Consumer Products

Changing consumer behaviour, innovation, and leadership

The consumer products segment is changing fast, driven by significant shifts in consumer expectations, purchasing behaviour, and values. Where competition used to be primarily about price and availability, today’s consumers demand convenience, transparency, sustainability, health, and trust. This challenges companies to continuously rethink their business models, go to market strategies, and value-creation processes.

Digitalisation and new sales channels have fundamentally changed the dynamics of the market. E commerce, direct to consumer (D2C) models, and social media mean that consumer preferences can change quickly and brands need to be relevant, present, and consistent across channels at all times. At the same time, the demands for the use of data and market insights as a basis for product development, communication, and commercial prioritisation are growing.

Sustainability is increasingly a must-have – not an option. Market players are expected to take an end-to-end approach, with responsibility for sourcing, development, production, packaging, and supply chain issues. Companies that manage to integrate sustainability into their business and brand experience not only create value for the consumer, but also strengthen their long-term competitiveness and position in the market.

Requirements for managers and specialists

These developments place new and more complex demands on industry leaders and specialists. The profiles of the future must be able to navigate a market characterised by rapid change, technological development, and increasing complexity in the value chain and the stakeholder landscape. This demands an ability to create insights into consumer behaviour, translate data into decisions, and drive collaboration across functions such as product development, marketing, sales, and supply chain.

Managers must also be able to lead organisations, manage uncertainty, and create a culture that supports innovation, ability to execute and strategic boldness. The ability to balance short-term performance with long-term development is crucial to staying relevant in a constantly changing market.

Our knowledge – your strength

GML has in-depth knowledge of the whole consumer products value chain – from global brands with strong market positions and complex supply chains to manufacturers focused on operational efficiency, innovation, and time-to-market. We also understand retailers and distributors, where portfolio management, channel optimisation, and close relationships with both manufacturers and retailers are crucial. Across the different types of player, we have insight into business models, margin structures, and go-to-market strategies as well as the trends that shape the market, including digitalisation, consolidation, and changing consumer behaviour.

Our many years of experience and strong network enable us to find and attract the right leaders and specialists – even in a market characterised by high complexity and intense competition. We also advise our customers on organisation, management structure, and competence building.

We help companies in the consumer products sector to recruit the profiles that can translate change into commercial strength.