two Grammy nominations on tour across the U.S. this winner, I'm joined today by none other than the Notorious B.I.G himself. My co host and co founder PVSB. Mr. Banuma Moonlights is head of industry and client engagement with Flywheel, the commerce acceleration division of Omnicom. Peter, how are you buddy? At the time of this recording, I think you had a very long night up and down the Mass Spike. Tell us more.
- [01:22]
B
Well, no, I think we talked about me going to the Cat's Eye concert in Boston where I saw, I brought my daughter Nadia. We went and saw Lara and the band play at the MGM Music hall in the shadow of Fenway Park. What I'm also excited about is coming up, I'm going to be heading into Manhattan to see Lara's elder sister Rias play a concert there. So I can't wait to see both of the Raj daughters in their element singing and performing. It's a real event, Shree. I just want to know when we get you up on stage and have you do a ditty or something like that, what are the chances there anything you got, you got those mad skills or that?
- [02:04]
C
Well, what I got to figure out is we got you backstage to meet with Laura from Cat's Eye. How do we do that for you to meet Ria? So I have, I have an assignment on my hand and I gotta make sure I understood the assignment. So I gotta make sure that happens.
- [02:16]
B
Okay.
- [02:17]
C
But for our audience, make sure you're subscribing to our podcast and your preferred listening platform where you can get our latest episodes and even go back to consume some of the 500 plus episodes we've already published. Today's episode is 2025 and the year that has transpired. So much volatility in the economy Tarif a consumer that is now nearly all digital or omnichannel inflation still hasn't tapered off geopolitical changes of extraordinary proportions across the entire world. We therefore invited Marta Bowles, Chief Communication Officer and Head of Global Marketing Centers of excellence@Nielsen IQ, to come talk to us about their recently released US executive report on observed consumer habits in Q3, what to expect through Q4, 2025 and a global outlook on 2026. Of course, we'll have links to these reports on the digital liner notes of these episodes. They've also published the Global Report like I mentioned, which will include consumer sentiments. So let's welcome Marta to the CPG guys. Marta, this is not your first time on the CPG guys. We love our repeat guests. Welcome to the podcast. How are you?
- [03:18]
A
Thank you. So great to be back with both of you. It's always a smile and such a wonderful experience. So great to be back with you.
- [03:25]
C
Awesome. We're excited to have you on the podcast. We'll include in the digital show notes of this episode, links to your LinkedIn profile, and of course that at Nielsen I Since this is all about the latest reports you all have published, let's jump right into it. Start by understanding for our audience, Marta, if you can shed light on what are these two reports, when did you release them, and what kind of data inputs went into developing these.
- [03:45]
A
So yeah, Consumer Outlook is something we've been releasing for a number of years and one of the things that we used to do is do one at the beginning of the year and one mid year and we've kind of revamped our concept to really release it in that September timeline as we're all going through planning and really looking at what's been happening in the year, but what was predicted to happen, where sentiment going, what are consumers saying and then applying that to our data and what are the trends that we're seeing. And so that is obviously one of the things that we started to really look at and we released it obviously in September and then the US report was released right after this. So September 30th was our global release date and then the US report was made available in October.
- [04:27]
C
Marta, if you can talk through what sort of data inputs went into these, how did you guys collect the data? Was there any notion of primary research is it purely, you know, syndicated data. What goes into these things?
- [04:37]
A
It's actually a lot. Lon. We go and talk to consumers, and actually in this report, we talk to consumers all over the world. Five countries we talk to. So we really have a cross section because you start to see different things in different places. And it's also something that we've been doing for a number of years. Um, so we did talk to consumers. All over the other pieces that we looked at is our data, obviously different category data, our panel data, understanding why consumers are feeling the way they are, looking at some of our innovation data. So we actually, you know, kind of go across our various data sources to really get a good cross section of what consumers are telling us and what are we seeing and does that align or is there some. Are there some anomalies? So we kind of look at it in a variety of ways. We analyze a lot of data, let me put it that way, multisources. So we can give you the full view of consumer buying behavior.
