Last week’s 2025 Digital Food & Beverage Summit gathered some of the most innovative minds in CPG, retail, tech, and digital commerce. The message was clear: The old playbook is obsolete. From manufactured virality to smart barcodes, the future is agile, AI-powered, more transparent, and deeply connected to cultural and consumer shifts.
Here are 10 insights from the event shaping the next chapter for food and beverage brands.
- Food and beverage brands are at an inflection point.
Nearly 700 US companies filed for bankruptcy last year, the most since 2010, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. We are not returning to “normal.” As we say at Kantar, this is a “business not as usual” era. Brands that embrace digital, data, and AI are pulling ahead, outpacing legacy competitors and responding more effectively to pressure from store brands and agile insurgents.
- Splintering social media preferences represent a growth opportunity.
Bazaarvoice revealed a generational split: Boomers value peer reviews and star ratings, while Gen Zers prefer visual storytelling that feels raw, emotional, and real. Winning brands are customizing digital experiences to meet these diverging expectations.
- Gen Z buys from creators, not just brands.
Nearly 60% of Gen Z shoppers say they have purchased a product primarily because a creator recommended it. This behavior is fueling a new era of brand building, often led by startups fluent in the creator economy while legacy players lag behind.
- Data is the engine of modern growth.
Vaimo’s Henry Burr and Liminal Brands’ Sean Wachsman highlighted Subaru’s transformation. By unifying siloed data into a single source of truth, the company is breaking sales records and accelerating innovation. Beyond being just a tool, data is your most honest truth teller.
- Manufactured virality is on the rise.
Pepper founder Jake Aronskind explained how challenger brands engineer viral moments. These brands mobilize thousands of creators to produce content that feels organic but is highly orchestrated and scaling social buzz at lightning speed.
- Smart barcodes are resetting the digital shelf.
GS1’s Digital Link-enabled 2D barcodes are set to replace UPCs by 2027. These intelligent codes enable real-time inventory tracking, allergen info, sustainability claims, and shopper personalization, transforming the shelf into a connected digital experience.
- CPGs are scaling retail media, but lagging on the digital shelf.
Retail media spending is surging, yet many CPGs underperform on digital shelf basics. Content health scores remain at 75%-85%, with share of search often under 20%. Alcohol brands, for instance, achieve only 35% enhanced content penetration, highlighting a gap between spend and execution.
- Giant Food gamifies healthier eating with loyalty innovation.
Giant Food’s “More Good Stuff” gamified loyalty program rewards nutritious choices. With 79% of shoppers seeking healthier products, this program blends personalization, behavioral economics, and purpose-driven value, all through data.
- Winning brands do more than show up; they stand out.
Stephanie Wright of BrandFuel emphasized that forgettable is not profitable. Her Brand Experience Model teaches brands to activate distinctive brand assets, stretch systems across channels, and remain situationally relevant to boost mental availability.
- TikTok Shop is the new launchpad for challenger brands.
Hamid Saify of Lucky Beverage Co. showed how TikTok Shop replaced direct-to-consumer and Amazon as the primary launch channel. With viral traction and subsidized shipping, Lucky Energy earned shelf space at Albertsons. The question for retail partners has shifted from “how is Amazon performing for your brand?” to “how is brand performance on TikTok Shop?”
The 2025 Digital Food & Beverage Summit proved that winning in the CPG space is about speed, data, and storytelling that actually connects. Brands thriving today are rewriting that playbook in real time.
