Market Researcher: Sharing my daily learnings | 🎤 Speaker | ☕️ Coffee and 🍪 fan

Struggling to prove your research team’s value while juggling deadlines, budgets, and skeptical stakeholders?

Here’s the reality: 

Most organisations see research as a cost center. 

That won’t change, unless you do.

After 10+ years leading insight projects across agency, in-house, and SaaS, I’ve learned that real buy-in comes from translating “geek speak” into commercial impact.

What I do:

- Teach market researchers how to become commercially unmissable, not just “the KPI service desk.”

- Share frameworks for defending budgets, influencing decisions, and landing executive buy-in.

- Arm you with tactical playbooks, templates, and ROI scripts to use right away.

I help teams and leaders who want to:

1. Prove ROI to senior stakeholders
2. Get heard by the C-suite
3. Outperform the competition (without more budget)

Seen in: Forbes, Advertising Week, GreenBook, MRS, IBTM
Spoken at: MRS, Advertising Week, IBTM, corporate client offsites

How to connect:

Subscribe to the ResearchGeek Newsletter: 600+ researchers get short, actionable tips every Thursday

Follow for daily posts on LinkedIn (5x/week tactics you won’t see anywhere else)

Message if you want to collaborate or bring me in for your next event

P.S. If coffee is on the agenda… I’m in.

⚡️Jake Pryszlak

Hiya! Nice to see you here 👋

I'm Tina, an ex-Digital Director and Highly Commended Digital Woman of the Year 2024 for my work in AI and Insights.

I use AI to deliver faster, leaner and just as accurate market research so brands and agencies can act on real consumer insight without waiting weeks or spending thousands.

I’m also the founder of an insights agency that built its own AI tool, Sweet Spot™, designed to translate online social behaviours into real-time consumer insights.

We help brands, retailers, and agencies uncover what their customers really care about fast. Whether it’s supporting a product launch, shaping content strategy, or crafting a buyer pitch, our insight reports and strategic playbooks help teams move with clarity and confidence.

I also work as a Fractional AI, Digital, and Strategy Director for marketing agencies and act as an AI Guide for Agency Adventure.

As a passionate advocate for Women in AI and technology, I speak regularly about how to apply AI inside agencies and businesses to drive creative thinking, reduce friction, and increase efficiency.

Lovely to meet you! I’m always up for a great conversation around what’s changing in tech, culture, and consumer behaviour.

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This is how my weeks usually go:

• Turning online conversations into insights that help clients win buyer or brand pitches

• Refining our AI tools and strategy frameworks, shaped by client feedback

• Exploring cultural shifts and emerging consumer trends

• Monitoring behaviour and AI trends to keep our clients ahead of the curve

• Writing content on future audiences and where demand is heading

• Connecting with inspiring founders, marketers, and change-makers driving innovation in AI and marketing

And juggling plenty of other things too. Feel free to reach out — I’m pretty quick to reply 😊

Tina T.

This International Women's Day
I'm celebrating me. 🪞 
I think more women founders at all stages should do the same.

I'm not doing this in a big showy way. 
It's a small daily habit that keeps me grounded as a founder, a mother and a person with ADHD.

Every evening I write down my EOD Reflections.

Founder life can play tricks on your brain. You can do 50 good things in a day and one negative moment will try to wipe them all out. That's the thing you replay. The thing that keeps you awake.

So I make myself stop and write down everything that made me feel good that day, and it doesn't have to be huge wins.

It does not have to be money in the bank.
It does not have to be winning a new project.
It does not have to be a massive breakthrough.

Sometimes... 
It's just a positive email from a client because their sales have gone up
Or they've won a pitch
Or I'm feeling proud about a piece of work
Or I'm working a new brand or project excites me and aligns with my values
Or just knowing I showed up well that day despite the voice saying 'don't move'.

Sometimes it's personal, like a long uninterrupted hug from my son.
Or getting through ALL the school emails and being on top it.
Or cooking something for my family that looked easy on TikTok but was actually super complicated and they thought it was tasty anyway.
Or just rare moments where I felt happy, peaceful, proud, or just like myself.

They are all part of the life you are building, and they all count.

So if you are a woman founder reading this, I really encourage you to do your own EOD reflections. At the end of the day, write down everything that made you feel good, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant.

Then everyday you have a true reflection of your actual effort, resilience, and truly a chance to celebrate who you are.

