EY’s Olivier Gergele weighs in on creating lasting value in FMCG today
He notes that the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry has evolved, now being driven by agility, data, and consumer-centric innovation.
Regional consumer spending proved resilient over the past year, though economic uncertainty and tight budgets made shoppers far more selective. As demand shifted toward value, health, and convenience, FMCG brands faced a more competitive, fragmented market — forcing them to refine their pricing, product offerings, and distribution strategies.
Offering his valuable insights on these trends is EY-Parthenon Asean and Singapore Consumer Products & Retail Leader, Olivier Gergele, whose extensive consulting and operational experience across Southeast Asia and global markets have given him a deep understanding of consumer and retail dynamics, growth strategies, innovation, and large-scale business transformation.
His expertise spans across go-to-market, commercial effectiveness, profitability improvement, and cost transformation. Before joining EY-Parthenon, he spent more than a decade at a multinational consumer goods company, where he led innovation initiatives across markets and brands.
As one of the judges for the FMCG Asia Awards 2026, Gergele looks into the evolution of the sector through both consulting and industry lenses, focusing on long-term value drivers to highlight key trends and capabilities that are set to define future market leadership in consumer products and retail.
Having worked across both consulting and the consumer goods industry, how have you seen the dynamics in FMCG evolve over the past decade?
Over the past decade, the FMCG industry has evolved from a model centred on scale, distribution and brand strength to one that is driven by agility, data and consumer-centric innovation. Whilst the fundamentals remain important, three shifts stand out.
First, personalisation has become a competitive differentiator. Consumer preferences are changing faster than ever, and companies are using data and advanced analytics to better understand behaviours, anticipate demand, and tailor products and experiences to specific market segments. In addition, e-commerce has expanded consumer choice, enabling challenger brands to compete more effectively alongside established market players.
Second, resilience and agility have become business imperatives. Geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures have highlighted the importance of flexible operations and robust risk management. Leading FMCG companies are investing in supply chain visibility, scenario planning, and technology-enabled decision-making to respond faster to market disruptions.
Lastly, AI is becoming the sector’s new operating layer, whilst sustainability is reshaping long-term competitiveness. AI is improving demand forecasting, optimising inventory and supply chains, accelerating product innovation and enhancing marketing effectiveness through more personalised consumer engagement. At the same time, sustainability has moved from a peripheral consideration to a strategic imperative, driven by increasing expectations from consumers, investors, regulators and employees.
Together, these shifts are redefining how FMCG companies compete, innovate and create value.
What do you see as the most important priorities for companies aiming to create lasting value?
Creating lasting value in FMCG today requires companies to balance growth, resilience and relevance whilst maintaining a clear focus on where they can win.
First, stay relentlessly consumer-centric. Consumer preferences continue to shift across health, convenience, affordability and sustainability. Companies that use data and insights to anticipate these changes and translate them into targeted innovation will be better positioned to drive demand and strengthen brand loyalty.
Second, build an operating model that can help them scale. Agentic AI, advanced analytics and agile supply chains are becoming foundational to improve productivity, accelerate decision-making, and respond faster to disruptions and changing consumer demand.
Third, focus investment on areas of competitive advantage. Successful FMCG companies are concentrating resources behind their core brands, growth platforms and digital capabilities, rather than spreading investments too thinly across portfolios and markets. This enables greater innovation, stronger execution and more efficient capital allocation.
How do you expect leading FMCG companies to differentiate themselves in terms of sustainability?
Sustainability is increasingly a core component of a business strategy rather than a compliance requirement. The FMCG companies that stand out will be those that treat sustainability as a driver of innovation, resilience and brand differentiation – embedding it across their value chain, from responsible sourcing and manufacturing to packaging, logistics and product innovation.
Differentiation will come from how effectively companies can translate sustainability commitments into measurable business outcomes. This includes advancing circular packaging solutions, reducing carbon emissions, minimising waste and investing in more resilient and regenerative supply chains. As expectations from consumers, investors, regulators and employees continue to rise, transparency and credible, data-backed progress will become increasingly essential.
Technology and AI will be important enablers. Advanced analytics can improve resource utilisation, enhance supply chain visibility, optimise transportation networks and support more accurate measurement of environmental impact. Digital capabilities can make sustainability initiatives more scalable, actionable and economically viable.
The leaders will be those that can turn sustainability into tangible value for consumers, shareholders and society.
How do you see AI changing the way FMCG companies approach innovation and demand forecasting?
AI has the potential to fundamentally reshape the FMCG value chain by enabling companies to move from reactive decision-making to predictive and insight-led growth. It can analyse vast amounts of consumer, market and social data to identify emerging trends, uncover unmet needs and improve innovation success rates, helping companies bring more relevant products to market faster.
AI is also enabling a new level of personalisation, allowing brands to tailor content, recommendations and consumer experiences at scale – strengthening engagement and loyalty. As AI capabilities continue to advance, agentic AI will take this a step further by enabling more autonomous decision-making and execution across customer engagement, product development and operations.
From a forecasting perspective, AI can process multiple real-time variables and signals to improve demand planning accuracy, reduce waste, optimise inventory and enhance supply chain resilience. However, realising the full value of AI requires more than technology alone. The most successful organisations will combine AI capabilities with strong human oversight, responsible governance and a focus on creating meaningful consumer value and sustainable growth.
What opportunities do you believe will shape the next phase of growth for consumer products and retail businesses?
The next phase of growth for consumer products and retail businesses will be driven by the ability to combine technology, data and innovation to meet increasingly dynamic consumer expectations. As consumers become more connected, informed and selective, companies will need to move beyond traditional growth levers and focus on delivering more personalised, convenient and meaningful experiences across the entire customer journey.
One of the biggest opportunities lies in the use of agentic AI and advanced analytics. Companies that effectively harness agentic AI can improve demand forecasting, accelerate decision-making, and identify new opportunities for innovation and growth.
Another significant growth opportunity is the rise in new consumer engagement models. The convergence of e-commerce, social commerce, retail media and omnichannel experiences is reshaping how consumers discover, evaluate and purchase products. Leading companies will leverage these platforms not only to expand reach, but to also strengthen consumer relationships through more relevant and seamless interactions.
Sustainability will also become an increasingly important source of growth and differentiation. Consumers are placing greater emphasis on transparency, responsible sourcing, sustainable packaging and environmental stewardship. Companies that successfully integrate sustainability into their products, operations and brand proposition will be better positioned to build trust, strengthen loyalty and create long-term value.
Finally, growth will increasingly come from capturing high-growth consumer segments and occasions in areas such as health and wellness, convenience, affordability and premiumisation. Companies that thrive will be those that can develop differentiated products and services for these segments, and bring them to market with speed and precision.
As a returning judge for the FMCG Asia Awards 2026, what qualities define a truly transformative achievement?
As a returning judge at the FMCG Asia Awards, I will be looking for companies that demonstrate resilience and agility in responding to changing consumer demands and navigating market uncertainty; digital native growth through community-led engagement, creator ecosystems, and platform-native commerce; technology-enabled transformation through agentic AI, predictive analytics, or digital twins that deliver measurable commercial results; inclusive innovation that addresses the needs of underserved segments, including rural consumers, elderly populations and the differently abled, delivered at scale and with empathy; and sustainability with measurable enterprise value, whether through margin resilience, emissions reduction, stronger consumer loyalty, or operational efficiency.
I look forward to seeing how FMCG companies are redefining what success looks like in the sector and wish all nominees the best for the awards.
