The pandemic has had a big effect on many industries, however FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) has seen an unsurprising rise, especially during the stock piling and “panic buying” phases. Our team has been working hard to ready our clients for high demand from consumers on social media, creating on-point content safely on local shoots, and even launching a new brand in June!

We are almost six months into working from home (yes, it has gone that quickly!) in an ever-changing industry, so thought it would be a great time to share our insights that we have learnt along the (often unpredictable) way.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR:

• Customers looked for better value and sought ways to make general savings because of the financial impact of COVID-19. Social media giveaways proved to be a great way to engage this audience who already had the mentality of looking for good deals.

• Restrictions on the number of shopping trips that people could take, particularly in Melbourne, meant that consumers were shopping for need rather than want, and this distorted their perception of promotions and value on items they’d usually purchase. This was front of mind most during the panic buying phase in Lockdown 1.0 when shoppers had to get what they could when it was available, often regardless of the price.

• The FMCG industry will continue to reap the rewards from a society consuming more at home. This trend was still seen in China as restrictions eased as people remained cautious, and rippled across other markets.

• According to Nielsen BASES’ research, consumers looked more to the validity of germ killing claims on household products over any claims that they were sustainable or natural. Similarly, shoppers looked for immunity boosting foods and beverages, whilst also desiring them to be natural and of good quality.

• Locally made and/or produced goods became a priority, and will likely remain one, as consumers actively chose to support the Australian economy and its workers.

• Consumers turned to authentic and trustworthy brands that have remained present and supportive throughout the COVID-19 period. We wrote about this in March as we moved from the office to our homes and it is still crucial for brands to be evolving and posting relevant content now.

• Diet-specific terms continued to decrease in importance for some consumers, with product claims like “vegan”, “lite”, “diet” and “organic” becoming less of a priority. We touched on this in April and the trend steadied into June.

Brands will need to differentiate themselves, with a focus on these new consumer priorities, to ensure they deserve to be on shelf.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

• User generated content (UGC) has been a powerful inclusion to content plans as it brings a human element to brands, as well as providing inspiration for a homebound audience.

• Considered copywriting is also important, with captions that offer tips, hacks or recipes and step-by-step guides a helpful source of practical inspiration. Need a hand with copywriting? Check this out.

• Engagement has been significantly increased by including competitions and giveaways in COVID-19 strategies. Using the “share to story” option on platforms like Instagram offers an easy tactic for added reach.
  

CONTENT:

• For our food clients, easy to make, wholesome recipes like banana bread and homemade pizzas have been performing well. There has been an overall trend of home cooks seeking comfort and indulgence with the recipes they search for [1], and we also saw a dramatic increase in home cooking in April.

• Brands that can benefit from approachable, meaningful and relevant partnerships to create exclusive content using their FMCG products are likely to perform well. We have seen great collaborations between Devondale and OzHarvest (above image), as well as Cobram Estate teaming up with renowned Australian chefs to share recipes and inspire followers at home.

• We have launched successful influencer campaigns with several of our FMCG clients, contributing to high engagement. These brands include wellness brands that showcased reducing COVID-19-related stresses and ways to improve immunity, as well as food brands inspiring the audience to entertain at home if able.

As the seasons change and we begin to head into the warmer half of the year, as well as gearing up for an unpredictable Christmas period, we are excited to see where the FMCG industry heads and how consumers’ behaviours will change accordingly.

[1] Adobe Analytics NLM Global Suite - Taste, Delicious, Best Recipes, Kidspot Kitchen, Australian Traffic only