I guarantee you are doing far better than you give yourself credit for.

#iwd26 #womenfounders #internationalwomensday #womanentrepreneur

✨ Tina Thompson

Commercial Strategy Director supporting CPG brands to increase sales, sharpen propositions and drive repeat using live data signals from social + search.

Are you a specialist consultant who’s open to more projects?
I know how tough CPG can feel right now. 

Budgets are tighter. Decisions take longer. 
Great consultants and freelancers are sat there with real capability, just waiting for the right brief.

Sweet Spot has never been a big agency model. We operate as a joined up team of specialists to grow CPG brands.

So I’m growing our circle of CPG operators. 🌟 

Not because I have one exact project in mind today. But because I never know what’s landing next, and I would rather already know the right people when it does.

If your strength sits in visibility and growth, I’d love to connect 🤝
- Retail sell in and buyer strategy
- Distribution and wholesale growth
- On trade and foodservice access
- International go to market
- Partnerships and channel deals
- eCommerce growth across Amazon and DTC
- Fundraising and building investor decks

If you’ve actually secured listings, opened new channels, increased rate of sale, or scaled brands beyond the early hustle phase, drop me a DM with what you specialise in.

Equally, if you ever need plugging into our network, shout. 🤝 

The whole point is that we help each other win more of the right work. 🥰 

Please share with network & recommendations are welcome.

#CPG #FMCG

Shoppers love the idea of curated gifts.
One of the clearest signals in our data is the rise of seasonal basket culture.

Searches, conversations and questions about curated gift bundles have been surging for the last few years, and are up 144% year on year.

Instead of buying one present, shoppers are building moments.

Boo Baskets for Halloween
Burr Baskets for cosy winter gifting
Yes, even Sunshine Baskets for summer thank you gifts

It's simple, adding a basket to a gifting aisle encourages customers to fill it, and personalise with items that suits the recipient. 

This naturally expands basket size.

But here is the problem.
Most shelves I have seen never signal that mission.

A shopper sees a candle and buyers one.
They do not see a contained that tells them to start curating. 

Add the basket to the fixture and the psychology flips. 
Now the shopper is not buying a product, but a themed gift.

Once the basket is in hand this can easily penetrate other categories not in the gifting aisle for 'true personalisation'.

If you haven't considered this yet, three simple moves unlock this:

1. Put baskets directly in gifting aisles
The basket acts as the trigger that turns a single purchase into a curated bundle.

2. Merchandise around small giftable items
Candles, bath treats, beauty minis, socks and snacks all become easy add-ons.

3. Prompt the mission on shelf
Build a gift basket
Ready to gift
Seasonal favourites

Those cues mirror the behaviour shoppers are already buying into from social platforms.

This trend is one of the patters inside our 2026 Consumer Trends Report, built from 62 million data points across social conversations, search behaviours and AI chatbot questions.

If you want the full report, comment or DM DRIVE and I will send you the Google Drive link 📩

#Retail #FMCG #ShopperMarketing #CategoryManagement

Most brands are selling energy.
Consumers are now actively looking for the opposite.

In the latest consumer behaviour data we analysed, engagement around reset and unwind rituals is up 30% YOY.

People are searching for ways to slow down, regulate themselves and step out of constant stimulation.

Key cues showing up in the trend:

- Reset and unwind content rising across social
- Slow living routines gaining traction
- Reset challenges where people reduce noise, caffeine, screens or stress
- A clear emotional goal: feel regulated again

The commercial reality is simple.
The brands that help people feel calm, balanced or reset are the ones that win repeat 🌿

What this means commercially for FMCG and CPG:
- Higher repeat from ritual use rather than occasional consumption
- Range reviews favouring products that signal calm, unwind or reset
- Claims shifting from energy and performance to balance and regulation
- NPD moving toward evening formats, wind down cues and slower routines 

In other words, the battleground is no longer just functional benefit.
It is emotional regulation.

This insight comes from a 2026 consumer trends report built from 62 million live data points across social conversations, search behaviour and AI questions.

If I ran a brand in this space, I would test three things this month:

1️⃣ Audit your pack and PDP language
 Does it signal stimulation or regulation?

2️⃣ Build a simple daily ritual around the product
Morning reset, evening unwind or digital detox moment

3️⃣ Test content that shows the behaviour
Slow routines consistently outperform polished product ads

The brands that understand why people are reaching for calm will win the next round of repeat.