- [05:30]
B
Marta, are you saying that when. When it comes to data, you're full of it? Is that. Is that what you're trying to say?
- [05:35]
A
Kind of what I'm saying you're definitely full of. Full view of it.
- [05:38]
B
The full. Your full. Your full view of it. All right, Marta, welcome back to the podcast. We are delighted to have you. I think SRI and I were reminiscing the other day over the fact that we have not gone to a baseball game with you in quite a while.
- [05:50]
A
I was thinking about you guys during the World Series. Let me tell.
- [05:54]
B
It was. Well, last year's World Series with both of us having a stake in the game, was particularly interesting. But I think maybe next summer we'll, SRI and I will come out to Chicago. Maybe we'll go catch a Sox or a Cubbies game and revive the tradition. In any event. So your reports say that 2026 will be defined by consumer caution, even among financially thriving households. Why do you think this cautious mindset is really sticking around in consumers? And how should brands respond to this, you know, insurance mentality? Consumers seem to have developed.
- [06:31]
A
Yeah, I think, you know, it's kind of kind of evolved from COVID It's all the disruption that we talk about. It's global affairs and tensions around the world. It has been the anticipation of tariffs and what will that mean? I think it's just, I think inflation that has been obviously one of the things that we've been talking about for several years. And so I think consumers or what we're Seeing is consumers remain cautious. But what's interesting as well is they're also really looking at what's really essential to them. And so that's where that, that caution comes in. And we don't anticipate that changing. It's super interesting. Although we're talking about, you know, the consumer outlook for 2026. One of the other reports that we came out with in August was it's called business resiliency. We work with two Yale economists on that. And what we wanted to do is we analyzed 50 years of data and, and looked at the different scenarios like recession, stock landing, stagflation. And what was so fascinating and I think it goes into the question you asked Peter, on that caution. It was interesting because it wasn't really about that one scenario is going to create a bigger impact than the other. It is more about the severity of the shock that really drives kind of where consumers go into. And I think that's kind of where we are, which is they're cautious because it's definitely prices have gone up or consumers are feeling it. But it's also the anticipation of and I think there's concern of. I think people have become more conservative with their own finances in anticipation that it may get worse.
- [07:57]
B
You know, we talk a lot about in the news, I see the terminology, the K shape economy. And what you're telling us is that regardless whether there is or is not, people at all, ends of the economic spectrum are really experiencing this.
- [08:11]
A
Absolutely.
- [08:12]
B
What's going on there?
- [08:13]
A
Well, I think everybody is. And you know, I know I'm going to take it. I'm going to do a little squirrel on you on a tangent. But it's one of the things that I think was interesting that came out in, in the report was, you know, one of the things that really gets impacted is commodities and different things that people want. So I think that, I think it was an interesting that came thing that came out of the report is kind of commodity pressure. But you're seeing also companies innovate differently and where they're going to the ingredient manufacturers will go, I need alternatives. Two reasons. One, can I get a more economic like something that improves my margins, so can I get a cheaper raw ingredient? But two, I might not have access to my raw ingredient because of tariffs. So when you think about that, I think there's a lot that's happening on things like cocoa replacements, egg replacements. And so I think that, you know, I feel like we're in a very dynamic time where in some ways feels like dower for some, but it also is creating opportunities for others. And I just think the one thing that is kind of over for now is the premium pricing or just price increases. Just because there has to be real merit to premiumization for that to happen. Because I think just price increasing as a strategy and a way to drive margin, I think those days are a little over right now.
