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Five Trends that will Define the CPG Industry Post-COVID

According to the Consumer Brands Association, the post-pandemic outlook shows five major trends that will affect CPG companies, from consumer-influenced, to logistics and supply chain.

Post-COVID Trends that will Define the CPG Industry
Post-COVID Trends that will Define the CPG Industry

According to the CBA report “The CPG Post-Pandemic Outlook,” COVID-19 has, in ways, permanently changed consumer behavior, and consequently the CPG industry.

Trend 1: Consumer Product Demand Will Remain Elevated

CPG sales soared 21% YOY in second quarter 2020, and Consumer Brands estimates that economic activity will not return to pre-pandemic levels until late 2021 - employment levels will not recover until well into 2022 or even 2023.

“Despite the vaccine, Americans will still consume more at home, keeping sales of CPG products elevated for much of 2021 — if not beyond. Consumer Brands expects 2021 CPG purchases to decelerate between 1% and 2% from 2020,” said the report. Even with this settling, the annual rate of purchases is estimated to be 7% or 8% above those of 2019.


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One of the biggest influences on this trend is the ‘new normal’ of the remote worker. More than 82% of employees who have worked remotely during the pandemic want to continue to do so, at least some of the time, with resulting at-home consumption of more products for these workers.

Trend 2: Changes to CPG Supply Chains

Because of the rapid growth of e-commerce shopping during the pandemic, CPG supply chains had to pivot to higher inventory levels and more innovation.

According to the report, almost half (47%) of consumers said they used online ordering for delivery or click-and-collect services during COVID-19. Of those, 77% plan to continue using them after the pandemic. They also reported plans to stock up on products that were most in demand during the pandemic, and to make more infrequent trips to the grocery store with larger purchases per trip.

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