The FMCG Marketing Daily

CMO instability is reshaping FMCG strategy from the top down. Plus, Reese's shows how to own a seasonal moment — and what midsize brewers are doing as the beer category contracts.

In this episode:

CMOs are burning out faster than ever — and the instability is hitting brand teams hard. Plus, Diageo pulls the plug on Guinness's flagship US experiential asset.

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Reese's is turning Halloween into a neighbourhood movement, Danone is fighting regulators to grow Harrogate Spring Water, and challenger brand Cakes is ditching rented TikTok audiences for media it actually owns.

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Diageo is taking a huge risk by reformulating one of the world's biggest whisky brands — and Danone is turning a factory upgrade into brand equity. Two premiumisation and sustainability plays every FMCG marketer should study.

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Diageo is redrawing category lines at wine's expense, Huel just lost an ad to the regulator, and BrewDog's new owner is betting £50m on earning trust back the hard way. Three live lessons for FMCG brand managers.

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Twisted Tea bets on tribe-first marketing to fight slowing sales, Hunter reactivates Kate Moss to defend premium positioning, and Mondelez quietly hands off a flagship sustainability programme. Three brand decisions with direct lessons for FMCG marketers.

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AB InBev is drawing brand boundaries in spirits, creators are demanding equity stakes from FMCG partners, and France's back-to-school slump is flashing warning signs for Danone, Nestlé and L'Oréal.

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Mars is doubling down on character equity while McDonald's turns loyalty data into a paid media business. Three moves that signal where FMCG brand and media strategy is heading.

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AB InBev's legal settlement with Stateside reveals how aggressively category giants defend brand territory in spirits. Plus: what Royal Unibrew's production move risks for Nørrebro Bryghus, and why creators now want ownership stakes instead of fees.

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Mars is keeping M&M's mascots relevant without a rebrand, Tim Hortons just proved agency loyalty can beat disruption, and a premium pizza brand is merging with Nestlé's divested European business — three decisions with real implications for FMCG marketers.

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Diageo's surprise CFO hire signals a strategic shift in how FMCG finance thinks about brands and retail. Plus: Impossible Foods lands on Tesco shelves as plant-based sales slide, and McDonald's rewrites the media playbook.

