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The Future of Consumer Brands, Part 3 of 4: Lighthouses and hype waves.
Lighthouses and hype waves: why only a few brands will stand as consumer beacons in the age of agentic buying.
Here is an uncomfortable FMCG truth: many brands on supermarket shelves and online marketplaces are already being kept alive rather than invested in. Their owners prop up sales with promotions and new distribution points while quietly cutting the spend that makes the mass market want them.
C&A’s analysis & outlook for PepsiCo’s recently acquired poppi.
A review of PepsiCo’s 2025 acquisition of culture-led prebiotic soda brand poppi. It opens a wider theme C&A will explore over the coming weeks: are culture-led brand acquisitions living on borrowed time?
The Future of Consumer Brands, Part 2 of 4: Private Label’s 5 triggers.
In September, Costco stocked Kirkland Signature Hydration in its warehouses: 40 sugar-free electrolyte stick packs at about 62 cents per serving, compared with roughly 83 cents for Liquid I.V. on Costco.com. It followed a Kirkland sparkling energy drink in March, at about 70 cents a can against roughly $1.55 for Celsius on the same shelf, and a Kirkland sports drink in June. Each launch targeted a functional category a branded leader had built and that Costco already stocked.
The Future of Consumer Brands, Part 1 of 4: Brand Equity is getting harder to hold.
In September, Costco stocked Kirkland Signature Hydration in its warehouses: 40 sugar-free electrolyte stick packs at about 62 cents per serving, compared with roughly 83 cents for Liquid I.V. on Costco.com. It followed a Kirkland sparkling energy drink in March, at about 70 cents a can against roughly $1.55 for Celsius on the same shelf, and a Kirkland sports drink in June. Each launch targeted a functional category a branded leader had built and that Costco already stocked.
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