- [09:26]
B
Yeah, I think there's massive realignment going, going right now. One of the most telling examples is when I was growing up in, in Vancouver, my dad, being a good Canadian, wanted to drink Moosehead beer. He had to drive to the United States to get it because the way the inter provincial laws were structured, you couldn't sell Canadian beer in a province unless there was a brewery for that beer manufacturer located in one of the zones that they had created. So he would literally drive to the U.S. buy Moosehead there. And when he crossed the border, they tried to charge him duty. And like you can't charge me duty on a product that comes from Canada. But that was only. But now because of the tariff structures have gone on, there's a massive realignment north of the border and how they're sourcing their ingredients and the raw materials and the trade patterns. And that is a really, I think, to your point, a disconcerting time for consumers and for manufacturers. And it's causing just a lot of confusion and a lot of concern.
- [10:24]
A
It really is. And yeah, it absolutely is. Although one of the things that I would say to your listeners is also really understand your consumer and what matters to them. And because I think if they know that like you have loyal Moosehead Beer consumers, how do you kind of connect with that or what are some of those opportunities? And I think that is the piece that in these uncertain times, understanding your consumer and also I would say, whether you're a retailer or manufacturers, understanding the strength of your brand and where it's at and your audience becomes almost more critical because without it, because actually where there's challenge, there's always opportunity. And so how do you, how do you kind of understand where those may be?
- [11:05]
C
Speaking of which, two thirds of consumers say brand trust is very important. In a world where less is more, how can brands earn and maintain their trust? Especially when so much pricing was taken during COVID and inflation is at an all time high and with shoppers are cutting back and being much more intentional to really fill their baskets is only what they need versus any luxuries.
- [11:25]
A
I think it's both transparency and authenticity. So two things there, transparency and kind of what they're doing and why. I think, I think that like as you cited, the pricing playbook is over for now on price increases. But I think it's understanding where they fit in and how do you engage and communicate to that audience who are your loyalists and who are kind of falling off and how do you engage them and give them a reason to come back. And whether it's different price packing, it's how you approach them to really re engage with your brand. And I think the other piece of it is in some ways I think private labels have done a nice job on understanding where are those gaps and then where are those opportunities and they capitalize on it. And I think that's where brands have to really understand where do their brands fit in, where are the strengths and where are those vulnerabilities and how do you stay essential to them as part of their daily lives or the choices that they're making. And, and the other piece of it is, is how can you also. I'm going to go back to the understanding the consumer part. If you understand your consumer, you may have to do a reformulation, an additive actually market and promote different features that your product has that you may not have been. Because you start to understand that's what's important to them. I just think it's, it's, I think identifying that it's not just enough to say, hey, they're going to buy me because they prefer me. It's giving people the reasons why they're going to do it. Not that I want to go into another tangent, but one thing that I thought was super interesting is it's the attributes are super important. And you know, for a while, adding attributes and promoting attributes could drive premiumization. That is true and not true all at the same time because certain attributes have now become table sticks. When you used to say, hey, it's recyclable or sustainable, you'd get credit for that. You don't get credit anymore. That's what people expect. But you will get credit if there's other features that are, you know, enhance your, whether it's wellness experience that consumers are willing to pay more for. So I think again it's transparency and really understanding your consumer that are really critical more than ever.
- [13:32]
B
So that feeds well into my question when I think about the value that innovation attributes deliver to consumer perceptions. Artificial intelligence is really rewriting how consumers discover new products. But there's still a measure of distrust in AI driven shopping. How do you see that tension playing out among our consumers? Are they going to embrace AI as a shopping system and do we get to a point where, where we have a personal assistant rather than we're necessarily going to walmart.com or Amazon.com or whatever? You know, how do you feel about the slow adoption that seems to be transpiring compared to like, I think when TikTok shop came on the, on the, on the frontier, it was fast and furious. It seems like AI driven shopping assistants are not quite moving at that pace.
