Growth, Brands and More

Filiberto Amati
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Growth, Brands, and More is the FMCG Growth Operating System in podcast form. Each episode breaks down how consumer goods brands win (or lose) in competitive markets. Hosted by Filiberto Amati, a growth consultant with 25 years of experience across P&G, Philips, and Campari, the show goes deep into the levers that drive real commercial results: portfolio architecture, route to market, pricing logic, brand strategy, shopper behaviour, and category dynamics. Guests are operators, not theorists — senior executives and founders from Heineken, Diageo, Coca-Cola, Unilever, P&G, Danone, and Pernod Ricard, alongside entrepreneurs building the next generation of FMCG brands. No generic marketing advice. No thought leadership filler. Built for the people running brands or advising the ones who do. For more on FMCG intelligence: https://www.filibertoamati.com/ For more on GOS: https://www.amati-associates.com/diagnostic/ www.filibertoamati.com

  1. Jun 29

    The Strategic Evolution of Sustainability | Adam Pawelas | Part 1

    What if sustainability were not about doing good or looking good? What if it were about risk management?? In this episode, Filiberto interviews sustainability professional Adam Pawelas - a sustainability veteran in food and beverages - about how sustainability has evolved over 20+ years from compliance to operational excellence, CSR, and now ESG embedded in business strategy and finance. They discuss universal sustainability practices across industries: mapping stakeholders, identifying material topics, and clarifying internal and external motivations, with leaders differentiating themselves through future-proof asset design, portfolio choices based on product footprints, responsible sourcing for scope 3 impacts, embedding sustainability in risk frameworks, and resourcing commitments via incentives tied to sustainability KPIs. They address myths that sustainability is only a cost or is fading, arguing it is becoming more structured and important for resilience amid extreme weather and geopolitical shocks. The conversation highlights packaging complexity, regional differences in recycling systems and recycled content, and the growing role of EU reporting frameworks and peer pressure in driving action. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 03:04 Sustainability From CSR to ESG 10:57 What Comes Next: Resilience 14:07 Leaders vs Laggards in Practice 20:53 Packaging Regulation and Reporting This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.filibertoamati.com/subscribe

    32 min

  2. Jun 15

    Navigating Complexity in FMCG | Pierre-Yves Parant

    Do large organisations really understand complexity? Or do they underestimate it? The discussion argues that operations exist to manage organisational complexity but are often overlooked unless disruptions occur, making end-to-end understanding hard in large companies. On AI, it’s described as a buzzword whose operational impact is often oversold: automation isn’t new, and effective AI requires deep process knowledge, high-quality standardised data, documentation, and governance, plus costly model building, training, and controls, making business cases difficult in FMCG operations today; however, AI pressure may accelerate data standards and enable more end-to-end supplier-to-consumer data exchange. For growth strategy, the key operational advice is to start by asking why a “white space” exists, identify execution barriers early, and make explicit trade-offs (e.g., distributor vs creating a legal entity) based on timeline, control, capabilities, and scalability. On barbell portfolios, premium and entry-level require different production, logistics, skills, and standards, risking underutilised assets unless execution is deliberate and guided by a clear playbook. The concluding advice is to involve an operational “buddy” early and stay close to day-to-day operations to sense-check ideas and improve predictability. 00:00 Ops and Complexity Reality 03:49 Why AI Hype Meets Data 11:17 AI Governance and Standards 14:26 Making Growth Plans Executable 26:14 Barbell Strategy and Final Advice This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.filibertoamati.com/subscribe

