Just a few years ago, a major bank predicted that Indonesians would, on average, earn US$3,000 per capita by 2020. At the beginning of 2011, Indonesia hit that mark, beating the prediction by nearly a decade. While other countries in the region and around the globe have been affected by significant economic uncertainty, Indonesia’s economy is running at full bore, with a rapidly expanding middle class that is now the third-largest in the world. At 48 percent of the population and accounting for 44 percent of all FMCG spending in the country, middle class consumers are shaping today’s retail scene. Recently, during its 35^th Annual Marketing and Media Presentation in Jakarta, Nielsen provided nearly 1,000 clients and stakeholders with a snapshot of what Indonesia’s middle class is doing in terms of media usage and shopping patterns, and how companies can reach them effectively.

While all income groups have benefited from Indonesia’s accelerated growth, the middle class has enjoyed the most rapid advances in terms of spending increases and quality of life improvement, and increased demand in a range of consumer categories from home electronics and appliances to health and beauty products. The Indonesian middle class prefers to combine the convenience and fresh offerings found through traditional retail channels such as wet markets with the price-savings and expansive product offerings of the modern trade.

What are middle class Indonesians buying?
Some key facts about middle class shopping trends that retailers and manufacturers need to consider include:

• Fresh food makes up 37 percent of their monthly spending. Ice cream, noodles, and biscuits are the biggest movers thanks to product innovations.
• Value for money is key for nearly all (97%) middle class shoppers.
• 88 percent of middle class consumers said they want to experiment with brands.
• More than half (53%) shop in a modern trade outlet twice a month.
• They tend to visit the minimarket closest to their home, but promotions can disrupt their regular routine: 90 percent are looking for stores “with attractive and interesting promotions.” They also desire a diverse assortment of goods, friendly service and a comfortable environment.
• Mini-markets see the highest levels of spending, followed by supermarkets, with traditional retailers still highly important for fresh foods and the location convenience they offer.

What are middle class Indonesians watching?
Indonesians of all income levels love to watch TV, and nearly all (95%) middle class homes own a TV, with 96 percent watching programs every day. Other traditional media such as radio and newspapers are also popular, but are increasingly being consumed online, a trend driven primarily by Indonesian youth.  Internet usage and mobile phone ownership are surging, each increasing every quarter. Mobile penetration is already high, and purchase intent for smartphones is strong. These devices are fast becoming the primary platform for a variety of activities, such as watching video, accessing the Internet and connecting to social networks, opening a space for marketers and content providers to focus their efforts to include mobile in their content distribution. Nevertheless, relevancy and convenience to the consumers remain key to mobile content distribution.

Key media usage trends for middle class Indonesians include:

• Middle class Indonesian households watch an average of 4.5 hours of TV a day. Sports programming is the most popular, followed by drama series and other entertainment genres.
• Local content is appealing to middle class, which is why each city has its own newspaper.
• Almost a quarter (22%) of middle class consumers have Internet access, and spend 1.5 hours a day accessing the internet.
• Nearly three-quarters of middle class consumers in major cities (71%) have a mobile phone, with almost half saying they use the devices to access the Internet. More than one-third (35%) have a smartphone.
• Indonesians love social networking: 94 percent are connected to social networks, and 89 percent have a Facebook account.

Reaching the middle class
Given the abundance of opportunities in the marketplace, how can retailers, manufacturers, marketers and media companies connect with the middle class consumer? In a number of consumer goods categories, innovation has proven to be a growth engine. For example, in the ice cream category, the number of new varieties has surged by nearly 32 percent, with single packs the driver of sales. Volume sales of snack noodles surged 92 percent in the past year, thanks in large part to new flavors and a repositioning of the category (what used to be seen as a basic meal now is a great, convenient snack). The instant coffee market has expanded, and middle class consumers contributed 71 percent of volume growth within that category.  In contrast, categories that presented few innovations saw slower growth.

In addition to innovation, other trends seen among Indonesia’s middle class consumers include:

• Kids playing a role in modern shopping: 95 percent said that they “hardly ever refuse” the invitation from their kids to go to the minimarket.
• Convenience is key: today’s middle class consumers are pressed for time, with the demands of work and family life. Products that make life a bit easier are clear winners.
• Appeal to the fact that they are smart shoppers: Indonesians know how much items cost and where they are located in the store. Retailers must create a welcoming environment, promote value for money and win customers’ loyalty.
• Connect with consumers: they are increasingly online, and they discuss brands and products in that space. Retailers must strive to engage with them on social networks.
• Be relevant: tailor marketing – especially online and mobile campaigns – to consumers and their need-states.

