When consumer expectations shift as quickly as digital trends, operationalizing a consumer-centric strategy is one of the most pressing challenges for global brands.

Michael Boswell, vice president of customer experience at Breakthru Beverage Group, Ariel Dalton, SVP of commercial at Danone North America, and Nicole Vinson, VP of global marketing excellence at Kellanova, recently explored how companies are redesigning legacy structures and creating new operating models to drive growth anchored in consumer experience, agility and connectivity.

Turning Consumer Data Into Commercial Precision

For Boswell, consumer data is the centerpiece of a modern operating model. At Breakthru Beverage, his teams are transforming how products reach the shelf by using consumer data to determine where and how to expand distribution.

“We used to blanket the market with every new product,” Boswell said during the panel discussion at *CGT’*s Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing Tech Summit, held Oct 28-29. “Now, we use data to identify where the consumer already is, and we are mindful of what they want, where they are, where and how they shop, and making sure their experience is better with the right product at the right place and at the right time.”

This data-driven approach ensures that every sales rep walks into a store knowing which products are underperforming or over-indexing based on local consumer behavior.

Embedding Consumer Insight Across Every Function

Dalton shared how Danone is embedding consumer insight throughout its commercial ecosystem, from product innovation to digital engagement.

“We are putting the consumer at the center of every commercial decision we make, so anything from category strategy to in-store execution. It’s a behavior we expect across all functions,” she said. Using proprietary frameworks, her teams align category, shopper and digital strategies around shared KPIs.The goal is cross-functional visibility that allows every stakeholder to anticipate and meet consumer needs.

Dalton also emphasized that success depends on connectivity.

“When your internal systems are connected and your external partnerships are aligned, the consumer wins,” she said.

Also from CGSM: How Southern Glazer’s bridges the BevAlc data gap

Breaking Down Silos to Allow for Agility

For Kellanova’s Vinson, agility starts with dismantling silos. Her team has implemented “full-funnel marketing leads” within each brand and category to ensure end-to-end accountability for consumer engagement.

“We operate like a SWAT team,” Vinson explained. “Cross-functional pods that can rapidly solve problems alongside IT and data analytics partners.”

The company also uses a 70-20-10 budgeting model to preserve “flex dollars” for quick-turn opportunities to support experimentation without jeopardizing core goals.