Global market volatility, cautious consumer spending and tightening margins are forcing FMCG companies to rethink how they innovate. As volume growth stalls, FMCG players are increasingly prioritising value creation over unit expansion. New online product launches fell by 20% in 2025, reversing the previous year’s growth and signalling a clear pivot from high‑volume, low‑impact launches towards fewer, more evidence‑led bets.
Innovation is concentrating around the core. New sub‑brands or line extensions of existing brands rose from 91% of all launches in 2023 to 94% in 2025, reflecting a shift to equity‑led growth. Leading players are pruning fragmented portfolios, renovating their strongest brands and using short‑cycle ideas, such as limited editions, collaborations, flavour or scent refreshes, to keep core brands relevant without diluting strategic direction. AI now acts as a catalyst for next‑generation innovation, helping brands spot demand earlier, formulate faster and de‑risk decisions as they launch fewer but higher‑stakes products.
Despite rising early‑stage inactivity rates across FMCG launches from 2023 to 2025, signs of progress are starting to emerge. In 2025, packaged food and soft drinks saw fewer early discontinuations, an important shift in categories typically defined by rapid trend cycles and flavour churn. This suggests that even in the fastest‑moving environments, targeted, core‑anchored innovation improves stability and reduces waste.
For deeper insights into how leading FMCG players are reinventing innovation for the next era of growth, read the report Competitor Strategies in Innovation.