Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.

Retail Brew

Andrew Adam Newman

retailbrew.com

Drugstore clerk removes Tylenol capsules from the shelves of a pharmacy September 30, 1982 in New York City after reports of tampering.

Tylenol’s response is lauded as a masterclass in crisis management, but is it a lesson Tylenol itself forgot?

Total recall: How the Tylenol murders of 1982 ushered in tamper-resistant packaging 

Erin Cabrey

“Frankly, if you’re not launching some products that fail, you’re almost certainly not trying enough,” said its North America CEO. 

How Kind is balancing growth and innovation amid supply-chain woes

Katishi Maake

Partake is in 9,000+ retail storefronts where it hasn’t raised shelf prices. 

How Partake Foods recession-proofs its merchandise  

Gif of retail products populating on store shelves

 spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click 

Katie Diasti is founder and CEO of period care brand Viv for Your V.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? 

Viv is a sustainable and toxin-free period care brand with a line of biodegradable and reusable products. We sell online as well as in retail stores. Our brand is providing a truly safe, clean alternative in a category that has lacked a lot of innovation and life on shelf. Viv is spicing up the once very sterile and boring period care aisle with an education-first strategy that makes period care more approachable.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile?

 ​​When you reach out to customer support, oftentimes you’re talking to me! I like to stay close to every element of our consumer experience from doing in-store demos myself sometimes, keeping track of customer support, and using reviews to help understand iterations our products need.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on?

 Launching Viv in Whole Foods nationwide! We’re lucky to have built an amazing community online through our education-first approach on socials. Ninety percent of consumers shop in physical retail for their period products, so this expansion has the opportunity to transform behavior towards sustainable care. Our partnership with Whole Foods allows us to make a positive difference in an industry that creates more than 200,000 tons of waste by reaching customers where they are in their shopping journey with approachable, sustainable options.

Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about right now, and why? 

 feeling like they are a part of the brand—and we love pulling them in behind the scenes. It’s been exciting to see the feedback from our audience who have wanted to hear about the journeys of how brands get to where they are today, and even more inspiring to see the brands who pull back the curtain and show them how it’s done! Additionally, consumers are turning to brands for education. At Viv, we’ve taught over 5 million people how to insert a tampon on TikTok, and now when those consumers go to the aisle they think of the brand that taught them about their period. It’s an exciting time to be in retail, as brands have the power to stand for more than the product they create, but drive a real mission forward.

Worst piece of advice you’ve received? 

The worst piece of advice I ever received was to delay launching until I felt completely “ready” and had done “enough” market research. Had I listened, Viv would still be just an idea. When I was getting started, someone told me I wasn’t ready to launch my brand and that I needed more market research first. But the truth is, you’re never going to feel 100% ready, and your product is never going to be perfect right away. The best research doesn’t happen before you launch—it happens when you get your product into customers’ hands and receive real feedback from your community. Starting Viv taught me that you learn by doing. Some of our most successful products, like our cup and disc starter kits, came directly from listening to what our customers needed after we launched. If you wait until everything feels perfect, you’ll be waiting forever.

What was your favorite retail product when you were 15, and what’s your favorite retail product now? 

At 15, Clinique moisturizer or my pink zebra print hair straightener. Now, a cold Cherry Limeade Poppi and Youth to the People moisturizer.

Coworking with Katie Diasti

She’s founder and CEO of Viv for Your V.

President Trump’s impending tariffs on many foreign-made goods has 

 consumers’ interest in products made stateside, which could spur more companies to center marketing around “Made in USA” claims. This could be a smart move—if companies don’t take liberties with it.

When they do, or at least a company’s competitors think they do, it’s often the job of Phyllis Marcus, VP of the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs, along with her team of attorneys, to vet these “Made in USA” claims. BBB National Programs is an independent, nonprofit entity formed in 2019, when the Council of Better Business Bureaus restructured, and now oversees advertising industry self-regulation programs.