Comment or DM DRIVE and I will send you the Google Drive link to the full 2026 trends report built from 62 million real consumer signals.

#fmcg #consumerinsights #consumerbehaviours

Most CPG founders don’t have a sales problem.
They have a shelf role problem.

I developed a private GPT built around our 2026 Consumer Trends framework (built from 62M+ live signals across search + social). You tell it your category and your biggest commercial challenge, and it translates the most relevant 2026 shifts into clear direction.

I tested it on an artisan cocoa brand.
It told me cocoa isn’t competing with own label. It’s competing with wind-down: sleep tea, magnesium, evening rituals 😮‍💨

It reframed it as a 7pm nervous system reset ritual, not “premium hot chocolate”.

Same product. Totally different buyer story.

If you’re a CPG founder and want the link to run your own category through it, DM me “GPT” and I’ll send it over.

#cpg #fmcg #consumerinsights #categorymanagement #onshelf

Wellness is getting a new job in 2026.
Not fix me.
Steady me.

In the 62 million live consumer data points behind our 2026 Trends report, we are seeing a clear shift away from reactive wellness and towards intentional state management.

People are talking about their nervous system.
About somatic rituals.
About small resets they can actually repeat in a convenience world.

You see it in behaviours like glimmer hunting, where consumers actively look for small moments of joy they can trigger on purpose. Not a life overhaul. Just a manageable shift in how they feel.

I have been recording a short video series with Rachel Auty, Product Development Consultant, and she summed the human bit up perfectly, she said, “it's to try and take control of your active mindset and the way you look at the world.”

From the behaviour we are seeing, we have pulled out three commercial levers brands can lean into next year:

Clarity cuts through mental noise. 🧠
Grounding helps someone feel steady. 🌿
Reset draws a line under whatever just happened and starts again. 🔄

My take on the commercial implication is simple.
We live in a convenience world, so people are asking, how do I turn that emotional state on?

If your product can credibly deliver clarity, grounding or reset, and you make that job obvious, you make buying easier.

Commercially, this matters because:
 • Clearer positioning lifts conversion in the moment
 • Ritual behaviour drives repeat
 • Retailer conversations get easier when the product has a defined role

What you could do this month:
1. Take one hero SKU and choose the lever it truly owns. Clarity or grounding or reset. Then test that the headline across PDP and ads.

2. Test three simple usage moments in content. Morning clarity, post commute grounding, end of day reset. Watch which one gets the saves and comments, then double down.

Want the full breakdown of the 2026 levers and the trends proving them, pulled from 62 million live consumer data points?

Comment or DM DRIVE and I will send you the Google Drive link 📩

#cpg #fmcg #consumertrends #contentmarketing #categorymanagement

👉 You might be focusing on the wrong innovation priorities.
You're not just selling a product anymore.

You're selling a feeling, a routine, and a place in someone’s life.

I sat down with NPD specialist Rachel Auty to unpack what we’re seeing in real consumer behaviour right now from live social conversations and search signals.

Not just flavour and branding, but the stuff that’s showing up in what people choose, repeat buy, and build into their day:

✨ Texture innovation
 🧠 Emotional control
 🔁 Repeat experience
 👜 Physical positioning

Will it live on the kitchen counter, in a gym bag, on open shelving, in a handbag?

If you’re building your 2026 pipeline, this is a useful sanity check on where your product is actually earning its place.

DM me INSIGHTS and I’ll send you the full video and the 2026 insights report.

#FMCG #consumerinsights #productinnovation #consumerbehaviours

What's wrong with this picture?


Yes the woman shown is most likely AI.

International Women’s Day is meant to celebrate real women.
Real working women.
Real founders.
Real leaders.

Real people juggling ambition, pressure, motherhood, bias, burnout, care, confidence, hormones, responsibility and everything else that never makes it into the polished campaign.

Yet the woman chosen to represent that message doesn't seem real at all.

I’m a huge fan of AI. I use AI every day in my work. I’m not anti-AI in the slightest.

I even have my own AI tool that is used to find the why behind shifts using social listening, but this isn't how it's meant to be used.

They use AI because they can, not because they should, and in doing that, they strip out the very thing that makes people connect in the first place: humanity.

I was sitting in a room full of female founders when this image was shown, and honestly, I was horrified.

