Fmcg brands aren’t known for moving fast – but when it comes to food trends, speed is everything. There is only a narrow window in which a brand can shape a trend rather than simply follow it, and most arrive just as that window closes.
Take hot honey. The trend peaked between late 2024 and mid-2025, with products like McVitie’s Hot Honey Jaffa Cakes riding the wave. But by the time Kellogg’s launched its hot honey cereal in December, the conversation had moved on. The product may still sell, but if it had launched earlier when the trend was still fresh, its cultural impact could have been so much greater.
This pattern repeats itself time and again, whether it was pumpkin spice, salted caramel, sriracha or the plant-based boom. Brands arrive late, follow rather than lead, and end up just adding noise.
Brands must move faster
Go-to-market complexity usually takes the blame. Recipes need reworking, supply chains need aligning, retailers need convincing. All true. Yet plenty of complex businesses have found ways to move faster. Big beer companies run pilot breweries precisely so they can trial ideas and get them to market fast.
What really holds big fmcg back is risk aversion. When I worked with Mars in the 1990s, everything was researched repeatedly. And while some new products launched and were very successful, many great ideas never saw the light of day. At Cadbury, the approach was totally different. The team were creative, tried things and learnt by launching. Plenty of innovations failed, but plenty soared.
Fmcg doesn’t need to abandon rigour, but it does need to create space for speed. That means keeping an eye on social media, creating a culture of creativity, making fast decisions and embracing rapid research (or none at all). It needs skunkworks teams set up to meet tight deadlines, with success measured against innovation and cultural relevance above everything.
And not every trend needs a new product. When Weetabix tapped into the online obsession with strange food pairings through ‘Beanz on Bix’, it didn’t launch anything new. Instead, it joined the conversation while it was hot and created a national talking point.
That’s the value of being early. Trends are a powerful way to connect, but they don’t wait. They spike, spread and then settle. Miss the moment and there is no second chance.
So keep a close eye on what’s emerging and trending. But more importantly, be ready to act. Move fast, foster that innovation mindset and accept that while some things will fail, others will fly – and they need backing.
Ultimately, it’s about one question: can your brand move when culture does? If not, you’ll only ever catch a trend on the way down.
Simon Massey is co-founder at Neverland
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