Outside of those applying to automobiles, textile, wool, and fur products, there are no laws requiring consumer goods companies to report US content of their products. However, if they do, “they have to do so carefully,” because there are plenty of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 

 around what they can say, Marcus told Retail Brew.

While it currently has a “robust body of cases,” NAD has yet to see an influx of cases related to Trump’s tariffs, but they could be coming, Marcus said. “We do predict based on the current economic climate that making these claims may become more important to companies, advertising programs, and campaigns,” she added.

Marcus—who previously spent more than 17 years at the FTC, including as its chief of staff in the division of advertising practices—broke down NAD’s process of regulating these claims, and recent cases it’s taken on.

The FTC’s regulations extend beyond packaging; marketing materials like websites, seals, tags, and stamps are all fair game, Marcus noted. For a product to truly be deemed “Made in USA,” she added, the FTC says “all or virtually all” parts of it must be US-sourced and manufactured. Otherwise, a company can use a qualified (i.e., more descriptive) claim, something like “Assembled in the USA” or “Designed in the USA.”

The FTC has its own process to determine whether to take on cases like these, but NAD takes on all cases brought by competitors that are national and advertising-related where it must weigh in on whether “Made in USA” claims are backed up, she said.

When a company comes to NAD with one of these cases, the organization opens an inquiry to examine those claims, asking the company in question to back them up with materials (information like sourcing agreements, ingredients, processing and manufacturing locations). It’ll then determine whether those “Made in USA” claims are or aren’t substantiated, and publish a decision. If they’re not substantiated, NAD will suggest they either change or stop using those claims. Companies either can comply, appeal the decision if they don’t agree with it, or refuse to follow the recommendations (which isn’t frequent, but “happens sometimes,” Marcus said), and NAD will then refer this refusal to the FTC.

While NAD doesn’t have the power to issue monetary penalties (the FTC does, starting in 2021, and it’s 

 more than $15 million worth of penalties since then), it’s a fairly transparent system, so it issues press releases and states whether a case is being referred to the FTC, Marcus said. The FTC has a section on its website of BBB National Programs referral cases.

Last year, SC Johnson & Son, owner of personal care product brand Method, brought a challenge to NAD against competitor Proctor & Gamble’s personal care brand Native regarding several of its advertising claims, including Native’s claims its products were “Born in the USA,” because the brand was founded in San Francisco. NAD determined that claim is synonymous with Made in USA, and since P&G did not provide evidence to NAD to support this, NAD recommended Native stop use of this phrase. P&G said at the time it “respectfully disagrees” with the decision but removed those claims during NAD’s proceedings.

Sometimes, a more descriptive tweak does the trick: Last year, oral care brand GuruNanda challenged competitor Oral Essentials’s use of Made in USA on advertising because some of its ingredients are sourced outside of the US. Oral Essentials agreed to modify its claims to “Made in USA with US and globally sourced ingredients.” Similarly, in 2023, Bath & Body Works brought a challenge against competitor Goose Creek Candles, which was making a Made in USA claim, and NAD ultimately recommended the company modify the claim to “poured in the USA with the highest ingredients from around the world,” which Goose Creek agreed to.

Ultimately, these efforts are centered on the “important tenets” of avoiding deception and ensuring consumer trust, Marcus said.

“Companies advertise for a reason, and they seek competitive advantage for a reason, and these claims can be very powerful when they’re made on a package or in advertising,” she said.

More companies could start leaning into Made in USA claims

The National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs helps regulate these “powerful” claims across the consumer products industry.

More companies could start leaning into Made in USA claims—but they have to do it right

Rising prices and looming tariffs are pushing consumer loyalty to 

 as many shoppers opt for the brands and products that offer the best deal, not necessarily the most recognizable name.

Within the consumer healthcare space, look at any big-box or pharmacy store display of toothpastes, antacids, or pain relievers, and you’ll quite often find private label equivalents next to brand names like Tums and Advil. But Haleon, the maker of those brands and many others, has a few strategies to keep consumers picking up its products instead, its US CMO Katie Williams told Retail Brew.