On a day meant to recognise women, the creative erased one.
That’s the problem.

AI works best when it supports human thinking, human creativity and human truth.

Not when it replaces the people you are supposedly trying to honour.

Human → AI → Human.
That’s still the model I believe in.

Because if there’s no real human in the process, the message might look polished, but it won’t feel true.

#ai #iwd26 #womenfounders

Social media is now shaping rate of sale.
Waitrose clocked it before most retailers did. 👀 

Zebra striping is a clear example of how that shift plays out.

It grew out of behaviours already visible across damp drinking, sober curious routines, hangxiety content and GRWM night out formats, where people were showing how they pace their evenings rather than just how they start them.

What social media did was package that behaviour into something repeatable.
Alternating alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks became a simple, shareable way to stay social, feel in control and still enjoy the occasion.

Now the numbers are catching up.

Around two thirds of UK adults are already alternating in some form.

Nearly half of on premise drinkers are doing it in bars and restaurants.

More than half of existing zebra stripers say they are doing it more than they were a year ago.

This is not just culture. It is demand taking shape.
Waitrose recognised that early.

They discovered the behaviour, placed it inside a broader no and low strategy, which is often the moment a social behaviour becomes commercially real.

However here is the problem.
Most retailers are still merchandising the old way.

Beer, wine and spirits in one bay.
Soft drinks in another.
Low and no sitting off to the side.

From a shopper point of view, that still feels like category led merchandising rather than helping them build the occasion.

There are signs of progress.
Some retailers are integrating 0.0 into the main fixture, creating mindful drinking bays or using ends to bring alcohol and alcohol free together for moments like BBQs or a big night in.

But it is inconsistent, and the shopper mission is moving faster than the shelf.
People are not shopping categories.

They are building a better night.

That is where the growth is.

If you have not acted on this yet, three simple moves unlock it:

1. Bring alcohol, 0.0, mixers, soft drinks and hydration into one space, this is where cross category baskets start to build naturally

2. Merchandise around the occasion, not the product, balance, pace and staying out longer are stronger drivers than alcohol type

3. Prompt the behaviour clearly at shelf
Mix your night
Pick any 3
Keep the pace

Those cues mirror what shoppers are already doing.

This is one of the patterns inside our 2026 Consumer Trends report, built from 62 million data points across social conversations and search behaviours.

If you want the full report, comment or DM DRIVE and I will send you the Google Drive link 📩
#retailstrategy #fmcg #categorymanagement #consumertrends

The cleaning aisle is built for brand blocking.
The shopper is shopping for a sensory Spring reset ritual.
That mismatch is capping units per basket. 🫣 

Romanticising the Spring Clean is not a fluffy phrase. It is a behaviour shift observed over the last 2 years that's been building consistently.

People are taking a boring job and turning it into a mindful, sensory moment they actually want to do. Windows open, playlist on, matching bottles, scent layering, a room that feels new when they are done.

It is the same logic behind Choremance. Turning life admin into something calming, meaningful, even dateable. Grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning. Real life, but made enjoyable.

We have seen online that when chores become mindful rituals, shoppers do not buy one product. They build the moment.

They stack surface care with tools. 
Floor care with fragrance. 
Laundry with scent boosters. 
Air care as the finishing touch.

It is planned. It is longer. It is higher spend.

Yet most cleaning aisles still split by format and brand with no cue to shop across and complete the 'Romanticising' experience.

Commercially this matters 👇
 • More units per shopper through 'reset missions' rather than single product grabs
 • Natural trade up into fragrance-led and specialist formats
 • Cross category pull between cleaning, laundry and air care
 • Faster rate of sale on add ons that currently rely on chance discovery

Gabby Theobald this is a very real Spring sales lever for store and online. Shoppers are already trying to self build the ritual. One clear prompt would do a lot of the heavy lifting 😍

1️⃣ Build a 'Romanticising the Spring Clean' feature that groups the full reset together such as Laundry Room Reset, Kitchen Reset, Whole Home Refresh.

2️⃣ Add Pick any 3 or Save when you buy 3 mechanics to make multi buy the default for romanticising each room or chore.

3️⃣ Use simple POS that sells the reward at the end such as Fresh Sheets Energy, Room Feels New, Finish With Scent.

Felicity Judge, Melanie Pichaud, Josie Harfield, Paula Quazi, Pavan Chandra this is a opportunity ready for the taking.

