Marion Thouveny

🔥 PepsiCo just closed at $145 (-20% vs. its May ’23 closing high of $182), wiping out roughly $47 billion in market value. 👉 North-American snack volumes slipped -2% in Q2 ’25, dragging organic growth even as headline revenue inched up to $22.7 B (+1%). We’re living the GLP-1 gut-check era. Three red flags you can’t ignore: 💡 1. The GLP-1 Volume Drain: Households using Ozempic-style drugs cut grocery spend 6-9%, with the sharpest drop in salty snacks. 💡 2. Pricing Power Hangover: Gross profit held at 54.7% of sales ($12.4 B on $22.7 B), but volumes keep sliding—proof blanket price hikes have peaked. 💡 3. Health Pivots = Offense, Not Defense: Lower-sodium tweaks are table stakes. Pair them with wellness bundles (gym or tele-health tie-ins) and push “mindful munch” lines through e-commerce and c-stores. Our thoughts: 👍Flag SKUs > 250 cal per serving. 👍Think about launch fiber-rich, portion-smart packs. 👉 Portfolios built for endless calorie expansion won’t survive the calorie cull. Trim hard. Innovate fast.

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Ever launched a new SKU and celebrated its growth—only to see the overall brand sales remain flat? Congratulations, you just experienced Cannibalization. In FMCG, every new launch is a double-edged sword: • Either it adds new consumers or consumption occasions (✅ Incremental) • Or it shifts your existing consumer from Product A to B (❌ Cannibalization) Let’s take an example: 👉 ORS launches Mango variant 👉 Mango clocks ₹50 Lakhs in Q1 👉 Orange drops by ₹45 Lakhs in same quarter 👉 Net Growth = Only ₹5 Lakhs But… 👉 Trade load increases, shelf clutter rises, distributor ROI drops Here’s a simple way to test incrementality: Incrementality % = (New SKU Sales – Drop in other SKUs) ÷ New SKU Sales × 100 If it’s <50%, you’re mostly cannibalizing If it’s >80%, you’re on to something truly incremental If it’s negative, launch = 😭 Key Takeaways: 1. Track Net Brand Growth, not just new SKU billing 2. Watch for overlap in consumption occasions 3. Don’t chase “launch for the sake of launch” 4. Check Nielsen: Is Total Brand STR going up, or just shifting within SKUs? A great launch grows the brand, not just shuffles the cards. Have you ever seen a new product kill an old hero SKU in your company? Drop a comment ⬇️

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Did you know that 85% of Mars products sold in the European Union are produced locally within the EU, which is also an export hub to over 100 markets around the world? We recently announced that Mars is investing €1 billion to boost manufacturing and innovation across the European Union by the end of 2026. This investment will build on the €1.5 billion we invested in the region over the past five years, supporting consumer-driven innovation, economic growth, resilience, and modern, energy-efficient infrastructure. With more than 90 years in Europe, this investment will support our 24 factories across 10 EU countries and the 25,000 Associates we employ in our direct operations.   A great example of what this investment is helping us to achieve, is our recent announcement that all ten Mars Snacking factories in Europe are now powered by renewable energy. This covers the annual production of around 900,000 tonnes of some of the region’s favorite brands, including SNICKERS®, TWIX®, M&M’s®, SKITTLES® and ORBIT®/EXTRA®.   You can read more about our investment in the EU here: https://lnkd.in/eP-BQwN2 and about our EU Snacking factories being fully powered by renewable energy here https://lnkd.in/eVEjNBC6 #ProudlyMars

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Food is quietly outperforming. Unilever’s H1 2025 results prove that. Food beat personal care, home care, and even beauty in underlying sales growth. Foods USG: +2.2% Ice Cream USG: +5.9% - the highest across all categories! What does this actually mean? •⁠ ⁠Indulgence is now routine. Ice cream is no longer just a Sunday reward or a party dessert - it’s become a midweek craving, definitely beyond an occasional celebration. •⁠ ⁠Flavour-first “shortcuts” are winning. Products like spicy mayo, truffle drizzles, or curry pastes are replacing long prep. •⁠ ⁠Habit is beating novelty. The brands growing fastest aren’t launching 20 new things - they’re doubling down on the 3 - 5 products that keep getting reordered. As someone building in this space, I find this interesting because every two years you'll see food bump up with a new trend. At the end of the day, we cannot forget food is emotion, utility, and identity - all rolled into one. (dropping the link to the report in the comments)

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