The FMCG Guys

Bas Vorsteveld is Area Managing Director for Northern Europe at Kenvue, the Consumer Health care company behind brands such as Johnson's, Aveeno, Listerine and Neutrogena. He leads the business across the region, ensuring that trusted household names stay relevant for a new generation of shoppers.

In this episode, Bas joins us to discuss how consumer health brands can keep growing in categories where most people don't yet treat, how to help shoppers find the right solution on shelf and online, and how to stand out when regulation limits what you can say.

Tune in to hear about:

• Why low penetration is the biggest growth opportunity
• How retailers and brands can bring clarity to a crowded shelf, and where retail media fits
• How sales and marketing capabilities are changing as shopper journeys get less linear
• How to balance science and credibility with influencers, creators and healthcare professionals
• What happens when a claim is the only thing you change, and why legislation makes it harder to stand out
• How an established portfolio stays fast on trends as small brands pop up on TikTok
• Why equity for women in the industry isn't there yet, and what leaders can do as allies

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmcgguys/

Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

Sinem Kaynak is Head of the Personal Care Breakthrough Innovation Group at Unilever, where she leads mergers and acquisitions, incubates new brands and launches existing ones into adjacent categories. Her M&A work spans Unilever's acquisitions of Wild and Dr. Squatch, and the exit of Elida Beauty (Q-tips and Caress) to private equity.

In this episode, Sinem joins us to discuss how big FMCG companies can learn from the indie brands that are reshaping the industry, what separates a lasting trend from a passing "fly", and how to bring a small brand into a big company without losing what makes it special.

Tune in to hear about:

• Why portfolios are living organisms, and how to decide what to keep, buy or sell
• How lower barriers to entry for new brands are promoting "nichification at scale"
• How to tell a real consumer need from a cultural moment
• Why trust, consistency and science could help iconic brands in the age of AI agents
• Why community begins with passion and an unmet need, and how real-life experiences turn consumers into advocates
• When M&A makes sense, and how to protect an acquired brand's magic
• Why big companies could use a "me and my dog in the garage" mindset

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0OKoF6DL_vE

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmcgguys/

Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

Fez Ahmad is Head of Industry for CPG & Retail at Reddit, working with some of the world's largest FMCG brands to help them tap into one of the internet's most influential communities. Reddit has become a place where millions of people go to ask questions, compare products and get unfiltered opinions from real people.

In this episode, Fez joins us to discuss why Reddit matters for FMCG, how brands can learn from the conversations already happening around them, and what it takes to show up without killing the authenticity that makes the platform unique.

Tune in to hear about:

• Why Reddit calls itself "the most human place on the internet"
• How AI is making human validation more valuable
• Reddit as one of the world's biggest free focus groups
• Why brands need to listen before they speak
• Building reach, engagement and commerce on Reddit
• How brands can show up without disrupting communities
• What's next for Reddit across search, shopping and AI

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmcgguys/

Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

David Milner is Chairman at premium pizza brand Crosta Mollica. This business, as announced last week, will soon be merged with European Pizza Group (Nestlé spin off, with brands like Buitoni), becoming the biggest player in the old Continent. David will be the new CEO of this new 1BN sales entity. In this conversation, recorded in London before summer, we reflect on David's career, which has had two very differentiated episodes: the first, a "conventional" corporate career at P&G, Mars and Campbell's and, a second one, much more entrepreneurial and PE-focused, which has seen him successfully grow and exit businesses like Tyrell's Crisps or Lily's Kitchen. Tune in to hear about:

• From P&G, Mars and Campbell's to private equity
• Scaling and exiting Tyrrells and Lily's Kitchen
• David's checklist for spotting winning consumer brands
• Why superior product has to come first
• How Crosta & Mollica is disrupting the pizza category
• Competing with multinationals through speed and consumer focus
• Premiumisation, packaging and winning in-store
• Leadership, great teams and taking calculated risks

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jtuyNbGJXGs

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmcgguys/

Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

Kaan Aykac is the Director DTC and E-Commerce Europe at appliances leader Electrolux, In this episode we explore what great DTC looks like in a high-consideration category, where the website is not just a sales channel, but the digital flagship of the brand. We look at how consumer expectations are increasingly shaped by the best digital experiences across industries, why consistency matters as much as perfection, and how Electrolux is evolving the online customer journey.

