The CPG Category Is Taking Big Steps Toward E-Commerce DTC Sales

The pandemic has been a pivotal second for the patron packaged items (CPG) class. Earlier than the pandemic, most CPG manufacturers lacked direct-to-consumer (DTC) buy-ability on their web site. Nevertheless, the pandemic spurred quite a few CPG manufacturers like Beyond Meat, Bimbo, Del Monte, and PepsiCo/Frito Lay to launch DTC web sites. The newest replace to our Digital Go-To-Market Assessment collection examines the state of the CPG market.

Of the 29 manufacturers we reviewed, solely 14 had DTC buy-ability on their web site. Whereas CPG manufacturers don’t essentially must promote on-line, DTC gross sales are an underexploited alternative, as many customers desire to purchase straight from model websites, the place they imagine the merchandise is the most recent and least more likely to have issues. For instance, on-line marketplaces can promise entry to huge swaths of recent prospects — however probably additionally arm’s-length relationships with these prospects. Different issues embody much less management round placement, plus potential proximity to gray-market sellers for model items.

So, what’s a model producer to do? Take management.

To assist them try this, Forrester’s Digital Go-To-Market Assessment collection evaluates a set of manufacturers in a selected class to see how properly they’re positioned to thrive independently. On this evaluation, we evaluated 29 CPG manufacturers on 5 parts, overlaying a complete of 20 sub-elements. Particularly, for every model, we reviewed its:

• Direct-to-consumer power
• Model visibility on-line
• Distribution and e-control
• Natural shopper enthusiasm
• Product innovation

From this evaluation, we rated six manufacturers as best-in-class: Clif Bar, Enfamil, Gerber, Trace, KIND, and M&M’S. To be taught extra about what makes these manufacturers stand aside and greatest practices for this sector general, please see the newly printed abstract report, “Digital Go-To-Market Review: CPG Brands, 2021.”

To be taught extra about our model producer analysis and the Digital Go-To-Market Assessment collection — and what your organization ought to do based mostly on these findings — please e-mail Madeline Cyr (mcyr@forrester.com), me (skodali@forrester.com), or your Forrester account supervisor.