- [14:28]
A
What's going on there now? This is both, I'm going to give you both data and then also opinion on both of it. So I think from the data perspective, you're correct. I think as we think about 2026, some of the agents doing different pieces I think will be not as prevalent. But the one thing that's I think interesting and to note why I think it's going to accelerate as we get out of 2026 and into 2027. I think it's going to build in 2026 and I think it will be rapidly building. When you think about it, we have all been, the three of us have been talking about personalization for 20 years. That consumers increasingly want more personalization, which is kind of AI and so that was what was driving it. And so, you know, 83% of shoppers wanted, I remember using the statistic, you know, 10 years ago, want personalized experiences. Well, now they can get them. And actually in last year's consumer outlook, we actually were surprised by this statistic, but it was the statistic that came out of our consumer outlook for predicting 2025. 40% of consumers said they were okay with AI if it helped personalize and enhance their shopping experience. So that means consumers are already becoming more open to it. And I think if it enhances and simplifies their experience, I think it will continue to promote that. So I, I personally think that it will accelerate. I think it will. I think it's going to be building over time. I do believe that if you would have asked me this question when the report came out at the end of September, I think I, I would have had a different answer. But when I think about the announcement of Walmart with OpenAI and what, you know, Amazon is doing with Rufus, that whole piece is going to force all of us to kind of jump a lot more quickly and really start to get more serious about it. Where we said, we may have said, hey, that might be a back half 2026 problem or something, we're going to kick off a project to kind of work on our agents and how do we personalized better? And I think the one other piece that I thought was interesting and I saw this in a presentation last week and I it was a great comparison. So if you go into your search bar and you type in hair products for blondes, it will give you certain shampoos and conditioners are made for blondes. But if you go into ChatGPT and type in shampoos that are good for women with blonde hair, it will give you a whole plan and a regimen. Not just the product but how to use it, when to use it, not too often. So I think that element is going to start to dimensionalize that adoption and that acceleration. So you've got personalization that we've known for time has been what they want more of now it can deliver it. Consumers are saying, hey, I want that. I'm okay with it if it saves me time and money. And now you're giving me actually a better plan than just a product name. So I just think that it will, I just think, I think all of us should be thinking about those journeys and how can we think about AI and generative AI to kind of enhance those experiences. And because I hate to say it, I'm obviously a marketer, I'm worried about ROI and I'm worried about insights that unlock new opportunities. So, you know, I think it's happening quicker and quicker. Wow, that was, I guess I was very passionate about that one. I can feel my own excitement about it.
- [17:46]
C
It's definitely happening quicker and quicker. I won't debate that whatsoever. And change, change is a way of life at this point. Speaking of change, another one in the mix now is retail media. So you talk about retail media networks and creator commerce as game changers for visibility. How do you see this balance of the dynamic shifting between what's been traditional in store display and in store retail strategies and these new digital first approaches of content creation in 2026 and forward.
- [18:14]
A
I think it will continue to kind of grow. We just released of all things, of our outlooks, we just released a CMO outlook where we asked 250 CMOs about their thoughts on it. 67% said that they're going to be spending money in retail media networks. And I think part of that is, is retail media networks have the benefits of like digital media where you can be more prescriptive on audiences, segments and distribution. And there's just advantages now that retail media. So I don't see that slowing down. I see that continue to increase. I think the opportunity still exists and is how do you measure it the right way? Because everybody measures it. There's no standardization in that, in that retail media world yet. But I think that will evolve as well because every retailer kind of sees it a little bit differently. So I think that is the opportunity, but I don't see that slowing down. And when you think about it, I think if you were going to talk about some of the new media moguls, I do think it's going to be some of the, those retailers and the retail media networks just because I think much like digital media, the ability to drive attribution and prove out purchase is what we all ultimately want to do. And so retail media is positioned in a, in a way that enables you to do that in a more direct way. And I think it's going to be also interesting to see kind of what happens also with emerging brand in this space as well.
- [19:36]
C
So marketing mix models were never built for digital content creators. So how, what's your advice for CMOs? You just talked about the survey, but how would you advise them back like adopt it now, make changes?
