For a while there — indeed, a rather long while — businesses were in a state of reaction, pivoting amid successive disruptions. In this dynamic decade, headwinds including the global pandemic, transportation bottlenecks, historic inflation, and geopolitical upheavals continued almost nonstop. Even today, although some challenges have abated, uncertainty is a constant. Or, as the old adage goes: the only constant is change.

As consumers have responded to volatility with adaptive resilience, many CPGs that serve them have likewise been in reactionary mode. This approach has often been necessary, given the significant changes in the supply chain, the increasingly competitive omnichannel marketplace, and consumer behaviors.

For CPGs looking to grow during the back half of the 2020s, it’s time to move from the back to the front foot. That doesn’t mean taking a totally novel tack, however. Brands and manufacturers planning to proactively take their businesses forward can look ahead strategically while relying on tried-and-true principles that have served them well for decades, if not longer.

Indeed, CPGs have several built-in strengths that enable them to take prudent steps forward by embracing fundamentals. When I talk with CPG leaders around the world, we tend to circle back to three imperatives: knowing your consumers, innovating, and executing.

Know Your Consumer

Working from a consumer-centric compass has always been core to what CPGs do, but it bears repeating and, with the availability of data today, is easier to do. Everything starts with the consumer.

There are many ways to “know” a consumer, of course. CPGs can use insights to understand their customers on a deeply personal level, leverage insights to get a handle on overarching consumer trends, and then target and tailor messages to the right audiences All of those POVs are pivotal.

For example, Circana’s recent Demand Signals report confirms that consumers are reacting in different ways as their budgets continue to be stretched. Shoppers are focusing on their top priorities — safeguarding enjoyment, wellbeing, and connection — while expecting obvious value in return. Premium brands remain resilient, as shoppers are more likely to change the quantity they purchase than switch brands, with more budget-conscious consumers opting for smaller sizes to keep buying the products they prefer.

Even in a diverse, fragmented market, precise data points brands to their respective right consumers, including loyal customers most likely to buy and audiences with high potential to purchase a product. Brands can also identify franchise consumers and not only follow their habits but target them through tailored media programs.

Now, brands can follow consumers in ways that were previously only aspirational. At Circana, for example, we’re excited about our new Purchase to Consumption solution that links verified purchase behaviors from our receipt panel with National Eating Trends (NET®) consumption behaviors from the exact same consumers. This allows a brand to identify which specific occasions drive sales and then tailor strategies in partnership with retailers based on holistic habits.

Innovate

Knowing your consumers also means anticipating where they are going and delivering on their needs and preferences. Trendspotting is crucial to staying ahead of the curve and remaining competitive through innovative product development and operational and service improvements.

For example, as functionality remains hot, are there possibilities for a low-ABV probiotic fizzy beverage? What’s the next disruptor akin to dirty soda, red light masks, or smart toys? Are you getting products to consumers in the best and most timely way for them, whether that’s in the physical store, online market, or a social commerce platform?

A focus on thoughtful innovation pays off in a big way, as brands that focus on innovation stand out and often sell well. Circana’s Growth Leaders research shows that new items accounted for a greater portion of CPG growth in 2025. Among 2025 Growth Leader companies with revenue between $500 million and $1 billion, new items comprised 9% of dollar sales last year, up from 6% in 2024.

As underscored in both the Growth Leaders and New Product Pacesetters reports, the “how” of innovation matters as much as the “what.” Compared to traditional launch models that include broad early distribution, heavy upfront media, and long awareness curves, today’s successful rollouts are increasingly driven by search, ratings, reviews, and algorithmic discovery. Social commerce accelerates discovery even faster.

In this climate, innovation for innovation’s sake has become antiqued as businesses fight for margin. In both the short- and long-term future, those who want to win with innovation must meet evolving consumer needs, highlight a product’s critical features and benefits, define where their brand can stretch, align to relevant discovery channels, and focus on trial into the second year and beyond by making discovery a system instead of a one-time event. Given the inherent strengths of CPGs, this built-on-basics pivot can fuel genuine growth.

Execute

The stalwart strategies of price, promotion, and assortment remain as relevant as ever for brands that want to move their businesses ahead. In today’s hyper-competitive and fragmented market, though, brands need to know the best way to execute on those strategic levers.

Even as prices remain elevated across many sectors — the consumer price index for U.S. grocery has spiked 31.8% since January 2020 — it’s not enough for CPGs to take an inflation-era approach of growing through price. New Circana Compass research projects that U.S. retail food and beverage growth will land in the 2-3% range in 2027, closer to pre-pandemic averages of 2.5-3.5^.

Volume, then, is necessary to grow share or win in the industry. In 2025, winning brands of all sizes outpaced all others in distribution growth, per Circana’s Growth Leaders report. $1B+ Growth Leaders boosted distribution by 6% last year compared to other brands that increased distribution by an average of 1%, while sub-$1B Growth Leaders increased distribution 42% compared to other brands with a 7% gain.

Expanding distribution can be done in a number of data-driven ways. Brands armed with complete data about their shoppers can target them with media programs. They can measure the impact of promotions and adjust when and where necessary. They can spot and quickly address inventory and supply chain issues to ensure that their products are within consumers’ sight and reach.

Data can help brands get out in front of shoppers in displays, too. As the average number of displays per store is declining and as UPC variety is rising per display, competition for in-store visibility is intensifying. Display insights allow brands to take advantage of every earned placement and to confirm correct assortment and facings so displays deliver on the intended impact. Additionally, data connects display executions with sales outcomes to enable brands and their retail partners to prioritize the highest return opportunities.

Ultimately, brushing up on the fundamentals of consumer knowledge, innovation, and execution while positioning the business for future success is what steers CPGs to greater success. Even as agentic commerce changes the landscape, basic tenets will remain critical, although the way they play out will shift.

There may be tension between the past, present, and future — which likely and frankly won’t be much easier — but brands have the know-how and mindset to do it, whether they are a scrappy startup or a perennially competitive legacy brand.