Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Consumer Goods - Thematic Research

AI initiatives in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are sporadic. Pilot projects are popular, but few companies have created comprehensive AI strategies.

PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble are leading the market with multi-level AI strategies, whereas Mondelez, Kellogg, and Imperial Brands are industry laggards in the AI theme. AI can be used across the FMCG industry and is accessible to businesses regardless of size. Big companies have the investment capital required, and small companies and start-ups are agile enough to tech-enable their businesses quickly. For example, in 2017 start-up HelloAva launched a virtual assistant integrated with an ecommerce platform, creating a digitalized consumer journey.

This report offers expert market analysis and comparison of FMCG companies’ adoption of the following AI technologies: machine learning, data science, conversational platforms, computer vision, AI chips, smart robots, and context-aware computing. It also provides market size and growth forecasts of consumer goods companies’ AI platform adoption, from 2019 to 2025.

Scope

• One of the best ways to excel in a tech theme is to acquire a company or start-up. McCain Foods has acquired a minority stake in machine learning company Fiddlehead Technology in February 2021 and L’Oreal has been successful in the AI theme after acquiring AI and augmented reality start-up ModiFace in 2018.
• Consumer goods investment in AI platforms is gathering momentum and is forecast to reach $3.5bn globally by 2024.
• the publisher’s latest forecasts show a 3.8% decline in consumer product sales globally for 2021, compared to baseline predictions before the COVID-19 pandemic, equivalent to $341.5bn lost revenue. AI cannot resolve issues of consumer income decline, but it can save costs along the supply chain, and maintain customer engagement.
• AI is a key strategy for digitalization in the FMCG industry over the next few years. It can support customer engagement via conversational platforms, understand consumer demands using big data, drive personalization and target growth using data science, and intelligently automate manufacturing and supply chain management using context-aware computing.

Reasons to Buy

• Develop business strategies by understanding the AI technologies affecting and shaping specific consumer goods sectors and different areas of the consumer goods value chain.
• Support your internal business case for investment in AI by including an independent view of how you rank against competitors in a key technological theme that will disrupt the consumer goods industry within the next three years.
• Identify AI vendors in the consumer goods industry for potential partnerships or acquisition, based on their areas of expertise. For example, Journey Foods specializes in machine learning and data science for product innovation.
• If you are a vendor, formulate effective sales and marketing strategies by identifying the consumer goods market segments and companies with the greatest unmet demand for AI.
• If you are a consumer goods company, you can review the competitive landscape and analyze the performance of various competitors, identifying your weaknesses and informing your business development areas.