Haleon was created in 2022, spun off as an independent consumer health company from pharmaceutical giant GSK’s Consumer Healthcare business, which itself was formed through a joint venture with Pfizer’s consumer healthcare business in 2019. Its portfolio also includes brands like Sensodyne, Centrum, and Emergen-C.

 strong Q1 earnings earlier this month, with 1% organic revenue growth in North America, where the “consumer and customer environment is cautious and uncertain,” Haleon’s CFO Dawn Allen noted.

“​​Particularly when we’re in an environment where there’s so much economic concern or volatility, you definitely see that consumers are being really choiceful about what they’re buying, where they’re buying it, how much they’re buying, and how much they trust it,” Williams said. Williams, a CPG vet who spent 20+ years at Kraft Foods and eventually Mondelez before joining GSK in 2020, shared the recent efforts Haleon has made to be a leader in the consumer health space and keep customers loyal.

Many of Haleon’s core products are prone to low-priced private label dupes. A 160-count of Ultra Strength Tums are priced around $9.99, while counterparts from Target’s Up & Up and Walmart’s Equate are $4.99, for example. At Walgreens, a 100-count of Advil is $12.49, while the Walgreens private label equivalent sells for $8.99.

 has been crucial to maintain brand loyalty, Williams said. One measurement of success Haleon uses is the brand power metric—which measures a brand’s meaningfulness, difference, and salience—and that innovation has often been its point of difference, she said.

While there are many private label options within ibuprofen, Williams said Advil prides itself on “leading the category” with new solutions, like its recently released Advil Dual Action, which combines acetaminophen and ibuprofen and took several years of research and regulatory work. Other new innovations include Sensodyne Clinical White toothpaste, offering a less abrasive whitening toothpaste. The latter has helped “attract a younger demographic to the brand and has amongst the strongest repeat rates in the sector,” Allen said this month.

Developing claims for its products through clinical studies, particularly in its oral health and pain relief businesses, is also key, giving consumers confidence the products deliver a “meaningful benefit,” Williams said. And while relationships with health experts—like dentists—are still a huge driver of new buyers to Haleon’s brands, the company is also turning more and more to creator-led content, partnering with, say, a creator that’s 

“We really focus on being where consumers are and being relevant to them in the spaces where they want to find their healthcare information, but ensuring that we’re providing that from trusted and relevant sources,” she said.

Williams said another core focus of the company is “health inclusivity,” which the company says is “the process of removing the personal, social, cultural, and political barriers that prevent individuals and communities from experiencing good physical, mental, and social health and a life fully realized,” per a definition from Economist Impact.

These include the Theraflu Rest & Recover Fund, now in its fourth year, which offers microgrants for those who don’t have access to paid sick leave. Williams noted Haleon has also increased work with state governments to push for paid sick leave policies. And this year, Sensodyne partnered with Vox Media to 

 a documentary called “Sensory Overload” centered around individuals who are neurodiverse or have sensory issues in dental offices, and is collaborating with the American Dental Association to create a dental student class centered around making dental offices more sensory inclusive.

“We want to make healthcare more accessible, more inclusive, and more affordable and so we really look to not only build our brands, but connect with consumers on shared values in the healthcare space,” Williams said. “That definitely has shown to, over time, improve our brand equity [and] improve the affinity and connection that consumers have with our brands.”

Haleon Sensodyne clinical white toothpaste

Innovation, inclusivity key to brand loyalty for Tums-maker Haleon

US CMO Katie Williams shares the consumer healthcare CPG efforts that’ve kept shoppers coming back. 

To give you a sense of the sheer size of the US consumer packaged goods industry, the number of jobs it supports (22.3 million) is almost three times the population of New York City, while its GDP contribution ($2.5 trillion) is bigger than the total GDP of Canada in 2023.

So says the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), the trade association representing 75 CPG companies from Procter & Gamble to the Coca-Cola Company, last year adding five new members like Kraft Heinz, Kimberly-Clark, and J&J Snack Foods, and so far this year, three new members, including Tyson Foods.