    37 min

  3. Jun 8

    Perils of Transformation | Pierre-Yves Parant

    Why is there a disconnect between commercial objectives and operational ability to deliver those objectives? In this episode, our guest, Pierre-Yves Parent, a transformation and operations veteran from Procter & Gamble, Diageo, and Coty, discusses why growth strategies often fail in execution due to mismatches with a company’s operating model. Parent explains end-to-end physical and data flows, highlighting how interfaces and human interpretation create instability and how the biggest tension arises when moving from design to implementation. Using RTDs as an example, he describes a structural misalignment in commercial operations timelines driven by seasonality, weather volatility, supply constraints, artwork/regulatory variations, retailer codification delays, and inventory/scrap and reporting impacts. The conversation also covers large transformations and carve-outs/mergers, noting early design tradeoffs, legal/IT separation limits, shared services complexity, and how weak governance and undisciplined change management can derail benefits by leaving unresolved resistance and incomplete execution. 00:00 Why Strategies Fail 05:30 Execution Meets Reality 10:40 RTD Supply Chain Chaos 20:24 Inside Big Transformations 34:33 Where Transformations Break This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.filibertoamati.com/subscribe

    42 min

  4. Jun 1

    Decoding Consumers: RTDs Beer and GLP-1 | Andy O'Brien | Part 2

    Is premiumness in RTD as important across demographic segments? How should an Aldi Private Label compete with Guinness? And what would happen if GLP-1 were available in an oral format? The second part of the discussion between Andy and Filiberto begins with how conjoint analysis reveals which packaging, price, size, and format cues consumers use in split-second FMCG decisions, highlighting ABV as a simplified signal of value, quality, strength, and flavour intensity, and warning that label “communication architecture” can unintentionally drive choice. It contrasts cans (mainstream, larger scale, often requiring partners) with glass (more premium, niche), and argues that innovation expectations should align with the chosen format’s scale. Research shows willingness to pay varies by demographic and market (e.g., French women and younger Spanish males paying premiums for glass), creating tension between segmentation opportunities and supply-chain de-complexification, while “shrink-to-grow” can open white space for smaller brands and even cross-category competitors. Finally, Andy presents more insights from Epic’s previous research: 1) a UK study on Aldi’s Guinness-like stout found that alternative design choices (e.g., a glossy gold can and a distinct icon); 2) a separate study on oral GLP-1 formats 00:00 Conjoint Research Setup 01:42 Format Choices And Scale 04:40 Segmentation Versus Supply Chain 19:30 Packaging Signals And Copycats 28:49 GLP-1 Oral Disruption Wrap This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.filibertoamati.com/subscribe

    32 min
  5. RTDs, Conjoint and Consumer Choices | Andy O'Brien | Part 1

    May 25

    RTDs, Conjoint and Consumer Choices | Andy O'Brien | Part 1

    Can we model consumer choices in a timely fashion? Shouldn’t we test product-related design choices before launching them into the market? The episode features Andy O’Brien, FMCG & RETAIL VP at Epic Insights, discussing his FMCG background and Epic’s software-driven, decision-based research, which delivers faster insights. They emphasise the need for rapid data to support innovation, challenge assumptions, and keep pace with retailer and internal decision timelines, noting procurement and organisational volatility as barriers and arguing that better tools should reduce high new-product failure rates. The conversation presents Epic-sponsored conjoint research on alcoholic RTDs in Germany, France, and Spain: product is the main choice driver, packaging is second, and their interaction shapes decisions, with price reinforcing expectations. Findings also suggest premium glass packaging complements rather than replaces mainstream cans, with cans driving volume while glass supports higher-value occasions and specific cohorts (e.g., female consumers in France). 00:00 Welcome and Preview 01:49 Meet Andy and Epic Insights 04:17 Fast Conjoint Research at Speed 08:22 RTD Study Insight One Drivers 20:05 Insight Two Packaging Premiumisation Wrap This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.filibertoamati.com/subscribe

