For impact and value, the customer still comes first: 2025 CGF Global Summit

Máxima told delegates, “Your success will depend on many factors. One of the most important is: people”. And she called for “determination, creativity, and entrepreneurship”, as well as collaboration, for organisations to make a positive difference to customers’ lives.

Her sentiments were echoed by our Chief Innovation Officer, Frazer Bennett, who used our session on ‘the future human’ to urge delegates not to be distracted from the end user perspective. He added: “The moment we lose sight of building positive experiences - this almost maniacal obsession with building them – is the moment we start to lose.”

Yet too often, he warned, organisations obsess over differences rather than seeking the common thread. As an example, our research on consumer preferences shows that half of all consumers are willing to pay more for brands that they believe put the customer first.

Here are the key insights you need to know from the event:

1. AI is only valuable when linked to consumer value

In next to no time at all, AI has gone from science fiction, to fact, to near ubiquity. Whether optimising production, designing products, or tracking consumer habits, businesses worldwide have been racing to embrace AI.

Yet many leaders are yet to see AI’s potential translate into value. Our research shows that while every single business we spoke to is using AI in some capacity, only 35 percent report getting meaningful use out of it to drive their business forward.

For Clare Allum, our Global Head of Consumer and Manufacturing, AI is used most effectively to first help understand consumer behaviour – with that insight then applied to tailor products, services, and experiences. She added: “The key is not to get hung up on AI as a technology. Consumers don’t care about the tech, but they will care if you’re using AI smartly to improve their end experience.”

Her view was echoed in our special session, where panel members Douglas Mesquita Rocha from Mars; Dana Cohen Katz from Heineken; and Beatrice de Noray from Bel Group discussed how AI insight can help get closer to customers. PA retail innovation expert Louise von Blixen-Finecke pointed to Walmart as an example of an organisation using AI to spot trends, develop products, and deliver product tech specs to manufacturers. And Carrefour was put forward as another leading adopter of AI, with it using the technology to transform retail spaces into interactive environments.

2. Forget trade-offs; sustainability is a must have

Across conversations with leaders at the Summit, it was clear that organisations are moving away from viewing sustainability as a mere philosophical notion; realising that climate change can cause existential threats to their businesses.

Sustainability is a core part of the demand push from consumers who seek a better future. Our Brand Impact Index found that 86 percent of consumers expect brands to play a crucial role in driving positive change, and 77 percent lose respect for brands that put profit before planet. So, rather than organisations seeing sustainability as a trade-off – it’s now an imperative.

As a result, leaders are taking decisive action to secure their supply chains and work towards a regenerative future. Look at McCain Foods, which now buys farmers’ full crop and use every grade of potato. This circular approach leads to less food waste, better margins, and happier farmers.

PA sustainability and regenerative economy expert Tony Perrotta cited Aldi as a sustainability leader that has managed to balance excellent consumer experience with sustainability. It recently unveiled lighter wine bottles, reducing the weight of 20 million bottles from an average of 409g to 300g. And European confectioner Tony’s Chocolonely, which majors in sustainable, ethical sourcing, is another standout performer – recently reporting an impressive 33 percent annual growth increase.

3. Collaboration is key to meeting customer need

Amid a difficult trading landscape and the competing pressures of the need for growth and cost-cutting, collaboration will be central to delivering for customers. As delegates heard in the opening Summit keynote speech, more and more organisations are coming together to deliver better results for communities and the planet.

In the Netherlands, the National Coalition for Financial Health, a partnership of more than 50 companies and organisations, is aiming to improve the financial health of their employees and their customers. And the Consumer Goods Forum’s own Coalition of Action on Food Waste is bringing together stakeholders on areas of impact, recently identifying that a quarter of food loss occurs during food production and processing.

Avantium, a producer of polymer materials with the world’s first commercial plant converting plant-based sugars into sustainable, fossil-free plastic, was specifically name-checked as a key driver of change. They are a member of The Bottle Collective, launched in 2023 by PA, and PulPac, the Swedish company behind Dry Molded Fiber. Together with a host of other partners, the aim is to fast-track the development of world-first Dry Molded Fiber bottles – meeting customer need and contributing to a circular economy.

The Summit also saw the launch of The Consumer Good Forum’s Common Data Framework. While many retailers traditionally use differing metrics and methodologies, the common framework offers a way to find efficiencies and better align data collection, helping with issues such as deforestation and emissions reductions.

Summary

Over four days at the Summit, it was evident that the future – while one of challenge – can also be one of impact, provided consumers are at the centre of all initiatives.

As consumer expert Tom Day summarised: “The consumer remains the most important person in our drive for the future. And our research shows that consumers expect brands to shape a more positive human future.

“From our conversations at the Summit, and from our work in this area, we know we can collectively deliver impact through new technologies, impact through sustainability; and impact through collaboration.”