2026 CAGNY conference highlights

At a time when inflation-led price increases are no longer expected to boost revenue, companies should deliver more value to improve volume/mix and drive profitable growth. The context for achieving that goal is getting more complicated. Increased consumer bifurcation can create a K-shaped economy—with one small group of high-income consumers driving spending growth and a larger yet lower-income group holding tightly to their wallets.³

Enter the “barbell strategy” for addressing consumers with different needs. More value for the price is achieved at each end, but presenting companies talk about deploying different strategies.

Benefit density: Companies say they are leaning into scientific innovation with products to justify pricing with superior product efficacy. They are investing in core brands and digital marketing to engage the market with this innovation and reach those consumers willing to pay more to get more.

Precision affordability: At the same time, companies are also creating lower-priced entry points that keep their brands accessible to the value-seeking part of the market. They identify and hit these key price cliffs not just through deflation but, where possible, using RGM and price-pack architecture. Value is being provided to others through superstores and other discount channels, which are even attracting more spend from wealthier consumers.⁴

Neither approach is completely new. But as companies deal with the missing middle class and need to pay more attention to both ends of the barbell, execution of these concepts can become all the more important. What remains to be seen is whether companies will be successful in appealing to both ends of the market simultaneously, or whether they will need to choose one or the other. 

Provide more value? Sure. But what is it that consumers value? Based on the CAGNY conversation, increasingly the answer is health and wellness. Nearly 9 in 10 presenting companies included it in their comments, and the health topic increased by 13 percentage points, building on significant momentum already achieved last year.

In addition to a broader cultural shift toward health, drivers such as GLP-1 medications and potential new regulations and guidelines contributed to the shift. Both of these drivers may get a boost in 2026 from factors like the release of an oral pill, government programs to offset medication costs, and potential new reports, regulations, or commentary from the Department of Health.⁵

Health appeared in CAGNY company presentations in three major forms:

Functional: Protein and fiber were the stars in this area, with both complementing the needs of GLP-1 users and broader trends. Energy, mostly from drinks, and the gut health benefits of various “biotics” factored in as well.

Clean: Many presenting companies discussed reformulating to remove artificial dyes, additives, and seed oils. Food ingredient companies specifically discussed how prominently reformulation factors into their work. Clean also showed up outside of the food space in cleaning products and beauty offerings. They seek to demonstrate superior efficacy and aesthetic appeal while using only clean-label ingredients.

Better for you: Companies discussed multiple zero-sugar product innovations, low- or no-alcohol beverage options, and smaller pack sizes meant to better complement today’s appetites.

Eighty-five percent of executives surveyed for Deloitte’s 2026 Consumer Products Industry Global Outlook believe that more focused, pure-play business models are likely to outperform the large, multi-category conglomerate models.⁶ A push for more focus was also reflected in several strategic moves discussed by CAGNY companies.

Whether through shifting resources, eliminating SKUs, or divesting entire lines of business, CAGNY companies are seeking greater portfolio focus. They are trying to move out of slower growth or otherwise nonstrategic categories to focus their business more on their vision of what’s truly part of the core. Where needed, they acquire brands or businesses to round out their offerings.

Presenting companies also shared the belief that more focus is needed to achieve the speed and agility required to operate in today’s less certain world. One aspect discussed was organizational simplification. Depending on the company, this took the form of moving P&L accountability closer to markets, simplifying incentive structures, or leveraging digital technology to shape organizations that require lower headcount to operate.

Supply chains were also part of the conversation. In a deglobalizing world subject to geopolitical changes, companies made moves that reduced tariff exposures and increased their nimbleness to respond to future surprises—even if that meant a trade-off with classic optimization at scale that was more suitable to a more stable past.

Unsurprisingly, AI and associated digital transformation and precision analytics use cases were a big part of the CAGNY discussion. Though it was a topic in years past, the 2026 conversation makes it clear that AI is no longer a pilot program. Presenting companies say it is driving hard-dollar savings and radically altering the cost of doing business.

Product innovation was a major area of deployment. Companies claim AI is helping them generate and test far more product concepts in far less time. Companies also said they were using AI in their market engagement efforts, using it to much more cheaply and quickly generate content, sometimes highly personalized, then deploying their marketing spending in a much more targeted way to increase ROI. Other companies said they are using AI to help their salesforces better engage retail partners and other customers, with associated bumps in sales results.

Product innovation and marketing were the two most often cited use cases of AI in Deloitte’s consumer products outlook survey, as well, but the top goal of AI investment was productivity.⁷ One CAGNY presenting company that integrated AI into its marketing workflows said it dropped affected content creation time and costs by 90%.⁸

We expect that at future CAGNY conferences, we will soon be hearing more about agentic commerce. After all, consumers will also be using AI and agents to guide and execute their own purchase journeys. How CAGNY companies will reach and influence agentic decision-makers is not yet entirely clear. The industry may still be waking up to this issue: Only 31% of executives in our outlook survey say they are struggling to figure out the best way to reach, influence, or market to consumers who are using Generative AI to research or purchase products, while even more don’t yet have an opinion (46%).⁹

• Retail relations: CAGNY companies are looking for new ways to partner with retailers as factors like retail media networks and private-label competition change the nature of their relationships.
• Growth markets: Presenting companies seem to be disproportionately focusing their growth plans on the US and India, and managing supply chains to serve those markets domestically.
• Sensorial differentiation: Heat, fragrance, and texture are being deployed to make presenting company offerings stand apart.
• Leadership changes: Like corporations in other industries, there have been a number of recent leadership changes at CAGNY companies. How will this changing of the guard affect performance and culture in the months and years ahead?