Alex French

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the condiments category and flagged GLP-1 adoption as a variable worth watching. Specifically whether flavor density starts to matter more when people are eating less overall. Lindt's latest data cuts against the simple version of that story. GLP-1 users are buying more dark chocolate, not less. People eating less aren't eating everything less. They're getting more selective about what the moment is worth. Dark chocolate earns its place. A handful of crackers might be harder to defend. When I was at Thrive Market, the condiment category told a similar story. Buffalo sauce moved every week. Not because it was low-calorie. Because it made other food worth eating. Flavor density as a value driver, not just a sensory one. The categories most exposed to GLP-1 headwinds probably aren't the indulgent ones. They're the ones that exist out of habit or convenience without a strong enough reason for the moment. Snacks people eat because they're there. Beverages people drink on autopilot. It's not a calorie problem. It's an intentionality problem.

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The U.S. beer industry is at a turning point. For nearly two decades, the playbook was simple: raise prices annually, protect margins and rely on brand equity to carry the category forward. That model worked… until it didn’t. Today, we’re seeing the consequences across the industry: - Declining volumes - Retailers prioritizing velocity over margin protection - Consumers becoming far more value-conscious Beer has always been an accessible beverage – something meant to be shared at barbecues, concerts and ball games. But over time, repeated price increases pushed the category further away from that core promise. Now the industry is facing a structural reset. In a new piece published by The Beer Connoisseur, I break down: - Why the era of automatic price hikes has ended - What retailers are prioritizing in 2026 resets - How consumer behavior around alcohol and affordability is changing - Why the next cycle of beer growth will be driven by brands that restore balance between price and value At Outlaw Light Beer, we are seeing this shift firsthand as retailers increasingly prioritize brands that can drive real volume and connect with today’s consumer. The industry’s next chapter won’t be defined by pricing power. It will be defined by relevance, accessibility and fairness. ➡️ Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/g3N5bt8C #OutlawLight #TivoliBrewing #BeerIndustry #ConsumerTrends #RetailStrategy

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Convenience stores represent 45% of all SNAP retailers. These stores serve as critical access points in rural and urban areas where grocery stores may be 40+ miles away. New requirements could force thousands of convenience stores out of the SNAP program, threatening food access for low-income Americans. See more details from Convenience Leaders Vision Group

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Growth in #cpg feels harder today not because ambition is lacking, but because many of the old playbooks no longer travel well across markets. In "After the sugar rush: a new path to CPG #growth," we argue that the next surge of growth requires more than incremental tweaks - it calls for a clearer view of where growth really comes from, and how different market #archetypes demand different answers Global CPG priorities have stark implications in #AsiaPacific. Many APAC markets combine rapid #demand growth with fragmented channels, uneven data, and very local #execution realities. The opportunity isn't to import developed-market #RGM models wholesale, but rather to adapt them - pairing global discipline with local judgment, and #analytics with on-the-ground #commercial instincts. Grateful to have co-written this with my PwC US Consumer Markets colleagues Alison Furman, Carla DeSantis, Samrat Sharma, Shub Goswami and Sudhanshu Shekhar. Have a read: https://lnkd.in/gEbEmC5B 🙌 Curious to hear how others are seeing CPG growth #strategies evolve globally, and across Asia Pacific #pwc #consumermarkets #commercialexcellence #asiapacific

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Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. + JDE Peet's: A Game-Changer in Global Coffee KDP has agreed to acquire JDE Peet’s in an all-cash deal ~$18bn, which will be followed by a planned spin-off into two U.S.-listed companies: one focused on refreshment beverages, and the other a “Global Coffee Co.” combining KDP’s single-serve strength with JDE’s extensive global coffee brand portfolio. Why this deal matters: - It creates a coffee powerhouse with ~$16bn in coffee revenue, making it the largest pure-play coffee company globally - KDP expects ~$400 million in cost synergies over three years, with accretion starting from first year -Post-deal, the beverage side (Dr Pepper, 7UP, etc.) will run as a scaled, focused challenger in North America (~$11bn sales) Yet, significant risks & challenges exists (execution complexity, leverage & credit risk creating elevated debt ratios Bottom line: This merger signals a strategic shift towards doubling down where you lead, and spin off where you need sharper focus. If executed right, both resulting entities (Global Coffee Co. and Beverage Co) could be better positioned to win in their respective domains, yet execution will determine #MA #Coffee #Beverages #Strategy

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Most MSG removals were label decisions that got handed to product teams as flavor problems. The briefs came from retailer clean label programs, from marketing, from a consumer perception that hardened twenty years before the science settled. None of those origins are about taste. They are about what the pack says. And none of them were evidence based. Blinded studies never reproduced the symptoms attributed to MSG, and EFSA's own reassessment kept glutamates authorized. What the industry removed was not a safety risk. It was three letters on an ingredient list that tested badly with consumers. That distinction determines whether the project succeeds, and almost nobody states it at the start. If the objective is the label, then the yeast extract swap is rational. The entry changes, the umami mostly survives, and the brief is closed. If the objective is the product, the swap fails, because it replaces one glutamate source with another and inherits the same limitation. Glutamate delivers intensity. It does not deliver complexity. MSG worked in these formulations by flattening a lot of variables at once. Remove it and you do not lose one note. You lose the thing that was holding an underbuilt profile together. Yeast extract at higher dosage returns the intensity and adds a signature of its own, which is why so many reformulated products converge on the same character. The products that came through this well used yeast extract as one input rather than as the replacement, alongside vegetable concentrates contributing sulfur compounds and Maillard products the glutamate route cannot reach. More inputs, smaller doses, no single ingredient carrying the profile. The commercial lesson is not about umami. It is about what happens when a label objective is handed to a team and read as a flavor objective. Ask which one you are actually being asked to solve. The answer changes the budget, the timeline, and whether the product survives the relaunch.

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MILO'S TEA CROSSES $1B IN RETAIL SALES one of the best scale stories in non-alc beverage. Milo's Tea Company, Inc. just hit $1B in annual retail sales, beating its own 2027 target. According to Circana, the brand more than doubled from ~$450M in 2022 to $1B in the ltm. Founded in 1946 by Milo and Bea Carlton as a walk-up stand in Alabama. Third-gen Chair and CEO Tricia Wallwork has run it since 2012. Distribution is up 50% to 65,000+ stores across all 50 states. Milo’s now holds nearly half of refrigerated tea in units and dollars.

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