Industry Insight: Carlos Mateo, Sweetwell

Gama spoke to Carlos Mateo, Chief Executive Officer, Sweetwell.

What are your day-to-day activities as General Manager?

I organize my work, and that of our key managers, around two key priorities: furthering projects that are of strategic importance to the company, and carrying out essential daily tasks.

What key trends do you expect to shape food and drink innovation in 2014?

Growth in healthy food that is indulgent, driven by small companies.  There will be a gradual shift from price to value, to better food, to smaller portions, at a slightly higher price but offering better value to consumers.

What should companies do to be successful in the current economic climate?

They should genuinely understand unmet consumer needs and innovate to fulfil them.  They should learn to be flexible to better serve clients.

Which markets (countries) or consumer groups currently offer the greatest growth opportunities for FMCG companies?

Emerging markets with growing economies offer the best opportunities  The USA healthy food segment will also grow significantly.

How do companies best achieve growth in developed or saturated markets?

Through radical innovation in products, in packaging, and in value – not through price, and in the way companies access the market.

From a marketing perspective, how is the way companies are looking to reach and engage with consumers changing? How can a brand successfully resonate with consumers?

Companies have to deal with a fast growing digital media. Internet and social media are gaining a greater and greater share of consumers’ time, at the expense of traditional media.  These new media,  unlike mass media, are affordable and allow small innovative companies to reach consumers in a very precise and targeted way that was not possible before.  As a result there will be fragmentation as large companies lose share in multiple niches that will be increasingly served by small innovators.