FMCG Brands Share Strategies to Drive Profitability on Amazon
At the recent Amazon Sellers Summit, leading FMCG brands including Reckitt, Unilever, Zesty Paws, and Frasers Group revealed the strategies powering profitable growth in the highly competitive Amazon marketplace. With Amazon’s global retail sales expected to exceed $800 billion this year, mastering platform-specific tactics has become critical for CPG and health & beauty brands seeking to scale efficiently.
The Retail Media Balancing Act
For Reckitt, which leverages Amazon in over 30 markets, the key lies in a data-driven retail media strategy. Carolyn Crean, Global Amazon Director for Reckitt, emphasized the need to balance investment across the sales funnel. Reckitt uses Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) to better understand attribution and investment impact—from awareness building to conversion. This holistic approach helps optimize everything from demand forecasting to media mix modeling.
Harnessing the Power of Data
Zesty Paws, a pet supplement brand under H&H Group, shared similar sentiments. With Amazon accounting for over 80% of its US business, Zesty Paws relies heavily on AMC insights to fine-tune its advertising spend. The brand saw a 30% increase in return on ad spend (ROAS) by customizing media at each stage of the funnel and integrating search trends into innovation pipelines.
Optimizing Operations and Margins
Beyond media, supply chain efficiency remains critical. Frasers Group, which owns Sports Direct and other prominent UK brands, highlighted improvements in forecasting accuracy and listing optimization. Tom Cornwell, Group Amazon Strategy Lead, noted that implementing a third-party Amazon operations platform helped Frasers reduce stockouts and gain more control over inventory, pricing, and content.
Building Brands Within Amazon’s Ecosystem
Unilever’s Director of Global Amazon & Pureplay, Sabrina Bosco, emphasized Amazon as not just a sales channel but also a brand-building platform. Unilever invests in tailored content assets like Brand Stores and uses first-party data for deeper customer segmentation, allowing for more relevant messaging across touchpoints.
Key Takeaway for FMCG Players
The recurring theme among speakers was the necessity of treating Amazon as a strategic growth partner rather than just a transactional platform. From media efficiency to operational agility