The FMCG Marketing Daily — May 02, 2026

Your 8-minute briefing on the platforms, players, and profits driving fast-moving consumer goods.

Hosted by Marco and Klara.

Today's fun fact: Costco deliberately loses money on its $4.99 rotisserie chicken, selling it below cost to drive store traffic—a strategy so aggressive they built their own $450 million poultry processing plant in Nebraska to control supply and maintain the price point since 2009.

The FMCG Marketing Daily — May 01, 2026

Your 8-minute briefing on the platforms, players, and profits driving fast-moving consumer goods.

Hosted by Marco and Klara.

Today's fun fact: Colgate holds a trademark on beef lasagna in the United States. In 1982, they launched Colgate Kitchen Entrees—a line of frozen dinners—which failed so spectacularly that consumers reported feeling nauseated by the thought of eating food from a toothpaste brand. The trademark remains active as a legal shield to prevent competitors from mocking the disaster.

The FMCG Marketing Daily — April 30, 2026

Your 8-minute briefing on the platforms, players, and profits driving fast-moving consumer goods.

Hosted by Marco and Klara.

Today's fun fact: Frito-Lay's delivery trucks carry their own portable shelving systems that drivers assemble in-store, making them the only major FMCG brand that literally builds their own retail real estate. This 'store-within-a-store' model means the brand controls roughly 40 square feet of floor space that the retailer never technically merchandises.

The FMCG Marketing Daily — April 29, 2026

Your 8-minute briefing on the platforms, players, and profits driving fast-moving consumer goods.

Hosted by Marco and Klara.

Today's fun fact: Coca-Cola's distinctive contour bottle was designed in 1915 to be recognizable even when broken on the ground or felt in the dark—and it's so iconic that a study found 97% of people worldwide can identify it from shape alone, making it one of the most effective packaging designs ever created.

The FMCG Marketing Daily — April 28, 2026

Your 8-minute briefing on the platforms, players, and profits driving fast-moving consumer goods.

Hosted by Marco and Klara.

Today's fun fact: Nestlé's KitKat bar has over 300 unique flavors in Japan alone—including wasabi, sake, and purple sweet potato—because Japanese consumers view the bar as a good luck charm due to its name sounding like 'kitto katsu,' meaning 'you will surely win.' This accidental linguistic connection transformed KitKat into Japan's top-selling confection and a cultural phenomenon around exam season.

The FMCG Marketing Daily — April 27, 2026

Your 8-minute briefing on the platforms, players, and profits driving fast-moving consumer goods.

Hosted by Marco and Klara.

Today's fun fact: Frito-Lay's delivery drivers don't actually work for Frito-Lay. They're independent contractors who buy the inventory upfront, stock the shelves themselves, and only make money on what actually sells—a business model called 'direct store delivery' that shifts nearly all the risk from the $20 billion brand to roughly 15,000 individual route operators.

The FMCG Marketing Daily — April 26, 2026

Your 8-minute briefing on the platforms, players, and profits driving fast-moving consumer goods.

Hosted by Marco and Klara.

Today's fun fact: Frito-Lay deliberately manufactures Doritos with inconsistent seasoning coverage—some chips get 20% more flavor powder than others—because internal research found that the variability itself is addictive. Consumers unconsciously keep eating, hoping the next chip will be as intensely flavored as the best one they just had.

The FMCG Marketing Daily — April 25, 2026

Your 8-minute briefing on the platforms, players, and profits driving fast-moving consumer goods.

Hosted by Marco and Klara.

Today's fun fact: Frito-Lay's merchandising research found that moving chip bags from vertical to horizontal shelf placement increased sales by 12%, but most retailers still use vertical displays because they can fit 40% more SKUs in the same linear footage. The battle between velocity and variety remains one of retail's most expensive unresolved debates.

The FMCG Marketing Daily — April 24, 2026

Your 8-minute briefing on the platforms, players, and profits driving fast-moving consumer goods.

Hosted by Marco and Klara.

Today's fun fact: Kellogg's Corn Flakes were originally invented in 1894 as an anti-aphrodisiac to curb sexual desire, part of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg's belief that bland foods would reduce lustful thoughts. The cereal was so aggressively marketed for its 'calming properties' that it became America's first major breakfast cereal, though the anti-libido messaging was quietly dropped by the 1920s.

The FMCG Marketing Daily — April 23, 2026

Your 8-minute briefing on the platforms, players, and profits driving fast-moving consumer goods.

Hosted by Marco and Klara.

Today's fun fact: Frito-Lay deliberately designs their chip bags to be exactly 43% air—not to rip you off, but because nitrogen cushioning below that threshold results in 18% more breakage and customer complaints spike dramatically. The company spent $2 million in the 1990s engineering the optimal empty space ratio.