Ethnic households will represent the majority by 2050. Their spending power will increase 25 percent by 2020, and a staggering 75 percent by 2050. “It’s critical to understand how your portfolio stacks up and to develop strategies now that will reap future benefits,” said John Lewis, President, Nielsen North America, during a session at Nielsen’s Consumer 360 event in Orlando, Florida. “Where do multicultural consumers shop? What do they buy? And which product innovations will appeal to them?”

When we look at future landscape across select CPG categories, we see several themes begin to emerge. This chart below compares the development (% of volume from growing consumer groups) and the projected category growth to the year 2020.

Growth is expected in baby categories (baby food and formula), which is not surprising as the multicultural segments are well developed among younger families. A few personal care categories emerge (liquid hand soap and wipes) as well as natural cooking ingredients (eggs, oil and flour). Manufacturers and retailers should leverage these categories as trip drivers to attract these critical consumer segments.

Pet food categories are expected to grow at a slower rate than the population as dry dog and cat foods are underdeveloped among multicultural households and dry dog food among the aging population. While the wet and moist segments of these categories are expected to grow at a faster rate than dry, the growth is still projected to be slightly below the average.

Upon further investigation into pet ownership, the Hispanic segment represents the biggest opportunity as nearly 60 percent of Hispanics own a pet, compared to only about one-third (32%) of African American and 56 percent of 55+ households.

The beverage category is one that is slated for high growth – especially among flavored brands. “A solid focus on multi-cultural households is one of our global strategic pillars,” said Elina Brager, Lead, National Category Advisory Initiatives at The Coca-Cola Company.

As far as the retail landscape is concerned, the channels that will benefit from the shifts in the American population are the drug, dollar and club channels. “And we know,” continued Brager, “Fanta has a strong buyer overlap with the Family Dollar shopper, so we’ve teamed with Family Dollar to enhance the shopper experience via in-store promotions, which have been very successful.”

Family Dollar’s growth potential is off the charts, and multicultural shoppers are playing a major role in their success. “We actively seek ways to reach the Hispanic shopper in particular,” said Katie Pollock, DVP of Integrated Insights & Category Management at Family Dollar. “Their shopping baskets are on average 10 percent larger than any other group.”

Sparkling soft drinks are one of the top 10 items that are consistently purchased by Hispanic customers at the Dollar Store. So, the company created a campaign in partnership with Coca Cola that promoted Fanta in both English and Spanish to reach as much of the audience as possible.

The campaign was a huge success. “The Family Dollar value message came across to our Hispanic shoppers and drove an increase of over 50 percent in Fanta brand sales in impacted stores,” said Pollock, “I really recommend collaboration with supplier partners who share your focus. We have to stop thinking of multi-cultural groups as the exception to the rule, they are becoming the norm.”

Session takeaways:

Once risk and opportunities are identified, further analyses can help fuel an effective action plan. Ask questions about what diverse forces mean to you and what you can do differently:

• How do we strengthen vulnerable segments?
• Where do growing demographic groups shop?
• What new product innovations might attract them?
• Are there cross promotional opportunities to attract new categories?

Retailers want to cultivate loyal shoppers. At the same time, CPG manufacturers want to make sure their products are available in the retail channels where their consumers shop. Nielsen research shows that those shoppers who use two or more retail channels spend more money – a lot more money. How much more do they spend? What categories benefit most from the expansion of the number of retail channels over the past decade? And how can retailers attract a greater portion of consumers’ shopping dollars?

Life used to be much simpler: the local drug store was the natural destination for cough syrup and cereal and frozen meals were bought at a grocery store.  Today, shoppers can take their pick of the number of locations they can find these or most any items. And while one-stop shopping is certainly a benefit for many consumers, Nielsen’s research shows that across 15 major categories from snacks and carbonated beverages to paper products and pet food, shoppers take advantage of the wide array of choices available to them.

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Multi-channel buying varies by category. Paper products is one of the most fragmented categories of the 15 examined; 83 percent of category buying households shopped two or more channels in 2009 for paper towels, toilet tissue, facial tissue and other paper goods. Conversely, about half of disposable diapers, coffee, vitamins and cough and cold purchases come from shoppers who shop for those categories exclusively in one channel.

