As we come to the end of the first week of a new financial year, let’s take a look back at what happened in the FMCG industry.
Woolworths offloads drinks and hospitality businesses
Supermarket giant Woolworths plans to merge its drinks and hospitality businesses into a single entity and is set to divest the business from the group in 2020. The grocery will focus more on its core food business. Endeavour Drinks and ALH Group will become Endeavour Group. It will have 1,500 BWS and Dan Murphy’s retail drinks outlets and 327 ALH hotels under the umbrella. Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said the supermarket business has moved away from a “period of fixing the basics as part of our turnaround to investing for the future as part of our transformation” as it prepares for a digitally-enabled future.
Chobani tackles issues in the dairy industry with a new milk program
Yoghurt company Chobani has created Milk Matters, a program designed to address the challenges faced by the dairy industry, as it aims to be more transparent in its relationship with all dairy farms. Consumers will know exactly where it sources its dairy ingredients and the difference they are making. Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani said that the dairy farms are “the backbone of the communities we call home”. He said the current system is broken which leaves consumers to question the process and the sources of dairy products.
PepsiCo and Lavazza create canned iced coffee
Soft drinks maker PepsiCo has collaborated with coffee giant Lavazza on a new iced coffee in a can in the UK. Lavazza Iced Cappuccino was first unveiled at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. The slimline can offers “indisputable expertise in high-quality coffee sourcing and roasting”. PepsiCo West Europe Beverages’ head of marketing, Mark Kirkham, said they would “innovate and bring to market new offerings based on consumer insights and preferences in the growing premium coffee space.”
P&G unveiled fragrance-free feminine care range at Walmart
FMCG giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) has added a new range of feminine sanitary care products at Walmart. Just tampons and pads are free from fragrances, dyes and chlorine bleaching that can cause skin irritation. Its campaign on social media includes the taglines, “Period blood isn’t the end of the world — it’s just a period” and “A new generation of period products that just work. It’s bloody simple.” P&G chief brand officer Marc Pritchard told Business Insider “acquiring these DTC brands has helped [the company] to learn new ways to market and retool its brand teams structured to mirror startups”.
Nestlé wraps snack bar in recyclable paper
FMCG giant Nestlé has released a new snack bar, YES!, wrapped in recyclable paper. It is part of its pledge to make all product packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. The paper is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and The Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. Patrice Bula, head of Strategic Business Units, Marketing and Sales at Nestlé, said that “consumers are looking for more natural and sustainable options when they choose a snack”.
That’s it for this week and we’ll be back again with the news on Monday morning!
