Groceryshop 2026: The Next Era of CPG Growth

Observations, learnings and implications from conversations with CPG and retail leaders

At Groceryshop 2026, one theme came through clearly across conversations with CPG and retail leaders: the industry is looking for more connected solutions to growth.

As brands navigate a challenging demand environment, the need for integration is becoming increasingly commercial. Teams can execute media, shopper marketing, ecommerce, trade and in-store activation exceptionally well as individual disciplines, but the bigger opportunity is connecting those capabilities around a shared business objective.

The question is no longer simply, “What can each channel deliver?” It’s, “How do all of these levers work together to drive measurable growth?”

The Shift From Channel Plans to Growth Plans

CPG leaders are looking for fewer disconnected plans and more cohesive approaches that connect shopper insights, customer strategy, retail media, ecommerce, merchandising and in-store execution.

That shift is being driven by a practical need. Brands want to understand which combination of actions will drive the outcomes that matter most to the business, whether that’s units, household penetration, distribution, sales or share, and how those actions will be measured together.

Retailers are looking for the same kind of connection. The strongest opportunities are not simply a collection of brand tactics brought to a retailer. They start with the retailer’s category priorities and shopper needs, then build an activation that serves both.

In other words, growth planning needs to start with the commercial opportunity, not the channel.

The Market Context Makes Integration More Important

The urgency behind these conversations is understandable. Demand remains uneven across CPG, and the distinction between dollar growth and unit growth matters.

According to Circana, U.S. retail food and beverage dollar sales grew 2.2% in the first half of 2026, while volume remained flat. In its September Demand Signals update, Circana reported a 0.4% decline in food and beverage volume and a 1.1% decline in non-food CPG units over the latest four weeks, while non-food CPG dollars were still up 2.9%.

The takeaway is not that every CPG category or brand is declining. Rather, the data reinforces the complexity brands are navigating: dollar growth does not always translate to unit growth, and topline performance does not tell the full story of demand.

That makes it even more important to understand where a brand’s growth barrier actually sits and which levers can address it.

Three Lessons from Groceryshop

Integration needs to be visible in the work.
Calling an approach “holistic” is not enough. A truly integrated growth plan should have one clear business objective, coordinated choices across channels, defined ownership and a shared measurement framework.

This means moving beyond a broader menu of capabilities and instead showing clients exactly how those capabilities connect. If the goal is to increase household penetration, for example, the role of retail media, ecommerce, merchandising and in-store activation should be intentionally connected to that objective, rather than planned independently.
Start with the retailer and shopper opportunity.
Different growth barriers require different solutions. A distribution challenge may require a different approach than an availability issue. Conversion, basket building and repeat purchase each create different opportunities across media, commerce and the physical store.

Starting with the retailer and shopper helps identify those opportunities before determining which capabilities should be activated. This also creates a stronger foundation for retailer collaboration. When brands bring a plan that addresses a retailer’s category priorities alongside their own business objectives, the conversation becomes more strategic and more mutually valuable.
Measure what matters to the business.
Media and marketing metrics still matter, but they are increasingly one part of a larger measurement story. Clients want a clearer connection between investment and commercial outcomes, including incremental units, sales, share, distribution and execution quality.

That requires establishing a baseline, aligning teams around the same objectives and creating measurement plans that can evaluate performance during and after an activation. The goal is not to eliminate channel-level measurement. It is to connect those metrics to the larger business question.

What This Means for Agencies

For agencies, the opportunity is to make integration practical.

That starts with leading client conversations with a diagnosis of the growth barrier and the retailer opportunity, rather than beginning with a list of capabilities.

From there, agencies can build coordinated retailer plans that connect commercial priorities, shopper strategy, retail activation, media, ecommerce and measurement, with clear roles and timing across teams.

There is also an opportunity to prove the model through focused pilots. Select clients can establish a baseline, align sales and marketing teams, define the store and digital actions, and measure outcomes both midflight and after the activation.

And importantly, retailer partners should be brought into the planning process earlier. The strongest activation is one that advances the brand’s objectives while also addressing the retailer’s category and shopper priorities.

The Opportunity Ahead

Groceryshop reinforced a broader shift happening across the CPG landscape: brands are asking partners to help solve growth problems end to end.

That doesn’t necessarily mean doing more. It means connecting the right capabilities around the right problem.

For agencies, the opportunity is to make that complexity feel simple for clients, practical for teams and accountable to commercial results.

The next generation of CPG growth will come from connecting the channels, teams and partners already in the ecosystem around a shared definition of growth. The opportunity is to move from channel execution to connected growth.