On a dollar basis, the importance of dual and multi-channel category buyers is even more pronounced. For example, almost two-thirds (63 percent) of paper products category sales went to households who purchased them in three or more channels. In all categories examined, the majority of category sales come from households who buy in two or more retail channels. And all categories have significant sales from three or more channel buyers.

Big Spenders
Whether consumers opt to shop multiple retail channels for convenience or value reasons, the implication is clear: for retailers, competition comes not just from the rival store on the next corner, but also from the big box store across town or from formats close to where shoppers work or travel. To maximize sales, manufacturers need to make their products available in a wide variety of channels as multiple retail channel buyers are much heavier category buyers.

For the 15 categories examined, buyers who shopped in four or more channels spent from three to five times more than those who patronized just one retail channel.

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Multi-Channel Category Dynamics
A look at two specific categories illustrates the impact multi-channel buyers can have within a category as well as paint a picture of the competitive framework for retailers within a given retail channel. For the year ending September 11, 2010, grocery is the clear choice for most peanut butter buyers as 77 percent of buyers purchase peanut butter either exclusively in grocery (46 percent) or in a combination of grocery and some other retail channel(s) (31 percent). Mass and grocery buyers represent the second largest individual buyer group (16 percent of buyers), followed by mass only (13 percent of buyers). For non-grocers, the clear target is to build peanut butter sales from grocers, but grocers have a number of options to consider actions against other retail formats.

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In contrast, the channel overlap for toilet tissue is extremely fragmented. Mass merchandisers and grocery stores capture the largest portion of buyers, either exclusively or in combinations with other channels. Grocery stores are the exclusive destination for 19 percent of category buyers, followed by a combination of grocery and mass merchandiser buyers (16 percent) and exclusive mass merchandiser buyers (12 percent).

But the more interesting fact is how the club channel has become a significant player in attracting shoppers who exclusively buy their toilet tissue there: 10 percent of consumers only purchase the product at a club store, which means they are willing to pay a relatively larger amount of money to get higher value for a multi-unit club pack.

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The Takeaway
How can retailers maximize the share of their destination categories and build even bigger baskets by capturing trips going to competitive retail formats?

Grocers and drug retailers with loyalty card programs can leverage analytics to evaluate shopping baskets of individual shoppers and identify opportunities to discretely target promotions. Some grocers have linked total store purchasing with savings on gas purchases to create continuity-based approaches to drive shopper spending and loyalty. Warehouse club retailers use similar tactics against their membership file, while dollar stores and mass merchandisers continue to leverage value pricing.

For manufacturers, maintaining broad distribution is vital. For many types of categories, limitation to just one or two channels is a missed selling opportunity – something few can afford in this era of continual and intense competition. In lieu of just selling the same products to all retail partners, some manufacturers are creating unique channel or retailer specific product assortment to create points of differentiation for their retail partners.

As we manage through one of the most challenging U.S. economic downturns, American consumers have made significant shifts in what they buy and watch.  From planning their shopping trips to focusing on value to trading down to going out less and staying in more, consumers have pressed the reset button and fundamentally changed their habits.

At the same time, consumer packaged goods (CPG) retailers and manufacturers have seized the moment to drive – - rather than ride — the recession wave through innovation.  How is this innovation impacting consumers today and impacting the evolving retail landscape of 2015?

Some of our Retail 2015 predictions:

1. Mass supercenters and e-commerce will be the big winners.
2. Low and high-end grocery stores will grow share.
3. Pet stores and dollar stores will grow.
4. Retail consolidation: the big will get bigger.
5. Smart phones will be the primary enabler of shopper engagements.
6. Store formats will evolve: new formats, smaller stores, pop-up retailing to accelerate.
7. Anywhere in-store check outs to replace self check-out and open floor space.
8. In-store kiosks, digital media and holograms to interact with shoppers.
9. Demise of traditional consumer age and gender targets as technology enables seamless view across languages and ethnic/generational groups with links to purchase and usage behavior
10. Evolving U.S. demographics have major impacts

Tune in as we review the innovations impacting the retail landscape today, discuss our retail predictions for the future and what retailers can do to prepare during the webinar, Retail Landscape 2015: An Update on Tuesday, October 26.  Join the conversation via Twitter at #Retail2015.