This insight comes from our 2026 Consumer Trends report built from 62 million data points across live social conversations, search behaviour and AI chatbot questions.

If you want the full report, comment or DM DRIVE and I will send you the Google Drive link 📊

p.s. the visual is AI. The insight is real. The shelf problem is real. 🙂
#Retail #FMCG #CategoryManagement #ShopperMarketing

Shoppers are buying comfort.
Easter shelves still seem to be selling format.

Eggs with eggs. Bunnies with bunnies. Minis with minis. 🐇 🐇 🐇 

That made sense when the job was seasonal volume. But shopper behaviour has moved on. They are hunting for childhood favourites and back again treats because the world feels loud and a bit relentless. Familiarity sells.

Nostalgia is a shortcut to trust. ✅ 

In our 2026 Consumer Insights report built from 62 million data points across live social conversations and search behaviour, nostalgia signals are accelerating. Think retro sweets, childhood snacks, 90s chocolate, back again flavours. That is not a vibe. It is demand you can range and signpost.

Shoppers are already building their own throwback mixes. We might as well capture that spend.

What it changes on shelf:
• Faster rate of sale on limited returns and classic recipes
• Bigger baskets when shoppers can mix old favourites without thinking
• A proper cross category play between chocolate, sugar confectionery and gifting
• Premium trade up when heritage cues justify price without heavy promo

Mechanics to look at:

1. Run a Nostalgia feature within Easter
Rewind, Remix, Relive zones so shoppers shop by memory, not format. Bring the icons together in one place rather than scattering them across brand blocks.

2. Make back again unmissable
Limited return works because shoppers fear missing out. Use one clear header and two shelf talkers. No clutter.

3. Add a bundle mechanic that lifts units
Pick any 3. Build your favourites. Comfort becomes collectible and your average units per basket climbs.

This is not about looking backwards.
It is about converting a real behaviour shift into rate of sale and basket growth.

Victoria Grzymek, Henry Craven, Rachel Dowie is this in your 2027 Easter playbook yet?

If you want the full report, comment or DM DRIVE and I will send you the Google Drive link 📊

p.s. the visual is AI. The insight is real. The shelf opportunity is there. 🙂

#fmcg #retail #merchandising #categorymanagement #consumertrends

We’ve built something completely disruptive.
Then someone asks the annoying question.
How do you prove demand? 🤔

I was with a founder this week who was convinced they’d created a whole new category. Fair enough, it felt new.

Then we pulled the data from millions of social conversations, searches and chatbot questions in 2026, it was clear they weren’t inventing a category.

They were the next step in one that’s already growing and already profitable.
That’s the sweet spot.

Once you can name the consumer driver behind the behaviour, the commercial message lands properly. Not just “look at us” on shelf ✨ but “this makes sense” to buyers and shoppers.

If you’re building something new right now, don’t start with the story.
Start with the signals that already exist, I guarantee they are there 👀

#fmcg #categorymanagement #cpg #consumerinsights

We've built something completely disruptive.
Trying to explain the demand without consumer data.

Most FMCG brands are still trying to motivate consumers.
The brands quietly winning repeat in 2026 are doing something else.
They are building systems. 🔄 

In 2026 systems is beating motivation.

Here's what we are seeing across categories.

Motivation based brands
🔥 Driven by mood and effort
💪 Bought when consumers feel inspired
⚠️ Fragile when life gets busy or uncertain

System based brands
⚙️ Driven by habit and structure
 📦 Built into a routine
 ✅ Stable and dependable repeat

You can already see the different in brands growing fast right now.

AG1: Positioned as a daily ritual, one scoop every morning.
OLIPOP PBC: Reframed refreshment as part of a daily gut routine.
Liquid I.V.: Hydration built into gym bags, travel routines and morning prep.

None of these brands depend on motivation alone, they design themselves into existing habits.

System brands in 2026 tend to deliver:
- Stronger repeat
- More stable rate of sale
- Better defence during retailer range reviews
- Less reliance on constant marketing spikes.

Once a product becomes part of someone's routine, and even better becomes part of their daily lifeline, it becomes hard to remove.

This is one of the patterns inside our 2026 Consumer Trends Report built from 62 million live data points across social conversations, search behaviour and AI chatbot questions.

If you run a brand, a useful question this month:
👉  Where can our product become part of a routine, not a motivation purchase?

