SHEFALI KAPADIA

Hershey’s Work Model: Deep Work Mondays and Pizza Wednesdays

By Shefali Kapadia

HERSHEY, Pa. — On a Thursday at Hershey’s headquarters these days, the building is neither empty nor full. A group filters into a small conference room for an in-person meeting and fills every chair. A bank of cubicles on the upper floor sits largely vacant, and the handful of employees sitting there speak to their colleagues on video.

In the post-pandemic era, Hershey has adopted a flexible model for office work.

“We call it ‘best of both,'” CHRO Chris Scalia told CPG Specialist in an interview at Hershey’s headquarters.

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Breaking: Anheuser-Busch to Lay Off Workers in ‘Every Corporate Function’

By S.L. Fuller

Anheuser-Busch is eliminating jobs “across every corporate function,” a spokesperson said via email, which will result in layoffs “representing less than 2%” of its U.S. workforce. The CPG employs more than 19,000 people nationwide, which means 2% would be about 380 employees.

A report from The Wall Street Journal said an internal restructure eliminated corporate and marketing roles at several offices, including St. Louis, New York and Los Angeles.

The restructure “will simplify and reduce layers” within the CPG, the spokesperson said. Frontline workers — such as brewery and warehouse staff, drivers, and field sales — are not affected.

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How 6 CPGs Use Internships to Fuel Talent Pipeline, Encourage Industry Careers

By Cheryl Winokur Munk

Summer internships are in full-swing at many CPGs where industry hopefuls are getting acclimated to the profession, performing tasks such as market analysis, benchmarking, product testing and marketing as they learn the ins and outs of what could be their future career.

Many companies, including Anheuser-Busch, Conagra Brands, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Hershey, J.M. Smucker, McCormick & Company, Mondelēz, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Post Consumer Brands, have well-established internship programs. These paid opportunities often take place over a 10-to-12-week span and vary in terms of the number of interns accepted, experiences offered, timing, eligibility criteria and full-time hiring potential.

The hallmarks of a good program include meaningful, hands-on projects, exposure to various parts of the organization, strong mentorship, management interaction and professional development, according to college career professionals who routinely place interns at CPGs.

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A Look at PepsiCo’s Journey Inside Web3 and the Metaverse

By Shefali Kapadia

CHICAGO — One morning in 2007, Kelly Ripa and Regis Philbin were hosting their TV show on ABC, discussing the debut of the iPhone. Talking on the phone through an iPod? “Ridiculous,” was Philbin’s conclusion. That bit was comedic then, and it still is now, but for a different reason.

The TV show clip played during a session at the Retail Innovation Conference and Expo in Chicago last week and elicited a laugh from attendees, many of whom had iPhones in their laps.

But where smartphones were 15 years ago is a similar place to where Web3 is today. It’s an iteration of the internet based on decentralized technologies, such as blockchain, that aren’t owned by tech companies.

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Costco, BJ’s Are ‘Winning With Consumers.’ Is That Also a Win for CPGs?

By Shefali Kapadia

A hallmark of every Costco location — aside from food court hot dogs — is the club retailer’s immense grocery section. Multipacks of tortilla chips, jumbo boxes of cereal and big stacks of flavored water line the aisles.

In today’s economy, the grocery section at club retailers has become even more popular due to the value that large packs provide to consumers.

Costco reported sales growth in food over the last year, while sales fell in non-food items, electronics and jewelry. BJ’s said its food business has outgrown its general merchandise business in recent years. In 2022, unit sales of snacks grew 3.4% in the club channel compared to 2021, while units fell in grocery, convenience, mass and dollar, according to a Circana webinar on the snacking market. Plus, dollar sales grew the most of any channel in club.

“Every CPG is at a point where they’ve recognized club is winning with consumers,” said Todd Ruberg, partner at retail and CPG consultancy Simpactful, and former VP at Procter & Gamble.

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What’s Next in Mondelez’s M&A Spree? 5 Possibilities

By S.L. Fuller, Shefali Kapadia

Word on the street is Mondelēz International has cash to burn, and it might be looking to burn it on M&A. But which CPG would be the Oreo maker’s main target?

Axios reported — after observing an investor conference in Florida — that Hostess Brands “stands out as an attractive candidate.” The news site also mentioned McKee Foods and Flowers Foods as intriguing options. Intriguing indeed.

At this point, Axios appears to be taking educated guesses, rather than pointing to secret knowledge or inside information. But it became clear when chatting around CPG Specialist’s proverbial watercooler that we have our own educated guesses (read: hot takes) based on what we know about Mondelēz.

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Hershey Beefs Up Workforce, Leadership to Grow Salty Snacks Unit

By Shefali Kapadia

Hershey plans to add employees and executives to its salty snacks division to support the growing segment, company leadership told analysts on the CPG’s Q4 earnings call last week.

“One of our key strategic goals this year is really to integrate [and] scale our salty business,” CEO Michele Buck said on the call. “And so, we are adding some incremental talent there to really make sure that we have the right skill sets.”

Hershey’s careers page lists around 300 open jobs, and a handful are specifically dedicated to growing salty snacks.

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Ben & Jerry’s, Frito-Lay and Oreo Put Diversity Messaging Right on the Pack. There Are Risks and Rewards.

By S.L. Fuller

If there’s one CPG brand known for taking societal and political stances, it’s Ben & Jerry’s.

The Unilever-owned line of ice cream puts company values front and center on its packaging — like when it released a design of two cows in top hats, ostensibly getting married, on the front of “I Dough, I Dough” packaging that celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in favor of same-sex marriage.

“We’re definitely not making choices based on popularity,” the brand’s global creative director, Ellen Kresky, told CPG Specialist.

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What Target’s Plan to Cancel Orders Means for CPGs

By Shefali Kapadia

After months of building inventory to hedge against stockouts, some retailers now face the opposite problem: what to do with a glut of supply.

In June, Target announced plans to “right-size its inventory, ” which included markdowns and cancellations of some orders.

The actions to right-size will continue for the rest of the year. So, what are the implications for food and beverage CPGs that supply Target?

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Bolthouse CEO Ready for More M&A After Acquisition From Starbucks

By Shefali Kapadia

After Bolthouse Farms announced plans to acquire Evolution Fresh from Starbucks, Bolthouse CEO Jeff Dunn described the purchase as a “perfect fit.”

Evolution Fresh’s high-end portfolio would slot neatly into Bolthouse’s premium lineup of refrigerated juices and smoothies, Dunn told CPG Specialist. Bolthouse contracts rail service from Bakersfield, California, to Chicago, which would expand Evolution Fresh’s mostly West Coast distribution. And there’s plenty of runway for the cold-pressed juice category, he said.

“We can add value to them in our core channels. And they can add a lot of value to us in their core channels,” Dunn said.

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