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The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 23, 2026 In this episode: • Chili's deliberate category-targeting strategy offers a masterclass in how challenger brands can systematically dismantle category leaders by picking fights they can win. • Converse's rapid ad withdrawal after consumer backlash is a live case study in brand crisis response and the hidden risks embedded in visual creative production at scale. • Beauty and personal care marketers are declaring sports sponsorship their most powerful brand-building channel — a shift with direct implications for FMCG brands competing for the same audiences and inventory. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every weekday. Tags: CPG, brand strategy, retail media, campaign i...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 22, 2026 In this episode: • Campari's decision to revive and modernise a heritage ad with a celebrity talent is a masterclass in balancing brand nostalgia with contemporary cultural relevance. • Subway's first campaign from its new agency Martin uses Will Arnett to position the brand as the antidote to an overcomplicated, overpriced fast-food landscape — a bold repositioning play from a brand fighting for relevance. • The contest to win Coca-Cola's North American media account is reshaping agency holding group dynamics and signals how the world's most valuable beverage brand is rethinking its media architecture. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode ev...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 21, 2026 In this episode: • Dr. Squatch's deliberate co-branding playbook — spanning Unilever to celebrity tie-ups — offers a live case study in how challenger personal care brands build equity without traditional media spend. • A growing number of brand marketers are reviving barter arrangements as a tactical response to tightening budgets, raising real questions about how FMCG teams value and protect brand equity in non-cash deals. • Russia placing Nestlé's local operations under temporary state administration is a brand and reputational crisis moment that forces the company to publicly define what its presence in the market now means. Hosted by Marco & Kl...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 20, 2026 In this episode: • A major agency realignment involving two of FMCG's biggest spenders — PepsiCo and Coca-Cola — is reshaping how global marketing relationships are structured at the top of the industry. • Nestlé is under regulatory fire in one of its most important growth markets, with India's food safety authority pursuing legal action over alleged non-compliance in its infant formula products — a reputationally sensitive category. • Coca-Cola has appointed a new marketing director for Iberia, bringing in a Diageo veteran — a move that signals the kind of cross-category talent flow reshaping FMCG marketing leadership across Europe. Hosted by Marco & Klara. Ne...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 19, 2026 In this episode: • Coca-Cola has appointed a new marketing director for Iberia, poached directly from Diageo — a CMO move that signals how the two biggest names in FMCG are competing for the same rare breed of marketing talent. • India's food safety regulator is taking legal action against Nestlé over infant formula non-compliance — a brand-trust crisis in one of the world's fastest-growing consumer markets. • A potential Sazerac acquisition of Berentzen would hand one of America's most aggressive spirits acquirers a European heritage brand portfolio — and raises big questions about what happens to those brands under new ownership. Host...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 18, 2026 In this episode: • Coca-Cola's CMO is openly signalling that creator and retail media capabilities are now non-negotiable in its next agency brief — a landmark shift in how the world's biggest beverage brand buys marketing services. • Wonderful Pistachios is the first snack brand to build an NIL athlete roster as a structured social campaign asset — a challenger move that reframes how FMCG brands can own sports culture without paying premium broadcast rights. • Mike's Hot Honey built a genuinely new condiment category through word of mouth and creative marketing — and its growth story is a masterclass in how challenger...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 17, 2026 In this episode: • The UK competition regulator is now reviewing McCormick's acquisition of Unilever's food assets, raising real questions about which brands change hands and what that means for their futures. • Nestlé and PepsiCo are co-investing in a paper packaging consortium, a move that signals sustainability is shifting from brand claim to shared infrastructure across the industry. • Sonos is ditching audiophile specs-led messaging in favour of emotion and experience — a classic repositioning playbook that has direct lessons for any FMCG brand trying to recover consumer trust after a damaging misstep. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode eve...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 16, 2026 In this episode: • Danone and peers are voluntarily disclosing 'healthy' sales data in the UK ahead of mandatory rules — a move that will reshape how FMCG brands make nutritional claims and position their portfolios. • Bristol's ban on fast fashion, airline, and SUV ads on city-owned outdoor media is a live test of whether municipal advertising restrictions can spread — and FMCG brands in adjacent 'high-impact' categories should be paying close attention. • South Africa's conditional approval of Coca-Cola HBC's acquisition of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa reshapes the brand's route-to-market across the continent — with direct implications for how Coca-Cola executes marke...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 15, 2026 In this episode: • Diageo is reformulating three of its biggest spirit brands for a lower-ABV future, signalling that moderation is now a core brand strategy rather than a niche play. • Publicis landing PepsiCo's media account without a formal pitch reveals how the agency model is changing — and what that means for FMCG brands reviewing their media relationships. • Cheez-It's college football campaign shows how Kellanova's snack brands are using sports sponsorship to own a specific cultural moment rather than just buy media. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every weekday. Tags: CPG, brand strategy, retail media, campaign i...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 14, 2026 In this episode: • Mondelez is making a serious push to grow Cadbury's footprint in the US market by pairing a limited-edition fashion accessory with original comedy content — a rare dual-channel activation for the brand. • Molson Coors has completely restructured its internal content workflow to match creator timelines — and the results are a 4x engagement uplift, offering a direct blueprint for legacy FMCG brands stuck in broadcast-era production cycles. • A 138-year-old heritage food brand is using a branded dating show as its primary vehicle to recruit Gen Z consumers — a challenger-style play that raises the bar for how legacy...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 13, 2026 In this episode: • Mondelez's Cadbury is making a significant push into the US market by combining a branded merchandise play with episodic comedy content — a dual-format bet that challenges conventional FMCG campaign thinking. • Diageo's confirmed exit from East African Breweries is a landmark portfolio restructuring move that will reshape brand ownership and competitive dynamics across one of Africa's most strategically important beer markets. • A 138-year-old heritage food brand is staking its Gen Z relevance strategy on a branded dating show — one of the boldest entertainment-led repositioning bets in the challenger FMCG space right now. Hosted by Marco & K...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 12, 2026 In this episode: • Coca-Cola's Mr. Pibb has become the fastest-growing brand of the year after a deliberate relaunch strategy — a rare resurrection story worth dissecting for any FMCG team managing a dormant or underperforming sub-brand. • Molson Coors has overhauled its entire content production workflow to match creator speed — and quadrupled engagement as a result — offering a concrete operational blueprint for FMCG brands still stuck in broadcast-era approval cycles. • Kellanova's Cheez-It is activating a college football campaign built around fan identity rather than the sport itself — a distinct strategic angle that sets it apart from the straightforward...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 11, 2026 In this episode: • Johnsonville's election-season campaign is a live masterclass in how FMCG brands can cut through peak political ad clutter with deliberate tonal contrast. • PepsiCo's decision to consolidate its global media account with Publicis is one of the biggest FMCG agency moves of the year, and Omnicom's public admission of the loss signals just how high the stakes are. • Omaha Steaks has made one of the most dramatic portfolio rationalisation moves in recent FMCG memory, cutting 60% of its SKUs at a moment when beef prices are at historic highs. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 10, 2026 In this episode: • Danone is doubling down on fresh dairy in the US at a moment when the category faces serious headwinds — a bold brand strategy bet worth unpacking. • Campbell's is overhauling its marketing mix with a sharper digital pivot — a significant signal from one of America's most heritage-heavy FMCG brands. • New NIQ data confirms the US FMCG market is bifurcating hard between premium and value — and mainstream brands are the ones being squeezed out. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every weekday. Tags: CPG, brand strategy, retail media, campaign intelligence, consumer goods, advertising, CMO

