Sweets are part of everyone’s life. We love candy. The confectionery industry in the U.S. has managed to stay relevant even after major global events like the pandemic. In this episode, we have Guillaume Simon, Chief Growth Officer at Ferrara Candy Company, a Ferrero-affiliated company. We talked to him about all things candy. His expertise and insights about innovation and strategies are spot on. Don’t miss out on this episode to learn more about what is coming for the confectionery industry, from innovation all the way to e-commerce.
Guest
Guillaume Simon
KEY POINTS:
- Confectionery Industry: Guillaume’s global experience.
- Planning for brand growth.
- Strategy beyond marketing, your strategy should include all parts of your business.
- The two kinds of Innovation at Ferrara.
- E-commerce growth and its importance.
- FMCG brands are able to change the lines
RELEVANT QUOTES:
“Probably the most notable thing in the US is the launch of Kinder, which is, as you mentioned it, fortunately, a big success. So, we have built here the, how would I say, the foundation of something that has brought a new way of eating chocolate in the US I think.”
“So it goes through planning. Planning is a part of it. So not only short-term planning but also midterm, and long-term planning, because we know that to achieve, our ambition, we need to be able to plan it.”
“Strategy is one but you can imagine, it has an impact on different functions, sales, marketing, and HR, because we need also to have the capabilities to build, the capabilities to deliver this growth. So, you act in a lot of different areas, but I would say the common point is that you prepare your focus on mid-term, long-term growth, and not only short-term growth.”
“The transformation or innovation can take five years, 10 years, but for row, some innovations, you know, that are in the market right now have been developed over 20 years, right? When you have a real technological barrier, or you want to build a real technological barrier when it requires a change in the way you manufacture the product, when it required a big investment in new technology when it requires a long research pass.”
“We know that time has a value when you develop innovation, in particular when it’s about fine tuning and making sure that your innovation meets the needs of the consumer or create a new need in the market.”
“E-commerce is growing for sure. It’s still pretty small because for e-commerce, for impulse needs to be managed differently. And because impulse works with visibility in the store, you need to create the same visibility in e-commerce.”
“If you are just present in e-commerce, it’s not enough, right? You need to create visibility in e-commerce. And there is a specific strategy for that.”
“I think what makes a difference in FMCG markets is the capacity to move the lines. So, to bring to the market projects, ideas, innovation that really can transform the way the consumer behaves.”
“It requires to be transformational with the speed it requires to win every day. And this balance, which is not hard to achieve, is what, for me, makes the difference in the end.”