- [19:48]
A
I think adopt it now. Like, you know, I don't know if I bet my whole ranch on it, but I would definitely be using it and learning and seeing what works. I think there's a desire for others to kind of bring that in. I think marketing mix also will be evolving with AI as things come in and I do think there may be some things that, that will kind of fold into some of the analysis that will happen in marketing mixed models because it becomes a, a channel that really goes into your spend and your mix. So I, I, I would predict that that is going to be something that's going to evolve as we think about it again to drive that roi, Roi Roas performance. Because I do think there's the one piece that we know, whether you're a consumer or I'm going to use the word a marketer, there's pressure on all sides to do more with less. And so I think being able to invest in things that you know, you can quantify to, if you're like I'm going to go back to the marketer now, to your CEO or board or C suite to say, hey, this is the return on investment or return on ad spend that I received and I can attribute this much performance, it makes it a lot easier to invest more. I mean, I think where it's kind of displacing is a little bit of how do you balance trade spend versus retail media spend. I think that will be the kind of the balance understood.
- [21:05]
C
So let me remind our audience that we're speaking with Marta Bolt from Nielsen.
- [21:08]
A
Mike, great to be here as always.
- [21:11]
B
Marta, Historically, shopping has started with intent. I need something, I want something. Increasingly platforms like TikTok shop show us that. In fact, it's beginning with inspiration from the, from these reports you've released. What does your research talk about? Talk about how consumers are changing the way they are shopping in this respect.
- [21:36]
A
Yeah, we talk a lot about seamless commerce actually in this kind of place. And I, I think it's one of those things that I think that will continue to increase on. You see something, you like it, you buy it. I think, you know, when you think about how we all used to shop before you needed awareness to drive consideration to. You had to go through this purchase journey. Now you can see something on TikTok and go, I want it and you buy it. And I think that that immediacy is happening. The other, the other element I think we all need to be cognizant of us of a certain age is that these new generations have grown up. You know, we talk about Omni Channel. I think like sometimes these younger generations, I think like we're talking to ourselves because for them they're almost channel agnostic. They, they go between everything so seamlessly. And I think that's where commerce is evolving too. Is that seamlessness across whether it's TikTok here. But you also think about what's happening in APAC with like live commerce and what's, you know, it's just, it's moving and I think it's, it's that it is and it's, I'm going to go back to my initial point. It's really been being driven by the consumer and their need to want to kind of interact. And so I think technology is enabling that. And I think for all of us it's actually gotten a lot more complicated because we had a defined set of channels that we knew how to operate in and now we've got these multi channels evolving and how do you, how do you invest in them, how do you prepare for them? They're a bit different. The one thing I will say that as we think about seamless commerce and being like across different channels from TikTok to social to digital and E Comm, I think the, the biggest piece is how are you going to be consistent, how do you use the channel and what is the right kind of parts to punctuate. But you as a brand or an experience have to be consistent. And I think that is actually one piece that as we think about seamless, all the variety of channels and that activation piece of how to brand stay true to who they are versus and how do you create those experiences that maybe they experience the brand differently. When you talked about the brand trust, how do you experience maybe be differently a bit different on TikTok than you may on Instagram, but it needs to be the same experience.
- [23:47]
B
Marta, you made mention of the fact that those of us of a certain age I want to remind our audience that last week we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the release of the iconic movie Back to the Future, which is a full decade longer than the amount of time that Marty McFly went back in time to go visit his the 1950s. That was 30 years in the past. We are now it is now 40 years in the past from when that movie was released. So you ask Gen Z what what Back to the Future is and they just shake their head. They don't understand about taking a DeLorean back in time. Sorry Sri just had to add that little anecdote.
- [24:27]
C
Peter, do you think they'll remember how Ruben Sierra hit a ground rule double in 1997? This is the first baseball game I watched at the bottom of the 13th against the red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
- [24:37]
B
I remember, I remember Dave Winfield throwing a ball at a bird in Toronto. That was that's one of the more iconic moments, historic moment.
