Tim Kidd: There's not a single magic formula for growth

In this Perspectives article we talk to Tim Kidd, European Managing Director at Kantar Worldpanel, who has been recently awarded with the #5 position in the Glassdoor Top CEOs 2018 ranking. In this video, Tim Kidd explains how the changing political situation in Europe is affecting the FMCG market place and provides both young and established brands with tips for finding growth.

The European Managing Director points out some of the changes that Europe is going through, such as the outcome of Brexit, the struggle of the Italian government with the abortion referendum or the sudden shift in the Spanish government, where the Prime Minister has been voted out for the first time in recent history.

"Brexit itself is old news, but the outcome of it is still unclear. This is in clients', manufacturers' and consumer's minds".

Tim Kidd talks about how the European FMCG market place is also struggling. While it grew by 2% in 2017, recovering from the previous year, this is the slowest growth of all the developed regions of the world.

"We are all operating in a market place where it is tough to get growth".

Despite this situation, the interviewee notes that there are some brands managing to deliver strong growth in Europe. Referring to the thought leadership piece Brand Footprint, Tim Kidd recalls some obvious but crucial essentials for growth:

"The brands that grow are the ones that get more consumers to buy more of their products more often".

Analysing some examples, the European Managing Director points out the case of Alpro, a product that markets itself as an alternative to dairy products. With a growing popularity in the UK and Germany, he explains that its success relies on its positioning strategy, that appeals different demographic groups and gets consumers to introduce it in their breakfast occasions.

Even if innovation might seem harder for established brands rather than for new businesses, Tim Kidd presents the example of the Iberian brand Pescanova to encourage producers. This traditional canned fish manufacturer has notably increased its consumer reach points in Spain and reached over 50% penetration in Portugal. When asked if there is a magic formula for brands to succeed in Europe, Tim Kidd speaks clear:

"What Pescanova has done is not particularly ground breaking; they have returned to advertising their products on the TV, putting the brand in consumers' minds".

To finish the interview, our European Managing Director gives brands some tips to find growth in the old continent:

• Make sure your product is well distributed so that consumers can find it
• Try out new and different kinds of media to attract new groups of consumers
• Take advantage of promotions

"Pulling all levers randomly might not work, but make sure you find the right ones for your brand and choose those instead".