VIDÉO À LA DEMANDE
Joint Value Creation with Retailers — Myth or Reality?
How to Drive True Collaboration With Your Retailers— and Beyond (FMCG)
Every JBP deck promises it. But how often does joint value creation actually deliver something that wouldn't have existed without the collaboration? Three FMCG commercial leaders — from Twinings, Inspired Pet Nutrition, and The Compleat Food Group — joined facilitator Julian Davies for an honest conversation about where it works, where it doesn't, and what it actually takes to make it real.
Points clés :
- The litmus test is incrementality — if the value would have existed anyway, it isn't truly joint; it's cash flow moving between P&Ls with a JBP label on top
- Data gets you to the table, relationships keep you there — one panellist secured millions in incremental margin by continuing to back a retailer others had written off, a decision no spreadsheet would have recommended
- The best collaborations start with a shared definition of success — brands that define clear KPIs before activity launches, not after, have fundamentally different conversations with their retail partners than those reacting to results
- Joint value creation lives beyond the buyer relationship — the most productive partnerships pull in category, supply chain, and shopper teams on both sides, moving the conversation well beyond the traditional commercial negotiation
"Once you understand what [the retailers] want to do, you approach things differently. It's about understanding those KPIs."
Presentation Highlights
The panel opened with an honest framing: joint value creation sits somewhere between aspiration and reality. Tino opened by sharing his view that true joint value creation requires collaboration to unlock and deliver incremental value for the shopper. Unless the output is incremental and benefits all, it isn’t sustainable joint value creation.In fact, he claimed that JBPs just result in money redistribution between P&Ls.
Dymtro added the importance of long-term view and that ultimately it needs to positively influence the shopper and the category. Craig added the importance of relationship management and strategic long term customer management perspective. He shared that by continuing to invest in a specific retailer while competitors divested, Inspired Pet Nutrition secured significant incremental space in every store — worth £ millions in incremental margin — that a purely data-driven customer prioritisation model would have missed.
Supply chain integration and collaboration was one example of success, reducing stock holding and driving on shelf availability and reducing waste. On promotions that actually work for both sides: Craig’s team has secured gondola ends at full price for one of their leading brands, demonstrating that a strong brand drives category value without a discount mechanic. Tino described a cross-brand occasion based promotional activity at another leading retailer — linking five brands that delivered 16x uplift, recruited 40% more shoppers, and attracted a younger demographic that had been specifically targeted by the retailer. The pre-condition in both cases was defining clear success criteria upfront, not just financial hurdle rates.
On metrics, Craig described a balanced scorecard — 50% financial, 20% EPOS volume, 30% shopper metrics — that enables a more substantive retailer conversation than margin percentage alone. Dmytro raised the lense of using promotions to recruit and not just reward. He also highlighted the break though value of understanding feature versus shelf promotion analysis using proper data and how being transparent with retailers opened up collaborative conversation.
Looking ahead, the panel saw a shift towards fewer, bigger, more strategic bets, grounded in clearer science and objective benchmarks rather than gut feel. They talked about a focus on creating new value through category growth rather than shifting margin. They also shared a desire for a stronger control of range, price architecture and everyday value to reduce promo dependency. Above all, they talked about pursuing deeper trust‑based retailer relationships supported by better data and emerging AI tools, enabling manufacturers and retailers to invest confidently and collaboratively for long‑term shopper and category benefit.
Registration Is Open for the Revenue Growth Management Summit in London in November 2026
If you enjoyed this session, we’ll be sharing more expert insights and content at our next FMCG Revenue Growth Management Summit in London on the 12th of November. Click here to register.