Insights on the Private Label Consumer

• Heavy private label buyers are typically from larger households (three or more) with families (kids under age 18); under 45 years old, with higher incomes ($70K plus).
• Super heavy and heavy private label buyers account for nearly 60 percent of total private label dollar sales.
• Top private label buyers spend more than the average shopper across all product categories and spend more per shopping trip, with private label products accounting for more than one-third of their total shopping trip bill.
• The face of the private label buyer is evolving to one person households, age 55 – 64 years, no kids, with incomes of $100K plus.

“Not only is it critical for retailers to know who is buying private label today, but also who will be the primary private label buyers in the future,” said Carman Allison, director of Industry Insights, Nielsen. “As the face of the private label consumer evolves along with general demographic trends to smaller, older, higher income households, retailers need to make sure they are planning for the future by innovating to meet the needs of tomorrow’s private label consumer. This could mean an increased focus on smaller sizes or portion-controlled products, health and wellness offerings such as low fat or low sodium, and premium offerings to attract higher income consumers.”

Insights on the State of Private Label in Canada

• Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) private label sales in Canada remain flat at $11.4 billion, and unit sales are down one percent. National brand dollar sales are up three percent to $50.9 billion while unit sales are up two percent.
• Canadians spend $844 on private label products annually, up two percent from last year.
• On average, private label products are 30 percent less expensive than national brands, but the gap, fueled by higher levels of inflation for private label, has slightly narrowed.
• Canadians spend $12.20 per trip on private label products, up three percent from last year and the average Canadian household makes 69 trips per year to purchase private label products.

“The battle of the brands continues,” said Allison. “Despite the economic downturn, Canadians did not switch from national brands to private label products. National brands are meeting consumers’ needs for value by driving more sales through feature pricing while private label increased prices at a higher rate, narrowing the shelf price advantage. That said, Canadian retailer concentration is increasing, with the top five retailers representing the majority of the grocery trade. This translates to increased private label development.”

In the post-recession global economy, retailers in developed markets are facing a changed landscape that features fewer stores, heavier discounting and more discriminating shoppers. In contrast, retail in most developing markets like Vietnam has remained fairly robust, and all signs point to further opportunities for expansion. Desirable real estate is still difficult to obtain, competition remains strong from both domestic and foreign players, and the middle class continues to grow.

The Retail Landscape
With these factors in mind, it is no surprise that A.T. Kearney ranked Vietnam one of the top three most attractive Asian markets in their 2010 Global Retail Development Index.  The nation’s 2010 GDP growth is expected to be 5.5 percent, slightly lower than previous years, but still ahead of many markets. Yet amidst relatively high inflation, the economy remains robust, with the performance of most Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) categories fairing well.

Vietnam now has over a half million stores selling consumer packaged goods and continues to see steady growth.  While the number of traditional trade stores grew 6 percent in 2009 (see Figure 1), the growth of Vietnam’s modern trade (MT) store numbers was substantial: up 45 percent. The strong growth in MT outlets is expected to continue as significant growth opportunities remain relative to the country’s Southeast Asian neighbors.

Figure 1

Vietnam’s population is estimated at 86.5 million, with around three quarters of the population residing in rural areas. It’s no surprise then that almost 46 percent of Vietnam’s FMCG store turnover is attributed to rural areas. What’s interesting for suppliers is that over time, rural consumers are introducing new categories to their repertoires as their level of disposable income increases and demand grows for more sophisticated products. Consumers are also moving from “must have” staple items such as rice and shampoo to discretionary items such as deodorants/skincare.

Since the opening of the retail market by the Vietnamese government, the key international players continue to be Big C, Metro Cash and Carry, while Saigon Coop continues to be the leading local chain.  Over the past few years, convenience stores have also taken root, with both local and foreign players competing for customers.

