The Consumer Goods Forum

Throughout the Global Summit week, delegates stopped by The Sustainable Kitchen booth to sample delicious dishes, watch live demonstrations and discover practical ideas to help consumers waste less food and make healthier choices. Originally developed as an online hub to help companies inspire consumer behaviour change, The Sustainable Kitchen was brought to life at the Summit as an immersive culinary experience, showcasing simple, engaging ways brands and retailers can encourage healthier dietary habits while tackling food waste. From creative recipes to smarter meal planning and making the most of leftovers, the activation showcased how consumer communication can drive meaningful behaviour change. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make The Sustainable Kitchen such a vibrant hub for learning, inspiration and conversation. ALDI SÜD HOLDING, Ahold Delhaize, Danone, Haleon, McCain Foods and Tesco Visit www.sustainablekitchen.org for more recipes and practical tips to reduce food waste.

An insider’s look at how SSCI Experts talk through benchmarking challenges and opportunities. Demonstrating ethical and sustainable practices across global supply chains is not a one-time achievement for consumer goods companies. Continued trust depends on continuous diligence. That is why the SSCI Annual Calibration meeting is vital. This meeting brings together the SSCI benchmark leaders and the CGF SSCI team to promote alignment across the SSCI assessments auditing, monitoring and certification programmes. Over two days, we took the opportunity to discuss how to address complex issues such as living wages and land rights. Regular calibration helps us adapt to new industry challenges by keeping the SSCI’s social and environmental benchmark fit-for-purpose. As sustainability expectations evolve, the SSCI’s collaborative oversight helps to streamline a cluttered sustainability landscape and lower supplier vetting costs for your business. Discover how the SSCI supports companies with corporate due diligence tools they can trust: https://lnkd.in/e4usyjtt

What were the real trending topics at the Global Summit? Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from the keywords used by speakers over the last three years: - The Consumer is Still King: Despite the massive buzz around AI, Consumers remain the absolute center of gravity for our industry. - The Rise of AI Agents: Two years ago, they didn't even register. Last year, they were a whisper. In 2026, Agents have officially taken center stage in the discussion. - Data Over Tech: As the industry matures, general "technology" discussions are decreasing, replaced by a sharp focus on data and actionable implementation.

Measuring food waste consistently is essential to reducing it. That's why the Food Waste Coalition of Action has launched its new Practical Guide to Corporate Reporting on Food Waste, a practical resource to help food retailers and manufacturers strengthen their food waste measurement and reporting. The guide supports companies in aligning with the Target. Measure. Act. framework and brings together key guidance, definitions and reporting principles in one place. Its launch follows the Coalition's latest Progress Report, which showed continued improvements in reporting transparency and encouraging progress towards halving food waste by 2030. This new guide will help even more companies report consistently and accelerate action. https://lnkd.in/eb5jRZ33 Download the guide and start strengthening your food waste reporting.https://https://lnkd.in/ebhpnFDn

Supporting responsible sourcing in Ethiopia's horticulture sector The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) has granted recognition to the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) Silver Standard. Congratulations to Tewodros Zewdie and the entire EHPEA team for their dedication to aligning standards to the SSCI Benchmark Criteria in areas such as governance, transparency, and worker welfare. For global retailers and consumer goods manufacturers looking to build resilient, ethical supply chains, the SSCI recognition offers the clarity needed to source more responsibly. Learn more about EHPEA’s achievement: https://lnkd.in/eafW7PTU

Speaking live from the CGF Leadership Studio in Vienna, Wesley Wilson, Regional Director, North America at the CGF, reflected on his first year in leadership and how the organisation is expanding its innovation priorities. He outlined how tools like AI help retailers effectively manage growing operational complexity and consumer personalisation. Additionally, he explored how the rise of GLP-1 medications acts as a distinct catalyst for health, accelerating a consumer "flight to nutritional quality" over quantity where health outcomes are central to long-term retail strategy. As industry-wide challenges grow more complex, Wesley highlighted that pre-competitive collaboration remains a primary mechanism for driving the fundamentals of cross-industry innovation. Looking ahead, The Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit is heading back to North America, with San Francisco officially announced as the host city for our 2027 conference. We are already deep into preparations to welcome our global member network to California from June 8–11, 2027. Mark your calendars to join us in San Francisco next year.

Modern consumers are better educated than ever about the connection between food and well-being. Speaking from the Global Summit in Vienna, Pablo Perversi, President of EMEA at Danone, joined the CGF Leadership Studio to explore how these shifts are redefining the future of the food industry. He explained that consumers are actively demanding products that are both nutritionally advanced and sustainable in nature. Looking ahead, Pablo highlighted the critical frontiers that will drive the next wave of health-focused innovation across the sector: - Protein, a major growth engine across product categories. - Gut health: companies are leveraging advanced microbiome science to unlock new functional nutrition benefits. - Medical nutrition for aging populations to help reduce hospitalisations and costs. The CGF is proud to provide the collaborative platform where global leaders can benchmark together and address these evolving consumer expectations. Live from the CGF Leadership Studio, sponsored by Vusion.

Operating as an $80 billion global alliance connecting more than 8,000 independent grocers across 30 plus countries, IGA, Inc. brings a distinct scale to the collaborative table. Speaking from the Global Summit in Vienna, John Ross, President and CEO of IGA, INC., joined Chris Walton to discuss why pre-competitive collaboration is the industry's greatest asset, as his organisation celebrates its 100th anniversary. Reflecting on his leadership within the CGF Human Rights Coalition, he emphasised the collective responsibility retailers and manufacturers share to use their buying clout to tackle forced labour, debt bondage, and child labour within agricultural supply chains. He also shared how IGA is actively removing structural complexity for local independent operators, harnessing data normalisation to open new retail media pathways for smaller brands and local producers. As global dynamics shift, John highlighted that long-term sustainability must remain a core commercial priority regardless of changing political climates, enabling the consumer goods sector to continue working backwards from customer expectations to earn trust every day. Live from the CGF Leadership Studio, sponsored by Vusion.

The focus on consumer wellbeing is a structural market shift, representing a $9.8 trillion opportunity by 2029. Fragmented lifestyles and AI-informed purchasing are shifting traditional brand loyalty. As our recent research with Bain & Company shows, shoppers face a growing tension between health aspirations and daily convenience. Navigating these changing habits helps leaders shape product innovation and protect long-term profitability. Writing for New Food, Sharon Bligh details the strategic steps to turn this industry transformation into a business advantage. Read her full article on converging health with convenience to support healthier communities: https://lnkd.in/d2Wj4yXc