Because the brands that win the next cycle will be designed into people's systems.

Comment DRIVE or DM me DRIVE and I will send you the full 2026 trends report via Google Drive.

#fmcg #consumerinsights #commercialstrategy #consumerbehaviours

Consumers are creating their own seasonal calendars.
It's not just about Christmas anymore.

People are celebrating the transitions between seasons and they are turning them into small rituals they repeat every year.

In a recent conversation with Rachel Auty, we were talking about how people are starting to celebrate the transitions between seasons in a much more intentional way and how that is creating real commercial opportunities for brands.

One thing we keep seeing in the data is what I call monetising baskets and buckets.

Consumers are building seasonal baskets around moments in the year.

You might have heard of things like:
🎃 Boo baskets for Halloween
❄️ Burr baskets for winter
☀️ Sunshine baskets for summer

These baskets mix lifestyle items with products.

A burr basket might include fluffy socks, blankets and a hot chocolate sachet.

 A boo basket might include a pumpkin decoration and sweets.

 A sunshine basket might include sunglasses, SPF and hydration sachets.

The important question for brands is simple:
Where does your product belong?

Because if your product naturally fits into one of these seasonal baskets, that becomes your moment to show up in culture.

These rituals are not one off trends.

People are repeating them every year, and it goes further than baskets.

Consumers are also creating seasonal bucket lists.

In winter it might be:
❄️ Ice skating
🍏 Making apple crumble
🔦 Building a blanket den

Small, affordable rituals people look forward to each year, and every ritual has products attached to it.

Just like Christmas decorations get stored away and brought back every year, people are starting to invest in the seasons themselves.

The opportunity for FMCG brands is not just to sell a product.
It is to understand which seasonal ritual your product belongs in.

#fmcg #fmcgmarketing #consumerinsights

Most brands are still trying to stand out.
2026 will reward brands that elevate the everyday.

It's not just about what your product does.
It is about how the moment feels. 

I have been recording a short series with Rachel Auty, Product Development Consultant, and this came through strongly in our conversation around the Romanticising trend. ❤️ 

The opportunity is creating a space, a mood, a state. Not just a function. 

Consider if your product delivers Atmospheric Resetting i.e. transitioning someones from stressed to calm, from scattered to focused, from flat to reset through sensory moments. 

Think layered scents while doing laundry.
Or Bathscaping turning an ordinary bathroom into a reset space.

Commercially, this is where it get interesting:

- You move from functional to experiential, which supports premium

- You build repeat because the product becomes part of a ritual

- You open up new conversations with retailers beyond just performance claims

What you could do with this:

1. Take one everyday usage moment for your product and ask, how should this feel, not just what should it do.

2. Add one sensory or atmospheric reset cue into your comms, visual, language or sound, that reinforces that state.

If you want the full breakdown of this shift and the rest of our 2026 Trends report built from 62 million live consumer data points, comment or DM DRIVE and I will send you the Google Drive link.

#fmcg #consumerinsights #categorymanagement

If your wellness range still says relax and unwind, you are behind.
Calm is turning into a category, not a claim 🧠

The money is moving, from niche wellness to mainstream grocery baskets.

One of the clearest shifts in our 2026 trends report is called the Nervous System project.

Nervous system language is moving mainstream.

We are seeing a +152% increase in TikTok mentions tied to nervous system queries like:
• Somatic Regulation
• Glimmer Hunting
• Somatic Rituals

That is not creators talking to creators. That is consumers reframing stress through a regulation lens.

Brands are already following the behaviour.

Look at how Moon Juice has evolved its magnesium blends from generic calm into nervous system support language.

Look at OLLY pushing stress and mood gummies into daily emotional balance rituals, not one off fixes.

Look at Kin Euphorics building entire RTD ranges around regulating states, not boosting energy.

Different price points. Same direction.

This is about shrinking the gap between feeling overwhelmed and feeling steady.

Instead of promising a future transformation, brands are being rewarded for delivering small repeatable regulation cues today.

From 62 million live data points across social conversations, search behaviour and AI chatbot questions, we are seeing consumers crave:
• Language that mirrors how they speak online
• Rituals they can repeat daily without thinking
• Signals of safety and steadiness, not just performance
• Products that sit inside a regulation routine, not a panic purchase

Commercially, this is not soft.