Tune in to hear about:

• Why DTC is more than just driving conversion
• What Electrolux has learned about how consumers shop for appliances online
• Bringing lessons from Louis Vuitton into a very different category
• Why consumers benchmark you against Apple and Amazon, not only your direct competitors
• AI FAQs, natural-language search and the rise of LLM discoverability
• The role of UGC, personalization and connected appliances
• Kaan's approach to leadership and why he believes in "optimizing for the steepness of the learning curve"

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dNMKuBFdBf8

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmcgguys/

Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

Marcin Bruś is Group Director of Advertising at Allegro, one of Central Europe's leading e-commerce platforms and Poland's undisputed number one. With a career spanning P&G, Facebook, venture-backed businesses and now Allegro, he brings a broad perspective on how marketing is evolving.

In this episode, we explore the rise of retail media, why brands are shifting more spend toward measurable, closed-loop environments, and how Allegro is building its advertising proposition around data, technology and purchase intent. Marcin also shares his view on AI's impact on product discovery, the future role of marketplaces, and why marketers need to get more comfortable with experimentation and risk.

Tune in to hear about:

• Why retail media is outgrowing the wider advertising market
• How Allegro is building its retail media proposition in Central Europe
• Measurement, incrementality and closed-loop data
• How AI could reshape product discovery
• Why brands need to "spend a little, learn a lot and scale up"
• Why future marketers will need to combine consumer understanding, technology and risk-taking

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmcgguys/

Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

Max Sinclair is the CEO and Founder at Agentic Commerce Optimisation leader Azoma. AI has gone from a relative niche to be absolutely central in FMCG. A byproduct of this transformative wave has been the emergence of Agentic Commerce. This is the impact of LLMs and AI Agents on the relationship between brands and consumers, from discovery to purchase. Max has placed his business and himself at the forefront by being unapologetically Agentic-first, hosting their own events and actively sharing knowledge on a podcast and LinkedIn.

He joins us at a particularly pivotal moment for Azoma, as the business has just received a strategic investment from Dunnhumby Ventures.

Tune in to hear about:

• The state of Agentic Commerce: what can agents do today?
• Why Azoma is at the forefront of Agentic in FMCG
• The investment from Dunnhumby Ventures and how it will transform their capabilities
• What brands are doing in Agentic — and what they could be doing more of
• The 5 Cs framework to measure Agentic rigorously
• Closing the loop with Dunnhumby's Data

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmcgguys/

Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

Simon Swan is Director of E-commerce Development at Karo Healthcare, where he is helping reshape how digital commerce is understood and executed across markets and functions. In this episode, Simon joins Daniel and Christina to discuss why e-commerce cannot succeed in isolation, why digital shelf excellence should be treated as a business basic rather than a standalone initiative, and why retail media investment only works when the fundamentals are already in place. They also explore how AI and LLMs are expanding the digital shelf beyond the PDP, raising the bar for discoverability, consistency and collaboration across the entire organization.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why e-commerce must break out of the silo and become a truly cross-functional capability.
• Why digital shelf excellence is a hygiene factor, not a one-off project.
• The case for getting the basics right before investing heavily in retail media.
• How digital leaders can translate e-commerce into the language of the C-suite and wider business.
• How AI and LLMs are redefining discoverability beyond retailer product pages.
• Why collaboration, trust and emotional intelligence are becoming critical capabilities in digital commerce.

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmcgguys/

Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

Laurence Wyatt is Head of EU Beverages Research at Barclays Investment Bank, where he analyses the forces shaping the global alcoholic beverages industry. In this episode, we challenge some of the biggest assumptions around drinking today, from whether Gen Z is really turning away from alcohol to the role of affordability, demographics and changing health perceptions. Tune in to hear about:

• Are people really drinking less?
• The myth (or not) of the sober Gen Z
• Affordability and the economics of alcohol consumption
• China's decline and India's growth opportunity
• Demographics and the future of global demand
• Premiumisation, non-alcoholic drinks and new growth avenues

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Drh2ZMPRNoU

Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

Roman Putsch is the UEFA's Chief of Marketing and Digital, helping shape and grow some of the most iconic brands in world football, including the UEFA Champions League and the Euros. In this episode, we go behind the scenes of the game to explore why football commands attention like few other platforms can, what makes the Champions League such a powerful and consistent global brand, and how UEFA is helping partners turn passion and fandom into real commercial impact. From sponsorship and first-party data to retail media, cultural relevance and the power of iconic brand assets, we unpack what FMCG marketers can learn from football.

Together, we speak about:

• Roman's journey from automotive into what many would consider a dream job in football
• What makes the UEFA Champions League one of the most powerful brands in sport
• Why iconic assets, consistency and emotion matter so much in building a global brand
• How football combines attention, passion, visibility and cultural relevance
• How sports sponsorship is moving beyond logos and eyeballs into measurable business impact
• The role of first-party data, digital activation and retail media in modern sponsorship
• How UEFA approaches the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League and national team football as distinct brands
• What FMCG brands can learn from the way football builds engagement and fandom

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmcgguys/

Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.