Newly at the helm of the CBA is Melissa Hockstad, leading as president and CEO since January after the departure of 

 last year. Hockstad knows her way around a trade group; she was previously president and CEO of the American Cleaning Institute—which has a few overlapping members with the CBA—and her résumé also includes exec roles at the Plastics Industry Association and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers.

Hockstad told Retail Brew she was eager to join the CBA to tackle the “broader issues impacting the collective CPG industry,” of which there are many, especially as she grabbed the reins just weeks before the start of the second Trump administration and the flurry of changes that have been imposed since. So to jump into the role, she’s been attending events like 

 and CBA’s CPG Legal Forum and speaking with member companies to understand their challenges, while also meeting with new members of Trump’s cabinet to discuss policy priorities.

“The wonderful thing about a trade association is that what we can achieve as a collective is so much stronger than any one company,” she said.

Earlier this month, Hockstad, along with executives from CPGs like PepsiCo and General Mills, 

 with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to discuss his Make America Healthy Again agenda. At the headline-grabbing meeting, Kennedy shared his intention to 

 of artificial food dyes during his term, a move that would impact many of CBA’s member companies. “Decision time is imminent,” Hockstad wrote in a letter to member companies, according to the New York Times. She told Retail Brew the CBA aims to ensure “ingredients meet rigorous evidence-based safety standards that are set by the federal government as well as state regulators.”

“What’s important for us with HHS is continuing to work with them; we know there are areas they’re focused in on, around enhancing transparency, ensuring ingredient evaluations continue to be grounded in science, and identifying healthier options for consumers,” Hockstad said. “And we really see this as a partnership, working together with HHS, specifically in this realm as we look ahead to the year.”

In these and other policy meetings with government agencies, like the FDA, EPA, or USDA, Hockstad said her role is to offer a “high-level overview” of the CPG industry, and make sure the agencies’ moves “continue to be grounded in science.” Depending on the meeting, they’ll discuss specific policy issues and garner feedback that “helps shape our thinking and where we might want to head next,” she said.

 Tariffs also remain a top issue on the minds of CBA’s members (along with the minds of most other 

), Hockstad said, and the group is pushing the administration to take a “more strategic approach” to tariff implementation. President Trump is preparing to announce a more narrow tariff strategy on April 2, 

“We think about that ripple effect: If costs for inputs go up, that can impact manufacturing costs, which then impact consumer costs, which could reduce demand, which could then potentially impact job losses here in the United States,” she said.

Hockstad named oats and coffee as examples of global imports that can’t be sourced in the US, while the CBA has previously pointed to meat, grain, oilseeds, and processed cocoa in Canada, and fruits and vegetables from Mexico during the winter months in a blog post outlining the “tariff toll” earlier this month.

 has happened in her first two and a half months, and a major challenge Hockstad is anticipating in her role going forward is the fact that “the world is moving at a faster pace than anything that we’ve seen ever before,” requiring CBA to potentially “pivot and be agile” as challenges or opportunities arise.

“We’re walking into an environment where things will be moving quickly, we’ll have to assess quickly, make decisions quickly, which really important, in my mind, is always being really clear on what are our priorities, being very clear on what success looks like, because that helps give us that roadmap,” she said.

New Consumer Brands Association CEO shares CPG’s top priorities

Melissa Hockstad has met with CBA members and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. since joining in January.  

Entrance interview: New Consumer Brands Association CEO shares big CPG’s top priorities

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2% in February, and 2.8% year over year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week—a lower-than-expected increase. The index, which covers the first full month of the Trump administration, does not reflect the looming impact of tariffs beyond the 10% tax on Chinese imports.

The index for food inched up 0.2%, while food away from home jumped 0.4% and food at home stayed flat monthly, up 1.9% YoY. Four of the six major grocery categories saw declines, as CPI decreased for fruits and vegetables (0.5%), nonalcoholic beverages (0.5%), dairy and related products (1.0%), and other food at home (0.5%).