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 09, 2026 In this episode: • Boston Beer is raiding Big Tech marketing for its next CMO — a bold outside-category hire that signals the brand is rethinking how it competes in a fragmenting craft and RTD market. • Modelo is doubling down on college football with a new brand platform and increased spend — a direct challenge to Anheuser-Busch InBev's long-held dominance in sports sponsorship. • Müller is co-developing new yogurts with Mondelez and Pladis in a brand collaboration play that turns snacking rivals into NPD partners — and raises sharp questions about brand licensing as a growth lever in dairy. Hosted by Marco...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 08, 2026 In this episode: • Poland's consumer watchdog has put Danone, Mondelez, Nestlé, and Unilever simultaneously in its crosshairs over shrinkflation — a regulatory moment that tests how FMCG giants defend pack-size reductions without destroying brand trust. • RTD tea challenger Ryl is building a US expansion strategy explicitly around the demographic gaps that legacy tea brands have failed to close with Gen Z and millennials — a direct threat to established players in a fast-growing category. • M&S Food is using sports broadcaster Laura Woods and a grassroots football platform to make a direct brand purpose play — positioning its food credential...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 07, 2026 In this episode: • Carrefour has turned its loyalty programme into a six-episode branded fiction series featuring 12 FMCG brands, raising the stakes on what retailer-brand co-marketing can look like in 2026. • Usage rights negotiations are emerging as the single biggest hidden cost inflator in creator marketing budgets, with direct implications for FMCG brands scaling influencer programmes across channels. • CVH Spirits is re-entering the South African premium Scotch market, signalling that challenger spirits distributors see emerging-market premiumisation as the growth lane the major houses are too distracted to defend. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every weekday. Tags: CPG, bra...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 06, 2026 In this episode: • Nestlé is committing $383 million to expand infant formula manufacturing in Brazil, signalling a major strategic bet on emerging market growth in one of its most regulated and scrutinised categories. • The private-equity-backed rebrand of FIFCO USA to North American Breweries is a live case study in what happens to challenger beer brand portfolios when financial ownership changes and a new corporate identity must be built from scratch. • Hoka is integrating live Strava community data into digital out-of-home placements, turning real runner behaviour into real-time brand creative — a model that FMCG brands with loyalty or behaviou...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 05, 2026 In this episode: • KFC creating its first-ever global CBO role signals a structural bet that unified brand identity — not local market autonomy — is the path back to relevance for a struggling QSR giant. • Diageo axing 305 roles at its North American HQ is the clearest signal yet that its turnaround plan involves shrinking the marketing and commercial infrastructure behind its biggest revenue market. • Graza's NASCAR partnership is a challenger brand playbook move — using an unexpected cultural property to punch into mainstream awareness against entrenched olive oil incumbents. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every weekday. Tags: CPG, brand str...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 04, 2026 In this episode: • The leading non-alcoholic beer challenger brand just made a significant CMO hire as it signals a major step-up in marketing ambition — a direct threat to AB InBev and Diageo's no-and-low alcohol plays. • Barilla's acquisition of Goodles — a nutrient-dense mac-and-cheese challenger — is a textbook case of a heritage FMCG brand buying its way into a consumer trend it couldn't build organically. • Lush is activating a live in-store campaign against social media harm, doubling down on its years-long refusal to advertise on major platforms — turning brand purpose into a direct media strategy differentiator. Hosted by Marco & Klara...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 03, 2026 In this episode: • Unilever is attempting one of the trickiest moves in brand management — maturing an iconic but juvenilised brand without alienating its core equity. • PepsiCo consolidating its entire global media spend under one holding company is a landmark agency decision that will reshape how both Coke and Pepsi reach consumers worldwide. • Diageo removing responsible drinking and sustainability targets from executive pay is a significant public signal about how far the ESG rollback has now reached inside major FMCG boardrooms. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every weekday. Tags: CPG, brand strategy, retail media, campaign intelligen...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 02, 2026 In this episode: • Hershey's is using K-pop crossover act Katseye to reframe chocolate indulgence for Gen Z — a direct signal of how legacy confectionery brands are fighting back against better-for-you challengers. • PepsiCo's confirmation of damage to a Ukrainian production facility raises the brand-strategy question of how a global FMCG company manages market presence, supply continuity, and reputational positioning in an active conflict zone — a distinct operational-brand challenge from the Mondelez story already covered. • Domino's is mounting a direct brand challenge to burger QSR icons — a bold category-crossing competitive positioning move that any FMCG brand manager in food and be...