    25 min

  6. May 18

    The Relevance Blueprint | Magda Adamska

    Why do brands follow trends and waves, embracing change when it is not needed? Why aren’t they obsessing about brand relevance, which is potentially the mother of all brand problems? In this Growth Brands and More episode, Philippo interviews brand strategist Magda Adamska, who moved from agency planning (Nike, T-Mobile) to operator roles at MTV/Viacom and Pearson, then became a consultant and built Brand Struck, a database tracking 250 brand positioning analyses. Adamska contrasts the agency's focus on communication and creativity with client-side realities of the full marketing mix, citing Kinder Bueno’s repositioning, which tripled share. She describes shifts from fun/rebel branding to purpose and sustainability, and now “cultural relevance,” warning that fundamentals and measurement matter most. She argues relevance is the key driver of resilience (Uber, Instagram), while decline can stem from lost relevance (Bud Light) or bad business decisions despite relevance (Nike’s DTC shift). They discuss brands travelling internationally (Liquid Death in the UK), the importance of fame/awareness and investment, and why brand architecture projects start from portfolio messes driven by short-term incentives, acquisitions, and weak CEO stewardship. 00:00 Meet Magda Adamska 05:25 Brand Trends and Relevance 22:32 Brand Architecture Fixes 29:40 Short-Termism and Fake Innovation 32:43 CEO Stewardship and Brand Splits 40:45 Future Priorities and Value This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.filibertoamati.com/subscribe

    54 min

  7. May 11

    Avoiding Toxic Growth | François Bazini

    Growth at any cost is still a mantra. But toxic growth creates more problems than it solves. In part two of the chat with François Bazini, the host continues a conversation about “toxic growth” and why CMOs fail, arguing that marketers often chase glamorous, short-term levers, flavour “innovations,” promotions, ill-conceived category moves, or new consumer targets that look good on paper but poison brands, instead of doing the harder work of growing the core. François illustrates toxic growth through Ribena’s decline from a top UK brand in 2015 to outside the top 100 by 2022 after shifting away from families, launching non-credible flavoured water and sparkling RTDs, and becoming promotion-dependent. They discuss how companies mismanage brands, avoid postmortems, and misread success, citing Celsius’ growth as driven largely by a competitor’s delisting and a COVID-era shift to no-sugar. He also predicts that successful CMOs must both strengthen core brand growth and build disruptive new brands. 00:00 The types of Growth 00:43 Fake Innovation and Incentives 02:26 Defining Toxic Growth 06:33 Ribena Case Study Breakdown 26:46 Future of the CMO This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.filibertoamati.com/subscribe

    34 min

  8. May 4

    Goodbye CMO. Hello Chief Growth Officer | François Bazini

    From Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Growth Officer. New Label or New Reality? What’s the future of marketing? Filiberto interviews François Bazini, former CMO Europe at Suntory, about how the CMO role is changing and why some companies relabel it as a Chief Growth Officer. François recounts his global FMCG career (Danone, PepsiCo, Suntory) and contrasts functional marketing leadership with P&L general management, arguing that strong CMOs act as “brand CEOs” who own trade-offs across top line, bottom line, capital, and time horizons. He says CMOs often fail by avoiding ROI discussions or shifting spend to only what’s easily measurable, overemphasising short-term activation over long-term brand building. He also argues that CMOs must be brand stewards while improving ROI credibility by reframing returns around equity and pricing power, and advises marketers to build both “PowerPoint and Excel” skills and to speak the finance, supply chain, HR, and commercial languages. 00:00 Meet François Bazini 02:42 From CMO to P&L Leader 06:00 Brand CEO Mindset 10:56 ROI Trap and Brand Stewardship 23:08 Chief Growth Officer: The Future This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.filibertoamati.com/subscribe

    34 min
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About

Growth, Brands, and More is the FMCG Growth Operating System in podcast form. Each episode breaks down how consumer goods brands win (or lose) in competitive markets. Hosted by Filiberto Amati, a growth consultant with 25 years of experience across P&G, Philips, and Campari, the show goes deep into the levers that drive real commercial results: portfolio architecture, route to market, pricing logic, brand strategy, shopper behaviour, and category dynamics. Guests are operators, not theorists — senior executives and founders from Heineken, Diageo, Coca-Cola, Unilever, P&G, Danone, and Pernod Ricard, alongside entrepreneurs building the next generation of FMCG brands. No generic marketing advice. No thought leadership filler. Built for the people running brands or advising the ones who do. For more on FMCG intelligence: https://www.filibertoamati.com/ For more on GOS: https://www.amati-associates.com/diagnostic/ www.filibertoamati.com

Information

  • Creator
    Filiberto Amati
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    94
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Filiberto Amati
  • Show Website
    Growth, Brands and More