After a 0.4% drop in January, cereals and bakery products increased 0.4%. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1.6%, thanks to a 10.4% rise in egg prices, up 58.8% YoY, which follows the 

 monthly egg-price increase in January. (While egg prices remain high, a demand drop has given producers a chance to gain ground on the egg deficit, leading to declining prices, the USDA said last week.)

Across other retail categories: The index for apparel was up 0.6%, while personal care products increased 0.9%.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt touted a low core CPI, which excludes food and energy and rose 3.1%. However, a poll published this week by the Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress in tandem with the CPI found that among voters, food prices were the top concern across all consumer prices, followed by utilities like energy.

 the imposition of tariffs for Mexico and Canada that threaten to raise prices for consumer goods like groceries and apparel, they’re set to go into effect on April 2. On Wednesday, Trump 

 a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, which was met with swift retaliatory tariffs from the European Union and Canada and will likely 

 for a number of industries, including beverage makers.

 Retail sales for the Trump administration’s first full month are set to be released on Monday. According to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, and restaurants, dipped in February by 0.22%.

February inflation cooled slightly after January jump

While price increases slowed, the impact of tariffs looms. 

 (and days later, partially and temporarily walked back) 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports and doubled the 10% Chinese import tariffs enacted last month, a move that garnered significant retail industry pushback.

The tariffs sparked a trade war, swiftly 

 by retaliatory tariffs from Canada and China, and the promise of tariffs from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. These tariffs on imports and exports threaten to raise prices across many consumer goods categories, including alcohol, apparel, agricultural products, appliances, and toys. Retailers like Target and Best Buy have already 

A slew of retail industry trade associations have voiced concerns over tariffs this week, with many urging reconsideration, renegotiation, or carve-outs for certain industries. Since Tuesday’s announcement, Trump is 

 a pause on tariffs for Mexican and Canadian goods outlined in the USMCA agreement, which includes agricultural products and textiles and apparel, until April 2.

David French, the National Retail Federation’s EVP of government relations, called the tariffs a “tool” the administration is using to “achieve a secure border.”

“We urge [the administration] to explore other options to accomplish the same goals,” he said. “As long as these tariffs are in place, Americans will be forced to pay higher prices on household goods.”

Michael Hanson, Retail Industry Leaders Association’s SVP, public affairs, said the tariffs “risk destabilizing the North American economy,” noting that retailers are prepared to work with Trump on “championing tax policies that support retail workers, communities, and consumers."

The American Apparel and Footwear Association President and CEO Steve Lamar noted that the tariffs would create a “potentially crushing burden” on US businesses and consumers, asking Congress to “reactivate and renew beneficial trade agreements.”

The Agricultural Retailers Association and the Fertilizer Institute released a joint statement noting the taxes on fertilizer imports like potash would raise prices for farmers and eventually elevate grocery costs for consumers, asking Trump for a “strategic carve out.” The Toasts not Tariffs Coalition—a group of 52 associations, including NRF, representing the US alcohol industry—called for lifting tariffs for distilled spirits and wine. Included in the USMCA, some fertilizers and spirits and wine are now exempt from tariffs, per Thursday’s amendment.

Across other organizations: The American Frozen Food Institute, the National Farmers Union, Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (which cited a YoY footwear sales drop of 26.2%), and a number of 

 expressed concerns over the tariffs this week. In prior weeks, groups like the Personal Care Products Council, the Organic Trade Association, and the Consumer Brands Association have spoken out against them.

Retail trades speak out against Trump’s tariffs

Some groups representing agricultural and alcohol industries requested exceptions to the steep taxes. 

The annual Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) Conference this month apparently saw many CPG execs and analysts 

 of free products to get their hands on Shaq-a-licious XL gummies and Jolly Rancher Ropes. But beyond the mad dash for gratis goods, CPG giants from Hershey to L’Oréal shared presentations detailing where their businesses are headed next and the strategies that’ll get them there.