- [24:45]
C
But Marta, speaking of all the change again I want to go to private label or store brands column what you may you mentioned earlier in this episode they're no longer trade down option. They're becoming a first choice in many cases. Talk a little bit about how national brands should put this in context and rethink their playbook of how they should be executing in the marketplace. What's that offer to the consumer will make it equally attractive. It's not just price anymore.
- [25:10]
A
No, I think that's the biggest piece and I think the the biggest I think changer is that the perception of quality. It used to be price that drove it, but the perception of quality was less. That's actually not true. And it goes into kind of what we were talking about earlier is that some of the retailer store owned brands have capitalized on gaps that existed in the market and I think it's under I think the one piece is not to lose sight of again the consumer but I think it's also not to lose sight of where is innovation going and understanding what is driving and like who you're trying to reach. Who's Your audience, what matters to them and how does your product fill what they need? I know, I think all of us and all the jobs and I think all of us could take a minute and see how this happens. And what we do is we look at everything inside out. Oh, I work at niq. I want to tell you guys all the great things we have to to how we're making your life easier. But the reality is I really want to be successful. I got to go outside in what are the challenges you're facing and how can I help you do that or how can I feel fill a need you have I think that same way on brands, which is if you understand your consumer, where are those gaps are things that your brand or your kind of product or your portfolio can either provide optionality to or provide choice too. And I think that's kind of that. I think it's just remembering that we need to go outside in versus inside out. So understanding the consumer, the challenges. Like I don't mean to be highlighting all the different reports but I just, I've been enjoying my own, our own reports this year, but we did one on Xers. So I really enjoyed that because I'm an Xer and can I ask you guys a crazy question? Could I do a guess what? Can you guess how much spending was lost in the last four years because nobody has been marketing to US Xers globally.
- [27:00]
B
Can you guess a lot? I will say a very precise number. A lot.
- [27:04]
A
Okay, very good. Three. How about you?
- [27:06]
C
I'm going to say if they were Luddite. It's a different number. I had to use the word Luddite, Peter. And if they weren't, if they weren't a Luddite, probably global number. You said four years. I'm going to go with US$14 billion.
- [27:19]
A
Four trillion, huh?
- [27:21]
C
Say that again.
- [27:22]
A
Four. $4 trillion of spending has not been realized because nobody marketed to Gen Xers, Peter.
- [27:29]
C
That could have offset the increase in national debt this year. Four trillion.
- [27:33]
A
And by the way, crazy the other piece and this will also be relevant because I remember SRI being with you when you're going to visit your, your parents and yet you've got your wonderful daughters, you're CFO of three generations because you're helping your parents, you're helping your kids and you've got your own life to take care of. Ease, convenience and actually they. We value brands because we grew up with them and when you're stressed, you're going with things that we rely on. So kind of building on that question on brands. I think it's also identifying where are those opportunities and where are those gaps. And I think sometimes again, outside in versus inside out.
- [28:11]
B
Marta for those who listen to this podcast frequently, every once in a while I go on one of these rants when we bring up the topic of private label. One of the one of the major advantages that private label has realized in the digital age addresses the quality issue. And it's this. I can now access product ratings and reviews and that is the single biggest enabler of consumers getting past the quality issue. If like a thousand other people have tried the product and written a review and say, you know what, the quality of this is as good or better than national brands, that national brands have to be very focused on the fact that consumers have at their fingertips with their devices. Right. The ability to access this information plus whatever creators are saying about it. If national brands aren't focused on something we talked about earlier, which is the innovative attributes of a product, private label is going to eat your lunch for all intents and purposes. Let me, let me shift to another area of fascinating innovation. This is around GLP1s right. Your report mentions anti obesity medications, functional snacking, commodity volatility. These are all kind of catalysts for change. I want to know from you, which of these trends do you think will have the biggest impact on innovation in 2026 and why?