Modern Trade Outlook
Sales in modern trade stores enjoyed growth of 63 percent in 2009 versus 2008, with MT sales contributing 11 percent of total FMCG sales across Vietnam by the end of 2009. There are 752 MT outlets in Vietnam, up 45 percent from last year.  With the significant increase in MT outlets shoppers have only slightly increased their store repertoire (see Figure 2).  Although shoppers have not increased their number of store visits in any noticeable manner, they have increased spend per visit, especially at supermarkets (see Figure 3).  With the continued opportunities for expansion, 66 percent of business leaders expect MT to contribute at least 10 percent to sales revenue by this year.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Food For Thought
Growth is still on the radar for Vietnam with a number of areas to keep in mind:

• Modern trade and specific convenience management systems will need faster development.
• Maximizing portfolio efficiency in-store will be key to success in the still dominant traditional trade channel.
• Rural strategies must be part of long term planning in Vietnam.
• As modern trade development accelerates, this channel will have an increasingly more significant influence on the way people shop, which will inevitably lead to opportunities to create new categories.

Most importantly, to win in the modern trade arena, incumbent players as well as new, emerging entrants will need to consider very carefully the needs and wants of their consumers, and devise strategies to satisfy these specific consumer demands.

Pretty deep. According to Nielsen, three-quarters of U.S. households believe store brands are a good alternative to name brands and nearly two-thirds of households say that store brand quality is just as good as name brands. In a recent Progressive Grocer Store Brands article, the depth of store brand buying reveals just how much consumer’s behaviors and attitudes have aligned.

With nearly 70% of store brand dollar sales coming from consumers who are “variety-seekers,” retailers can encourage deeper levels of store-brand buying by:

• Rewarding key consumers with continuity-based promotions.
• Implementing repeat stimuli efforts
• Targeting specific shoppers through direct mail efforts

For more details and tactical examples, continue reading at Progressive Grocer Store Brands.

A relief from the heat came in the form of increased consumption of soft drinks in Russia, which increased 24% since last year. Despite experiencing low levels of consumer confidence since last year, the market is now one step away from changing to positive dynamics as signs of recovery are beginning.

Dwight Watson, Managing Director, Nielsen Russia

Unlike its booming and optimistic BRIC neighbors, Russia has been experiencing the lowest level of consumer confidence. The deepest decline was registered in April 2009 that affected the consumer packaged goods (CPG) market. The drop in sales reached its lowest point in Q4 2009, when the total CPG retail volume decreased by almost 10%.

According to preliminary data, the Russian CPG market is one step away from changing to positive dynamics. For the first time in the past year and a half, the non-food sector reported positive growth in July 2010. The food-sector is still behind, but due to stable growth of basic products, and the jump of sales in seasonal products, the recovery process is speeding up.

Thirst Quenchers
One major contributor to this growth can be attributed to the hot summer weather and the increase in soft drink consumption compared to last year. The National Urban Retail sales volume of carbonated sweet drinks (CSD), ice tea, juices, and Kvass grew by 24% in total, compared to July 2009. And the results were even 8% higher than in pre-crisis July 2008.

The fastest sales dynamics is observed in comparatively young segments such as Kvass (fermented non-alcoholic beverage made from stale dark sourdough rye bread)—where growth was also fueled by consumers’ excitement about the innovative launches. This traditional national drink became an absolute champion with 89% volume growth. Carbonated sweet drinks—the largest segment of the market—grew by 19% in volume and mineral / drinking water rose by 33% in 19 major Russian Cities.

Return to Growth
Although other tracked CPG market categories did not report such high growth, the negative trend is bottoming out and we anticipate a return to volume growth. However, recent price increases taken in September are concerning, which could contribute negatively to consumers who need to continue tightening their spending belts. Manufacturers and retailers must address consumer’s need for value in order to drive category sales and market share and ensure success moving into 2011.

Nielsen’s latest Russian Market Tracker Pulse report on consumer packaged goods sales in Russia for the first half of 2010 details the market performance trends throughout 2009–2010. The quarterly tracker is based on Nielsen’s Retail Measurement data across categories from major segments such as packed food and beverages, personal care, home care, cigarettes, pet food—audited by Nielsen on the National Russia geography and contains Nielsen’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) index, food and non-food indices, which contain information on nominal and volume sales dynamics and average price change.

SUMMARY: The rise of new technologies and increased channel fragmentation makes reaching consumer targets more challenging than ever. More and more consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers are finding that micro-targeting strategies—traditionally employed by specialized business—are unleashing new, deeper insights into their customer targets enabling them to grow brands in creative and profitable ways.

Micro-targeting, or the in-depth analysis of a company’s consumers, has traditionally been viewed as a tool for very specialized businesses. Long used by the financial services industry, with its rigorous statistical models and reams of customer data based on direct relationships, micro-targeting plays an important role in effectively communicating with precisely the customers those firms want to reach.

