As brands adapt to rising costs, retailer pressure, and changing consumer behavior, revenue growth management (RGM) is being redefined. It’s no longer just about pricing. Companies are now treating RGM as a strategic capability that links data, insights, supply chain, and commercial planning across the enterprise.

Moderator Rajesh Gupta began the discussion with a fundamental question about the data challenges that CPG organizations face when implementing RGM, specifically regarding accessibility, accuracy, and data availability.

The conversation that followed centered around how organizations are moving beyond price to create sustainable value through smarter data use, innovation, and cross-functional execution.

Ajay Ahuja from Kellanova framed the core challenge as many people falling into the trap of believing more data means better answers. Even in data-rich environments, there’s always a gap between what teams know and what they need. The value lies in identifying the right problem and focusing only on the data that drives actionable outcomes. He emphasized that analytics teams need to resist “boiling the ocean” and instead stay tightly aligned with commercial goals.

This value-based strategy was effective in understanding consumer behavior for Kellanova’s Pringles in the East Asian market. The company used market insight and competitor analysis, paired with elasticity modeling, to redesign the packaging and grow market share. The effort succeeded because RGM, consumer insights, and supply chain worked together from the start, implementing integrated RGM. The case showed how value can be unlocked not just through price, but through integrated execution across the business.

The conversation then shifted to the current shopper landscape, with Rajesh noting that inflation has fundamentally changed consumer behavior. “As shoppers, we buy across channels. Inflation has hit consumers. Pricing alone can’t drive the next phase of growth.” Akshat Pipersenia from Unilever agreed that integration is becoming even more critical as shopper behavior continues to shift. He noted that consumers are visiting more stores but spending less per trip, with many turning to private labels. According to Retail Dive, private label share is climbing in 2025 as inflation drives value-seeking behavior. In response, brands are moving beyond price by innovating across pack sizes, channels, and retailer partnerships.

Akshat shared the example of Unilever’s Wonder Wash, which illustrated this approach of cross-functional RGM. While the product itself was innovative and catered to the consumer need of ‘short cycle wash,’ the rollout was driven by tight coordination across consumer insights, supply chain, and commercial teams and provided room for different pricing strategies. 

Both panelists struck a pragmatic tone when it came to AI. Akshat shared that GenAI is now being evaluated by the value it drives for customers and Unilever’s P&L, with progress in quantitative sciences. Agentic AI, which can deliver proactive alerts and decision prompts, offers promising use cases. Tools like these are already being explored for in-store execution. 

Ajay pointed to the promise of Agentic AI, especially in providing proactive, prescriptive insights directly to users, rather than forcing them through dashboards and drill-downs. However, he cautioned that adoption remains the biggest hurdle—without effective change management and clear incentives, even the most advanced tools risk stalling at the pilot stage.

The panelists agreed that the role of RGM is evolving. It’s no longer about hitting pricing targets, but about enabling the business to grow in a more complex, margin-constrained world. That includes embedding AI where it drives efficiency, building internal processes for cross-functional execution, and keeping commercial decisions grounded in the shopper’s reality. 

This reflects a broader industry shift, as CPG brands move from conceptual GenAI use cases to real, insight-led transformation. A recent Forbes article notes that leading brands are increasingly using AI to deliver consumer-driven innovation and campaign personalization at scale.

The takeaway: RGM today is less about pulling price levers, and more about orchestrating strategy across teams to deliver growth that sticks.