- [29:28]
A
Yes, yes and yes. Yeah, I think all three of them will.
- [29:31]
B
Yeah.
- [29:32]
A
For a variety of reasons. And I think if I could actually kind of summarize it all, it's actually the wellness piece that I think globally as well as here in the US Is really focal there. I think wellness is, is kind of a trend that's here to stay. I think there's a lot of growth that's projected over the next two to five years in wellness products. I do think when you think about all the GLP1s, it's all of us trying to get actually more well or get to a target weight that we can be feel better about less maybe sugary snacks, maybe more protein. So so different things there, commodities. I kind of touched upon it earlier about the ingredients and thinking about substitutions for a variety of reasons and kind of how to manage through that. And then functional snacks, I think again it goes into satiety, it goes into the things that we need and there's such a focus on wellness. Like I have to admit the one like area that I didn't even know you could get perfume that impacts your mood and different pieces and if you want to feel better you can, like, I'm like, maybe I need to be smelling lots of it, you know, every day for a variety of reasons. But you start to really understand that all of these areas are, you know, and one of the things we talked about, like what I think the last time we were here, we talked about Gen Z and actually wellness is a huge area and health is like very big for how they think about it. Now I'm of a certain age and I'm getting closer to like different times. So I'm really more concerned about certain elements. So I do think that all of them have implications. And I think the underbelly is wellness. Because when you think about when I go back to the commodities and the ingredients, tariff, prices, margin. But there's also about health. We've had to substitute things you talked about getting rid of, like things that have red dye and different. So there's a movement overall that's happening. And that's why I think it's kind of in that underbelly of all three trends. And I think all three trends will. I don't think there's one that's going to out. You know, I think not one is less than another, actually. I think all three are really important.
- [31:37]
C
Marta, there's a note on consumers prioritizing core expenses over many CPG items in 2026. What does this actually mean?
- [31:46]
A
What? Sorry, what was that?
- [31:47]
C
There's a note on consumers to prioritize core expenses over many CPG items in 2026. What are those core expenses and what does it mean?
- [31:56]
A
I think it's kind of core, like foods, things, essentials that you need. You need toilet paper. You may need, like things to have for breakfast. There's certain things that you have to prioritize if you have children and you need to make them lunches of some sort, so you can't stop doing some of those things. What you can do is, do I need XYZ snack? Do I need to spend on this toilet paper versus not toilet paper? I am all things. I have got a passion for certain types of toilet paper and so I may not choose that one. I think it's really more about what's really essential in my life, what can I not live without. What is interesting that I think comes through, and it's come through in a couple of different studies we've been doing is what we view as essential to us. Because what I may view as essential to me may be very different of what you view as essential. So I think that part is actually really, again, goes back into my first point, understanding the consumer and what your consumers are doing. Because I think and how they're performing and what's happening across either other categories or what else is in the basket because. Or in their digital purchase. I think that piece becomes super critical to understand. Like for me, I don't know that I could really give up wine. So I may view that as an essential purchase and cheese, but I may be willing to forego meat and pasta and potatoes to do that and I might buy more salad. And so I just think it becomes. On what is essential to me may not be essential to you. And so how does that, how do you. Do you engage me on what's essential to me and how do I. I think this is where one of the things we've been talking about a lot is like understanding that piece because if people are strapped, can you offer a value pack? Can you offer a sizable. So value for money is something you're getting more benefit of because there is this, you know, what is essential to me. If you can justify it, they'll purchase it. But it needs to have a value that is bigger than just the product itself. They used to be.
- [33:57]
B
Last night, as we stood in front of the merchandise table at the Cat's Eye concert, my six and a half year old Nadia made sure that I understood that it was required importance that she get the fuzzy Cat's eye dice and the plush leopard skin blanket. That was a non negotiable course.