If your range only talks about stress relief, you risk:
• Slower repeat because the benefit feels vague
• Lower conversion because shoppers cannot see where it fits in their day
• Delist risk as buyers back SKUs that map to clear need states

Retailers are not looking for more calming SKUs.
They are looking for products that earn their space by owning a moment.

- Commute wind down.
- Mid afternoon wobble.
- Pre sleep scroll.

You need to define the regulation moment your SKU owns.

Brands that build around nervous system routines create:
• Higher repeat through habit loops
• Stronger emotional loyalty because the brand becomes a coping tool
• More compelling range review conversations grounded in behaviour not flavour churn 📈

Three things you could do this month:
1. Audit your top 10 SKUs. Can each one clearly articulate the regulation moment it owns
2. Test nervous system or regulation language in one paid ad and measure the CTR versus your standard stress copy
3. Add one visible ritual cue on pack or PDP that tells shoppers when and how to use it 🌿

The full 2026 Consumer Trends report is built from 62 million data points pulled from live consumer behaviour, with 12 key trends in 2026 and infographics like this one.

If you want the Google Drive link with the full report, comment or DM DRIVE and I will send it across 🚀

#FMCG #CPG #ConsumerInsights #CategoryManagement

Your biggest competitor might be the colour beige.
If your packaging screams, it might be quietly pushing people 
to decant it, hide it, or switch, which hurts repeat. 

Standing out on shelf does not automatically mean it earns a spot on the counter.

If your packaging clashes with the aesthetic of where it lives, it becomes easier to forget, easier to replace, and harder to rebuy.

That is the commercial reality behind this trend:
Display Neutrality

Muted tones, soft beiges, simple forms and shelves that look curated, almost design led. Packs that blend into the room rather than shout from it.

Consumers are now shopping for how a product will look in:
- Open shelving
- Bathroom counters
- Kitchen worktops
- Gym bags
- Desk setups

The behavioural cue is subtle but powerful.

People are choosing products that make their spaces feel calmer and more intentional. 🧼

They are removing loud colours, decanting products, and choosing beige over bold.

This insight comes from our 2026 Consumer Trends report built form 62 million data points pulled from live social conversations and search behaviour.

If your product fights the room, you will lose penetration, and repeat gets harder. 🛒

What you can do this month:

1. Audit your pack against a neutral setting of a room you know your product might be displayed in. Does it blend, or disrupt and can you see when you're running out?

2. Mock up a softer colour variant and test responses with your social communities.

Want to see the full 2026 consumer trends report, comment or DM DRIVE and I will send it to you. 

#FMCG #CPG #CategoryManagement #BrandStrategy

Are social trends quietly shaping your rate of sale?
Here's 7 trends -> drivers you shouldn't ignore.

Most brands still treat social media trends as noise. 
They're not, they are shaping what consumers buy in 2026.

They're changing what goes in baskets, and how often people come back. 

Here are 7 you shouldn't ignore if you're in FMCG:

1. Lazy Dinners
'No effort' has become a reward not a compromise.
Ready meals, jar sauces and one-pan formats are driving +15-25% ROS.
If your product needs prep, and it's not a low effort mission, you might be losing out.

2. Beverage Goblin
Fridges are now status symbols.
Shoppers are buying variety, not loyalty -> 20% more drinks per trip.
Multipacks and bundles win.

3. Dump Bags
Frozen + sauce + bag = done.
This started as content, now it's evolutionary behaviour.

4. Fruit-core
Bright, juicy, hyper-fruity = sharable.
RTDs and seltzers seeing 18% trial for social driven NPD uplift.

5. Sober Curious 
A structural shift for a longer night out with no hangovers.
Low/no alcohol up +32-85% YOY
If you don't consider the balance, someone else takes the shelf.

6. Loaded Water
Hydration is the new functional drink.
Electrolytes, adaptogens 'better for you' cues -> 25% growth.
This is fizzy drink's replacement cycle happening.

7. Whipped Instants
Short-lived trend, long term behaviour shift.
Textures (whipped, airy, creamy) now trigger impulse.

Your rate of sale isn't just about price, placement or promo anymore. 
It's about whether your product fits into how people are living right now.

How many did you know?

Did you know they all started on social media by consumers?

#consumerinsights #categorymanagement #fmcg

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The Battle

⚡️Jake Pryszlak

Tina T.

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Tina T.'s LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreTina T.'s LinkedIn Performance