Because it's such a huge part of the US and global economies, it's difficult for Procter & Gamble to untether itself from general trends even when that would be expedient. So when consumers worldwide are feeling up, down or iffy—with tentative growth in the US, slowing growth in China and negative "growth" in Europe—P&G executives are bound to feel the same way.

Thus P&G CEO Bob McDonald is having to explain the company's latest quarterly report as a glass half-full, with top-line growth a bit higher than expected, and bottom-line growth a bit lower. The company's huge brand stables in developed economies were mostly a drag, while developing markets give P&G some reasons for near-term optimism—such as Brazil, where it's about to begin shipping Ariel Pods in an effort to turn that country's laundry-detergent market upside down the way Tide Pods have in the United States.

"The market itself is rather choppy," McDonald told investors this week on a conference call. "We're in the midst of a recovery. The market's heading in one direction, but it's choppy."Continue reading...

Dannon's Oikos Greek-style yogurt and Starbucks' new K-Cups single-serve coffee pods topped IRI's closely watched and just-released list of New Product Pacesetters among foods and beverages last year, while Allegra led the list among non-food brands as well as generating the most sales of any considered new CPG product in the US in 2012.

The 200 top-selling CPG launches of the year included in IRI's report each captured more than $13 million in year-one sales, with an individual average of $39.5 million in first-year revenues at a time of difficult growth for CPG brands and products in the USmarket.

The list "are best-in-class products that have truly beaten the daunting new product odds," said Larry Levin, executive vice president and general manager of insights and thought leadership for Chicago-based IRI, which among other things tracks individual product and CPG category sales at US grocers, drug stores and mass merchandisers with the exception of Walmarts.Continue reading...