- [34:15]
C
Essentials.
- [34:16]
B
Essential essentials for my, My daughter. Yeah, exactly. So yeah, it is to your point, Marta, very much in the eye of the beholder.
- [34:24]
A
Yeah.
- [34:25]
B
All right, so let me close this out. This has been a fascinating conversation. We all, we knew it would be Marta, when we asked you to join us. With all the uncertainty and change consumers are now navigating, what makes you most excited, looking into 2026 and why should brands and retailers see this as a year of opportunity rather than just challenge?
- [34:45]
A
I think it's an opportunity year to really think about. I would as quickly as possible understand the consumer and see what insights you can convert into action. Because I think that to me, I think the ability to learn quickly is actually out there. Whether it's testing innovation, developing innovation, betting things out that I think in some ways that speed can allow us to mitigate risk and really better guarantee an opportunity or really kind of ensure better performance. So I think for me, I believe in all the advancements with AI. I mean, on the one hand, I have to admit there have been times I've sat there and it's taken my breath away. On the other hand, I think in some ways, how can we learn and quickly go like for a business like ours, how can we actually provide insights at your fingertips so you don't even have to ask the questions. We proactively provide you certain things to kind of build off of. And so I think that piece becomes super exciting where I can focus on maybe thinking about how my consumer behavior is changing of my target consumers, where maybe I had to worry about all these. That analysis or that development time took so much more. I think consumers, you know, I think the appreciation for brands, I think has never been, you know, there's a, there's a desire, whether you're a store brand that stands for certain things or you're a national brand or you're a retail retailer kind of offering different experiences. Experiences, whether online. I think people are looking for things that give them comfort. They're looking for their essentials, I think. And so I, I, I'm actually a little bullish that I think with all the disruption in the world, there's certain things that you kind of go into, things that can give you, whether it's little pleasures or comfort. And so I think the more we think about how we can enrich those experiences or our products, I think actually the consumer will react. I think the consumers ready to respond if you kind of provide them things that they're looking for and address the needs.
- [36:47]
C
Well said indeed. Thank you for this terrific conversation. Let me thank audience for listening to this wonderful episode. Do leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcast Spotify, our favorite listening platform. It informs us of how we're doing as well as if we're having the right conversations. To all of you, thank you from Peter and me who make the show happen to all our sponsors, whether this podcast, this episode, or parties, events, hosted dinners, having us on panels. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Peter. Fun doing this with you. Episode of episode. Summarize this for us. One big takeaway.
- [37:15]
B
You know, Sree, I don't think we've mentioned this on an episode we Talked about on LinkedIn, but we crossed 40,000 followers now on LinkedIn.
- [37:22]
A
That's amazing, you guys. That's a big number.
- [37:25]
B
That's a big deal. Organic, Organic. We didn't pay for any, but we still can't get our parents to follow us. That's another story. But you know, Sri, I think from what Marta shared coming out of these reports, it's very clear that NIQ is on a mission to identify meaningful trends and commerce insights and turn those into opportunities for CPG brands. Not not to look at them as challenges, but rather to say, okay, this is how consumers are thinking. These are how they're focusing on. This is what you need to do to put the to to to actually grow your business in these challenging times. I think that was, to me, that thought leadership is so desperately needed in this era. And I think NIQ is delivering against that.
- [38:13]
C
You know, she started this conversation right up front talking about what brands need to deliver for the consumer. For me, it resonates pretty hard and I'm not so sure brands are there yet, which is she talked about authenticity and transparency and brands need to bring that to bear. And guess what private label is succeeding in doing that these days. So it's a big call out to the big national brands that exist in this marketplace. Marta, thank you for joining us today. Fun as always.
- [38:41]
A
Fun as always. So great to see you. I hope you'll invite me back sometime soon.
- [38:45]
C
That's a wrap of this episode of the CPG Guys.
- [39:00]
B
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