It’s time for me to reflect on some of our top consumer products insights from 2025! Over the past year, our experts have shared their lessons learned, best practices, project wins, and industry perspectives, and I’m excited to recap some of that content below. You can also take a look at all of our consumer products content from the past year here. 

Top 10 Consumer Products Insights from 2025

1. How Companies Can Optimize the Customer Journey in CPG 

The modern CPG customer journey spans a mix of digital and in-store interactions, making consistency across every touchpoint critical to meeting rising expectations. Any disconnect can lead to frustration and lost sales, pushing brands to build more seamless, integrated engagement strategies. In this piece, Idoia Hidalgo highlights the key challenges CPG companies face in creating that cohesion and offers strategies to strengthen the end-to-end experience. 

Read about optimizing the customer journey in CPG >> 

2. Harnessing a Mix of Syndicated and Retail Portal Data to Drive Growth 

Manufacturers today need clear, reliable data to understand performance across regions and retailers, but the sheer number of data sources can make it difficult to choose wisely and avoid overspending. Prioritizing the right mix of syndicated and retail portal data is essential to support consistent, cross-department decision-making. Kathy Petruzzelli outlines key considerations to help organizations build a data strategy that drives meaningful growth in this piece. 

Read about syndicated and retail portal data >> 

3. Category Leadership Transformation: Developing a National Category Story and a Dashboard 

A global consumer products company set out to build a unified, brand-agnostic category story and dashboard to support a new Category Leadership Center of Excellence. With scattered data, inconsistent templates, and varied messaging across teams, the client worked with Clarkston to form a joint pilot team to align stakeholders and create a scalable, insight-driven narrative rooted in broad shopper and channel trends. In this case study, Kathy Petruzzelli, Evan Shirley, and Steve Rosenstock share more about the project. 

Explore the category leadership transformation case study >> 

4. Category Management Playbook: A Guide for CP Companies 

Category management in consumer products has grown beyond just assortment and shelf planning, now driving growth, internal strategy, and customer relationships across the market. As such, CP companies need to understand the important role category management holds in their organization as well as how to build the structure, capabilities, and alignment needed to successfully position their brand and product. Read more about category management’s function today – and where it’s headed in the future – in this playbook by Amy Levine. 

View the Category Management Playbook >> 

5. Developing a Forecasting Modeling Tool for a Consumer Products Manufacturer 

A global consumer products company specializing in confectioneries sought to improve its forecasting processes and systems, which were previously fragmented and labor-intensive. The existing approach no longer met the demands of their growing business, so the client worked with Clarkston to develop an internal solution to better support their sales and trade teams. Kathy Petruzzelli, Sarah Broyd, and Steve Rosenstock share more about developing a forecasting model tool for the client in this case study. 

Read the forecasting modeling tool case study >> 

6. Enhancing Quality Operations in Consumer Products: A Strategic Imperative 

Amid supply chain uncertainty and shifting regulations, consumer products companies face growing pressure to maintain quality while also improving operational efficiency to strengthen the entire value chain. In this piece, Randall Jacobs explains why quality into core processes is critical for resilience, compliance, and customer satisfaction, and how aligning your quality and supply chain investments can safeguard and enhance overall business performance. 

Explore the importance of embedding quality into your operational processes >> 

7. How Technology Can Enhance Retail Execution 

Retail execution continues to be for CPG companies, even as eCommerce grows. How a brand is presented and how companies understand and optimize their in-store activities are key to driving performance, and technology plays a central role by providing insights into consumer behavior, identifying what’s working or not, and highlighting opportunities and risks. This piece by Idoia Hidalgo and Amy Levine explores the various ways technology can enhance retail execution and outlines important considerations for CPG companies implementing these tools. 

Dive into technology and retail execution >>  

8. Conducting an S&OP Process Assessment for a CPG Manufacturer 

A global manufacturer of natural extracts and ingredients engaged Clarkston to improve supply chain performance amid rising lead times and inventory issues impacting customer satisfaction. While initial efforts focused on S&OP process improvements, assessments revealed deeper challenges, including misaligned strategies, inconsistent adoption, and weak formal processes. In this case study, Liz McGuire and Dave Treadaway explain Clarkston’s work, which included recommending a holistic, phased transformation to better support market growth, sales, and profitability. 

Read the S&OP process assessment case study >>  

9. Innovations in Accessible Packaging to Serve Diverse Consumer Needs 

With 15% of the global population living with a disability, accessible packaging, designed for ease of use by individuals with varying abilities, is increasingly important. This piece by Sara Morris explores the significance of accessible packaging, highlights recent innovations, and outlines key considerations for businesses looking to make their products and packaging more inclusive. 

Explore considerations for accessible packaging >> 

10. How CPG Firms Can Leverage AI and ML for Revenue Growth Management   

AI and Machine Learning are increasingly seen as transformative for Revenue Growth Management (RGM) in the CPG industry, offering potential to tackle complex business challenges. Yet, many firms are not yet equipped to fully harness these technologies. In this article, Erik Sandstrom explores AI and ML use cases for RGM and the foundational steps companies should take to unlock their benefits. 

Read about AI and ML for RGM >>