The conference, held last week in Boca Raton, Florida, featured presentations from more than 30 CPGs across food and beverage, personal care, and beauty, highlighting strengths, potential shortcomings, plans for the future, and even breaking news, from acquisitions to rebrands. These were the most notable takeaways from the week.

A day ahead of its CAGNY presentation, energy drink maker 

 announced its plans to acquire female-focused energy drink brand Alani Nu for $1.8 billion, which the company said would establish a “better-for-you, functional lifestyle platform at the intersection of consumer megatrends.” At CAGNY, Celsius chair, president and CEO John Fieldly emphasized the acquisition’s potential to help the company, whose audience is largely “gender balanced,” to reach more woman consumers, as 92% of Alani Nu’s social media followers are women. Alani Nu’s sales grew 64% to $800 million last year, and combined with Celsius’s $2.7 billion in sales, Celsius believes the two can capture 16% combined market share in the energy drink category.

 is “reinvigorating” its SkinnyPop popcorn brand, including rebranded packaging, new sizes 4.4 oz. and 8 oz., with new corresponding price points, and a new spokesperson, actress Jennifer Aniston, with a commercial that premiered during the Oscars on March 2. (Unlike last year, when Hershey brought out Shaquille O’Neal at CAGNY to tease its Shaq-a-licious XL gummies, Aniston was not in attendance in Boca Raton, CEO Michele Buck informed the crowd).

Continued growth outside confection is essential for Hershey as inflated cocoa prices persist, though CFO Steve Voskuil said “we see a path” for growth despite this. While Voskuil wouldn’t share plans for future price bumps as a result of cocoa inflation, he noted “you can imagine this is going to be important to us as we look to the future and watch what’s happening in commodities,” he said.

 also focused on the cocoa market during its presentation, with CEO Dirk Van de Put outlining a five-pillar plan to address cocoa inflation, including higher prices and boosting marketing and sales efforts.

“Consumers will need to get used to a chocolate that is 30%, 40%, 50% more expensive than it used to be, because that’s what we’re going to see,” he said. “But I do think volume will hold up.”

Fragrance was the fastest growing beauty category based on dollar sales, both in prestige and mass, in 2024, according to Circana, and a number of beauty and personal care CPGs at CAGNY expressed intention to keep following the scent.

 prestige business is driving 60% of sales and 75% of profit, with projections for prestige to take over nearly three-quarters of sales by 2027, the company said. Fragrance continues to be a significant growth driver, with prestige fragrance accounting for 56% of its revenue. In the US, much of that growth has come from Gen Z consumers’ increased tendency to spritz on scents, Coty said. But to keep growing, it’s fighting off “upstart brands” and “dupes” by “strengthening the competitive moat,” CEO Sue Nabi said, with a five-pronged strategy that includes proprietary tech and methods to combat reverse engineering, patents, and use of “rare and exclusive ingredients.”

In 2025, Coty will introduce Kylie Cosmetics’ second fragrance, Cosmic 2.0, announced earlier in the week, as well as expand Adidas Vibes and launch another unnamed mass fragrance, CFO Laurent Mercier said, with several fragrance launches also slated for 2026.

, fragrance has also been the top growth driver, with sales up 14% in 2024. As the US beauty market sees continued competition in all categories, David Greenberg, CEO of L’Oréal USA and president, North American Zone, said L’Oréal is “deeply underpenetrated in some high-growth categories,” pointing to skin care, fragrance, and hair care as spaces ripe for innovation.

As it looks ahead, the company hopes to grow its consumer base—an effort it calls “consumer cluster conquests”—by targeting Gen Z with new innovations. It aims to add 150 million Gen Z consumers and 200 million Gen A customers by 2030, and reach more consumers over 60, aiming to hit 1 billion by 2030.

 is finding success with scents. The company spent a chunk of its presentation highlighting fragrance-forward cleaning line Clorox Scentiva, which this year is getting a rebrand and expanding to bleach and toilet cleaners. This year, Clorox anticipates 58% sales growth for the line, which was first introduced in 2023.

CPG