Conducting research for a customer project I came across this paper.

The premise is that the reconfiguration of the US market has undermined traditional growth models for consumer-packaged-goods companies, particularly large ones.

The authors argue that there is no single solution to the growth challenge; rather, changes along multiple dimensions are necessary.

While not directly focused on digital innovation, the correlation between what growing consumer packaged goods companies are doing and the traits of digital leaders is astonishing:

• Build an agile, streamlined organization
• Develop triple-A capabilities: Advanced analytics and automation
• Fuel growth through agile resource reallocation
• Ditch the stage gate for ‘test and learn’ innovation
• Reset customer collaboration: E-commerce and small format
• Deliver next-generation consumer engagement: ‘Consumer 3.0’
• Use Agility@Scale to go broader and smaller

Highly recommended reading for executives in consumer packaged goods companies revising their strategies to revitalize growth strategies.

Agility@Scale: Solving the growth challenge in consumer packaged goods
Jan Henrich, Ed Little, Anne Martinez, Kandarp Shah and Bernardo Sichel
McKinsey & Company, July 2018