Meanwhile, niche consumer brands with a small customer set and the ability to know exactly where those customers live, work and play have also used this tool to grow their businesses. However, the rise of entirely new technologies and mediums such as Facebook, Twitter and other social media, as well as new consumer research capabilities have made micro-targeting a useful tool for a broader range of industries.

Uncover Demand Potential
As a pioneer in the use of micro-targeting, The Cambridge Group—part of The Nielsen Company—has, for some time, assisted financial services clients in micro-targeting through the development of proprietary predictive models capable of classifying consumers into Demand Segments. More recently, however, the challenging economy and intense market competition has prompted an increasing number of mainstream consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and retailers to dig deeper into their data to develop an unparalleled understanding of consumers in their categories, specifically who has the profit and what do they demand. The power of these insights are being unleashed through the use of focused media buys, targeted online advertising/ product placements, Facebook, Twitter and other new channels to more effectively reach target customers.

Already, one of the world’s largest CPG companies has shifted its spending from mass media buys to micro-targeting friendly public relations campaigns and Internet buys. With the increased channel fragmentation and blurring, they realize that they must be more precise than ever at targeting their most profitable customers.

Drive Growth
Another example of how the use of micro-targeting has expanded beyond its niche is the case of a refrigerated-meat manufacturer. Leveraging our proprietary approaches, this client was able to develop a fuller, more precise understanding of its true core of profitable customers—teenage boys and their moms. As they discovered, their heaviest users were not summertime backyard grillers, as they’d thought, but households with teenage boys who eat hot dogs for after school snacks (oftentimes as much as 5 pounds in a month!).

The team used its refined understanding of these core buyers and their needs to boost usage among heavy users and build awareness among teens. It shifted its mass media spending and focused more on micro-marketing efforts such as sponsoring online Major League Gaming—one of the key places these teens could be found—as a way of boosting its awareness among youths. The revised marketing actions combined with targeted product/packaging optimization drove annual growth of 15-20% for several years in a row, enabling the brand to achieve the number one position in the category while simultaneously growing its household penetration three points, a major victory.

In another case, we worked with a consumer durables client that had suffered almost five years of flat to declining growth. Our micro-targeting approach increased sales 8% in year one and an additional 9% in year two. These results were achieved by re-allocating existing spend into more precise micro-targeting efforts rather than adding spend.

Road Map to Success
So how do CPG companies get started with micro-targeting? The Cambridge Group recommends five key steps:

1. Determine what your objectives are. Gain agreement as to how the micro-targeting effort will be evaluated. Is it aimed at increasing awareness, trial, sales or some other goal?
2. Build a detailed fact base about your target segment(s). You must be very clear on who you want to reach. Typically we are trying to engage the most profitable segments of consumers for our clients. But in some cases the effort might be to reach lapsed users, competitive users or some other group.
3. Create a compelling message for the target. Once you’ve successfully reached your target you have to have something of interest for them to engage in or you risk losing them despite all of the work to reach them.
4. Determine where best to reach the target. Where will they be most interested and receptive to your message?
5. Measure results and improve. Track your results and take corrective actions or drive improvements based on findings and results.

To be truly successful, micro-targeting requires an unparalleled understanding of a company’s target and turning these insights into actionable strategies. But done correctly, it is one tool that really can enable companies to “do more with less” and grow brands in new, creative ways.

Categories that are likely to experience solid growth include ethnic health and beauty products, flour/shortening/sugar/yeast/eggs, and a variety of health-related goods such as vitamins and medications/remedies.  The slowest growth categories are expected to be toys and sporting goods, breakfast foods, baby care and pet products.

In just ten years time, the face of America will change: fewer households will have children, the population will age and lower-income consumers will expand.  Additionally, the majority of new families will be multi-cultural in less than two decades.

“The demographic shifts underway create both challenges and opportunities for CPG marketers, and companies that anticipate the shifts could have a competitive advantage,” said Doug Anderson, Senior Vice President, Global Research and Development at Nielsen.  ”It will be absolutely critical for CPG companies to adapt in order to gain the attention and brand loyalty of the aging Baby Boomers, multi-cultural families and lower-income consumers of the future.  Those who keep doing what they’re doing today will be left behind.”

Read a more detailed description of the demographic changes that will affect the CPG industry here.