Episode 71: Building bright emerging brands with Buff Greebe
Release Date: 10/03/2024
Episode 100: The Retail Reset - 100 Sound Bites Later
Retail Sound Bites
Retail Sound Bites marks a major milestone with its 100th episode, celebrating four years of conversations at the intersection of retail, CPG, and commerce transformation. Hosts Barry Thomas and Rachel Dalton kick off the episode by reflecting on the journey so far and spotlighting the top 10 most‑listened‑to episodes from the past four years. The episode also features Ted Riedel, President of Kantar’s North American Retail Practice, and James May, EVP of CPG & Hospitality. In a fast‑paced, candid conversation, they explore: · How modern...
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Episode 99: 2026 Food and Beverage Trends with Brian Choi of The Food Institute
Retail Sound Bites
What will value really mean for food and beverage in 2026? On the latest episode of Retail Sound Bites, Barry Thomas and Rachel Dalton sit down with Brian Choi, CEO of The Food Institute, to unpack the forces reshaping the industry, including deeply value‑obsessed consumer to the rise of challenger brands and experience‑led innovation. 🎙️ Key takeaways from the conversation: Consumer confidence remains historically low, forcing brands to clearly justify price through either affordability or unmistakable quality Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and older shoppers are fragmenting demand, making...
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Episode 98: National Retail Federation 2026: Retail's Big Show
Retail Sound Bites
In this episode of Retail Sound Bites, Barry and Rachel are joined by Amar Singh and David Marcotte for a rapid‑fire download on everything we saw, heard, and learned at NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show. From global tech innovation to the rise of agentic commerce, frictionless checkout, robotics, synthetic data, and the power of creators, this episode is packed with the signals shaping the next era of retail. 🎧 Highlights include: • Why data is king and trust is the new currency in AI‑powered retail • Emerging global tech players redefining innovation • RFID’s leap into...
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Episode 97: PoweRanking® 2025 - The Relevance Reset
Retail Sound Bites
In this episode of Retail Sound Bites, Jeff Maloy, vice president of retail, sales, and shopper, and Rohan Mazumdar, vice president of retail consulting, at Kantar, join hosts Rachel Dalton and Barry Thomas in a discussion about this year's PoweRanking® findings. Kantar's PoweRanking® report is the industry's leading assessment of best-in-class manufacturers and retailers. In an annual survey, companies are ranked on a range of factors, from strategic metrics to business fundamentals, capturing input from several key industry leaders. This year's report found that in a year defined by market...
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Episode 96: Activating insights for commercial teams with Anna Estlund
Retail Sound Bites
In this episode of Retail Sound Bites, Rachel Dalton and Anna Estlund, VP of strategy, insights, and analytics at Pernod Ricard, discuss five critical steps to turn insights into real-time activation for commercial teams. They also discuss the blurring boundaries between alcohol and non-alcohol categories, the rise of modern health and moderation trends, premiumization despite economic headwinds, and more. Have a topic you’d like us to cover? Contact us at . Contact Barry: | Contact Rachel: |
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Episode 95: The future of convenience and category management with Bala Gurumoorthy
Retail Sound Bites
In this episode, Rachel Dalton and Barry Thomas sit down with Bala Gurumoorthy, VP of Category Management at Ferrero USA, to discuss the evolving landscape of convenience retail and the future of category management. Together, they uncover fantastic insights from the recent NACS event, Ferrero’s approach to omnichannel strategy, and how category management is transforming from a back-office function to a true growth driver. A few of our favorite insights from Bala: “Category management is evolving from back office to growth architect.” “Don’t just report the news—create the...
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Episode 94: The industry scoop from Shoptalk, Groceryshop, and Velocity
Retail Sound Bites
In this special episode of Retail Sound Bites, we unpack the most compelling themes and takeaways from three powerhouse industry events—Shoptalk, Groceryshop, and Velocity. Hosts Barry Thomas and Rachel Dalton are joined by two of Kantar’s leading voices in shopper intelligence: Leigh O'Donnell, Head of Shopper and Category Insights, and Julie Craig, Vice President of Shopper Insights. Together, they explore how the retail landscape is evolving across formats, cultures, and consumer behaviors. From the lasting impact of GLP-1 medications on grocery shopping habits to the reinvention of the...
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Episode 93: The forces shaping consumer demand with Oksana Sobol of Clorox
Retail Sound Bites
“Smaller households mean different product configurations, different product features, different ways of taking them to market… Even the fact of the aging population emphasizes certain categories and new benefits that these older consumers will desire. So, these forces point to new pockets of opportunity.” In this episode of Retail Sound Bites, we welcome Oksana Sobol, consumer insights lead at Clorox, for a timely discussion on the forces shaping consumer demand. Oksana unpacks how economic volatility, shifting demographics, and evolving attitudes are redefining what and how consumers...
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Episode 92: NeuroAI & The Future of Consumer Choice with Dr. A. K. Pradeep
Retail Sound Bites
What happens when neuroscience meets AI in the world of CPG? We sat down with Dr. Pradeep, CEO of Sensory AI and a pioneer in NeuroAI, to explore how the nonconscious mind and large language models are transforming innovation, marketing, and product development. 🎧 In this episode, you’ll hear: Why “the action is in the nonconscious”—and how uncovering hidden consumer desires leads to breakthrough innovation. How blending neuroscience with GenAI is unlocking new ways to predict, persuade, and create in the CPG space. Why LLMs (like ChatGPT) are more like...
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Episode 91: Unlocking new revenue growth in healthcare with Soda Health
Retail Sound Bites
Personalization, engagement, and “food as medicine” programs are shaping the future of preventive care. This episode features a conversation with Jared Childs and Julie Fleisher from ; a company focused on improving access to preventive healthcare through benefits platforms. Barry Thomas and Rachel Dalton sat down with Jarden and Julie to explore how their innovative platform is transforming healthcare access for millions of Medicare Advantage members. Discover how Soda Health connects brands, retailers, and health plans to empower older consumers with easy-to-use benefits cards for...
info_outlineIn episode 71 of Kantar's Retail Sound Bites, Barry Thomas, senior retail thought leader, and Rachel Dalton, head of retail insights, welcome Buff Greebe, executive director, SKU, to discuss emerging CPG brands, resources founders need to accelerate the growth of their brands, and much more
This episode also features Doug Hermanson, principal economist, who dives into the macroeconomic state of retail.
Have a topic you'd like us to cover? Contact us at Kantar's Retail Sound Bites Podcast.
Barry's contact information:
barry.thomas@kantar.com
Barry's LinkedIn
Rachel's contact information:
rachel.dalton@kantar.com
Rachel's LinkedIn
Harris Teeter launches HT Traders Ready Made Meals line (supermarketnews.com)
Bold Prices. Bold Packaging for PENNY - Interviews (adforum.com)
The autonomous FMCG organization on the horizon (kantarretailiq.com)
https://www.grocerydive.com/news/amazon-fresh-new-stores-grocery-supermarkets/728044/