Integrating Impact: Learnings from Analytics Unite 2025

Elevating Value Creation in CPG Through Consumer and Customer Data Analytics Strategies

Bhaumik Sharma, North America CDTO at Haleon, shared how the company is using data to tackle a key business challenge: Of 1.4 billion Haleon consumers worldwide, 59% have only used one brand in the past year. As a result, Haleon focused on transforming its data infrastructure and decision-making processes to improve cross-brand engagement.

A major hurdle, Sharma noted, was data quality — a common issue in organizations with complex histories of mergers and acquisitions. 

“How do you bring in different data sources so that it’s in one place, unstructured and available for the right decisions and insights for the people who are really in charge?” asked Sharma. 

Haleon consolidated various data sources — including POS and inventory data, ERP systems, influencer engagement and market research — to create data hubs focused on a single area, such as customer, consumer and marketing.

Sharma highlighted a joint initiative with a retailer that involved sharing comprehensive data across functions, with Haleon providing supply chain forecasts and demand plans, while the retailer contributed transactional, inventory, shopper behavior and advertising insights. The companies then worked off a shared KPI dashboard that could support operations, supply chain, e-commerce and marketing processes.

This collaboration led to measurable improvements: Haleon moved from being the retailer’s No. 4 supplier in 2022 to No. 2, and the company reduced its promotional inefficiencies.

“It has also helped us in our supply chain,” said Sharma. “From procurement of raw materials to packaging … we are able to plan it better because we know months in advance what the customer is looking for.”

Scaling an AI Program for Maximum Business Impact

Kraft Heinz’s head of decision intelligence, Pat Nestor, shared how the CPG giant is evolving its AI strategy by treating AI initiatives like product development, with clear life cycles, value targets and governance. “[It’s] an ingredient that enhances a broader business application or use case,” rather than a means to an end, Nestor said during the session presented by Snowflake. 

When it comes to Kraft Heinz’s portfolio priorities and product development, the company shifted from a relatively unbalanced innovation “tunnel” to a flexible “funnel” that encourages high-volume ideation and faster experimentation, ensuring only the most viable concepts scale.

A success story was the launch of “KHAI,” Kraft Heinz’s enterprise-wide generative AI tool and internal assistant designed to prevent “chatbot chaos.” Nestor explained that the platform offers a single, intuitive entry point for Gen AI, streamlining internal adoption and improving employee productivity.

The session also highlighted Kraft Heinz’s AI-driven digital twin ecosystem in manufacturing — optimizing plant-level throughput, yield and waste — and the use of computer vision for real-time supply chain management and quality control. 

Critical to this success is a rigorous governance structure that includes a cross-functional AI Data and Ethics Council, business-aligned KPIs and ongoing upskilling initiatives, Nestor said. He also emphasized the importance of starting small and delivering early wins to gain executive support and reinvestment momentum.

Retail Data, Recalibrated: Getting Closer to the Truth on Shelf

In an era of skyrocketing data consumption and intensifying execution challenges, Trax and Haleon teamed up to tackle one of retail’s most persistent problems: out-of-stocks. Trax’s Matt Greene, VP of enterprise sales and account management, outlined how decades of disruption — from e-commerce to COVID-19 — have exposed systemic issues in retail execution, including poor display compliance, mispriced promotions and inaccurate on-shelf availability (OSA). Notably, Greene cited that roughly 30% of the time, products aren’t available when shoppers expect them to be.

The session highlighted a partnership aimed at identifying and fixing root causes of OSA failures and challenges. The program combined crowdsourced in-store data with real-time image recognition and flexible merchandising services. Haleon selected five high-priority SKUs (e.g., Advil), monitored across thousands of store visits. The findings confirmed widespread OSA issues and enabled targeted interactions in the stores, creating data points for Haleon. 

Becky Church, shopper and category insights manager at Haleon, shared results from the test, noting that nearly all store visits showed at least one of the core SKUs were out of stock, and that conditions like “phantom inventory” and locked cases were limiting product access. She said the pilot program drove measurable improvements in inventory accuracy, category share and out-of-stock rates. Church emphasized that persistence and data transparency — especially with supply chain partners — were key to unlocking results and retailer alignment.

How Schnucks Is Optimizing Data for Real-Team Reactions and Proactive Planning

As many retailers and CPGs can attest, there’s no shortage of data in today’s operating environment. The sheer volume of information can actually cloud what needs to be done to lift sales, boost loyalty and gain efficiencies.

According to a trio of panelists, retailers and brands can tap into data-driven market transparency to react in real time. 

“Things are being won at the local level,” pointed out Brad La Rock, SVP of marketing at Datasembly.

Taylor Espinosa, Datasembly’s director of products, said that bringing structure and organization to data through hierarchical analytics platforms can help stakeholders achieve that goal. 

“This helps you separate out the signal from the noise and figure out exactly what’s happening in your category and competitive categories as well,” she explained.

Scott Kaverman, senior director, strategic pricing at Schnuck Markets, shared how such capabilities are transforming decision making. 

“The data has allowed us to be hyper-local and react in real time,” said Kaverman. “Today, we take in over hundreds of millions of records on a weekly basis that help us delve into creating some of that strategy and driving it to provide competitive offerings to the customer.”

Insights gleaned across the regional grocer’s tech deployments have helped Schnucks get ahead of trends in store brands, track commodity pricing, optimize ad spends with CPG partners and curate pricing campaigns. 

“Having this level of data transparency helps us look at different pockets of where we can invest deeply to drive that incremental shop, grab larger portions of the basket and also level back a bit and make sure we understand price elasticity of demand and response,” Kaverman said.

Leading Data-Driven Transformations: Empowering Organizations for Strategic Decision-Making 

A panel of experts discussed the significance of aligning data-driven initiatives with business goals to navigate AI/data complexities. Andy Walter, a strategic advisor and retired executive from Procter & Gamble, highlighted the necessity of bridging the communication gap within organizations to ensure that senior leadership understands technological advancements, likening the current AI-driven transformation to previous revolutionary changes in technology.

Loretta Franks, VP, chief data and analytics officer, discussed Kellanova’s strategic evolution following its separation from The Kellogg Company, underscoring the importance of a unified organizational purpose to foster resilience amid change. She advocated for prioritizing foundational work while balancing the speed of delivering value to ensure sustainable growth.

Priya McCarthy, CIO of Ferrara, shared the challenges faced by the confectionary company as it aims to establish itself and grow in a competitive market, underscoring the need for clear data foundations. She emphasized the value of asking the right questions and advocating for a dual-focus strategy that considers foundational systems while exploring innovative technologies, as well as getting senior leadership on board.

Eric-Francis Chen, chief digital information officer, North America personal care and SVP of North America digital and technology at Unilever, echoed the importance of educating senior leadership and getting them to “fall in love with AI.” He also elaborated on the need for collaboration with partners and retailers, emphasizing that successful data strategies involve listening to and addressing the goals of stakeholders.

The panel concluded with reflections on their careers, where they shared lessons learned, including the importance of taking risks and fostering a culture of inquiry. They collectively highlighted the significance of intellectual curiosity and adaptability.