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — September 01, 2026 In this episode: • Dr. Squatch is making a deliberate bet that live experiences with a mega-creator will out-perform paid media — a direct challenge to how FMCG challenger brands typically allocate their growth budgets. • Cheez-It is launching a new creative platform built entirely around college football fan culture — a direct bid by Kellanova to own a seasonal occasion the way Doritos owns the Super Bowl. • Fernando Machado's first campaign as Chipotle's Chief Brand Officer deploys 100 creators across 50 real kitchens — a scaled authenticity model that any FMCG brand manager using influencer content should study closely. Hosted by Marco & Klara...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — August 31, 2026 In this episode: • Pernod Ricard's downgraded medium-term US outlook signals a structural shift in premium spirits demand that should force brand managers across the category to rethink portfolio prioritisation and marketing investment levels. • Beekeeper Coffee's NBA-star investment round is a live test of whether athlete-backed RTD challenger brands can carve durable equity in a category already crowded with celebrity plays — directly relevant after recent evidence that celebrity-founded FMCG brands are struggling to survive. • Meta stripping brand control over ad placement exclusions hands FMCG marketers a concrete brand-safety and budget-efficiency problem they need to respond to now, not a...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — August 30, 2026 In this episode: • UK healthy eating regulations are forcing major snack brands including Mondelez and PepsiCo to quietly reformulate iconic products — and the brand risk of consumers noticing is enormous. • Pernod Ricard's full acquisition of Italian aperitivo brand Italicus reveals a deliberate portfolio bet on the premiumisation of the aperitivo occasion — a direct challenge to Campari's category dominance. • Bel Group's Kiri is using its 60th anniversary to launch its first-ever international pastry competition across Asia, turning a heritage milestone into a live brand platform rather than a retrospective campaign. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every weekda...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — August 29, 2026 In this episode: • Beefeater's decision to resurrect a 1990s Jamiroquai music video for its zero-proof gin launch is a live case study in how heritage spirits brands are repositioning for the no-and-low alcohol moment without abandoning their identity. • The founder behind one of the fastest-growing CPG protein bar brands is now taking aim at the confectionery aisle with a low-sugar candy challenger — and his Walmart launch this week is the first real test of whether his formula works outside the snack bar category. • Old Navy's public pivot away from its summer marketing approach — after it visibly fail...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — August 28, 2026 In this episode: • Fansville is one of the longest-running branded entertainment campaigns in FMCG — and its longevity makes it a rare live case study in sustained brand equity building. • Coca-Cola is betting on a social-first, creator-led model for college football — a direct signal of how the world's biggest beverage brand is shifting its live sports playbook. • Unilever and McCormick are offloading one of Britain's most iconic condiment brands — a move that signals ongoing FMCG portfolio rationalisation is far from over. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every weekday. Tags: CPG, brand strategy, retail media, campaign intelligence...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — August 27, 2026 In this episode: • Athleta's CMO is publicly breaking from the brand's previous marketing playbook with a deliberately more provocative fall campaign — a live case study in purposeful repositioning under pressure. • The celebrity brand boom is hitting a structural wall — and the lessons for FMCG brand managers who license fame as a shortcut to equity are uncomfortable. • A Russian drone strike on a Mondelez factory in north-east Ukraine puts one of the world's largest snack companies directly in an active conflict zone — with immediate implications for supply continuity, brand reputation, and category management. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New epi...

The FMCG Marketing Daily — August 26, 2026 In this episode: • Heineken's US CMO reveals how the brand is actively repositioning around the consumer behaviour shift from digital socialising to real-world connection — without abandoning its core positioning. • BrewDog's controversial co-founder is back with a non-alcoholic challenger brand, signalling that the no-and-low category is now attracting serious founder-led brand investment — not just line extensions from incumbents. • Pizza Hut is dropping the word 'pizza' from its brand name in a bold repositioning move — launching simultaneously with a quarterback-led NFL campaign that signals ambitions well beyond its founding category. Hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every weekday. Tags...