4 Metrics to Compare Your Brand with the Category

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Foodbevy

4 Metrics to Compare Your Brand with the Category

August 11, 2023

In the fiercely competitive landscape of the CPG industry, staying ahead of the curve requires a deep understanding of your brand’s performance relative to the rest of the category. To unlock the secrets of success, businesses need to rely on crucial metrics that provide invaluable insights into their market position and growth potential.

In this article, we delve into why $ Sales, Unit Sales, Velocity, and Distribution stand as the most important metrics for comparing your brand with others in the category.

1.$ Sales (Dollar Sales)

refers to the total amount of revenue earned from selling products. It’s a fundamental metric that represents the financial health of a brand. By analyzing $ Sales % Change Year Over Year (YOY), businesses can compare how they’re doing this year compared to the previous year. These metrics are essential in the CPG industry because they provide critical insights into a brand’s performance, growth trajectory, market position, and overall business health. Brands can use this data to identify trends and opportunities, optimize pricing strategies, and ensure they stay competitive and successful in a dynamic and evolving market.

2. Velocity

provides valuable insights into the movement of products from the shelves to consumers’ hands. In simple terms, velocity refers to how quickly products are sold in a specific retail location or across multiple stores over a given period. High velocity indicates strong demand, while low velocity may signal potential issues with the product or marketing strategies. Velocity is crucial for optimizing inventory, understanding product performance, forecasting demand, planning production, and making informed decisions to stay competitive in the market. By closely monitoring velocity, manufacturers and retailers can quickly respond to changing consumer preferences and market dynamics, leading to better sales and profitability.

3. Distribution

refers to how widely available your product is in different retail stores or outlets. It indicates the number of stores where the product is being sold and how easily consumers can find and purchase it. Distribution % change YOY measures the difference in the number of stores where the product is sold this year compared to the same time last year. Monitoring distribution is vital for making strategic decisions about market expansion, sales potential, and competitiveness in a competitive industry. A strong distribution network ensures that the product reaches a wide customer base, increasing the chances of success in the market.

4. Unit Sales

refers to the number of individual products sold over a specific time.Analyzing % change YOY in unit sales allows businesses to compare the unit sales of a product or a group of products in the current year to the same period in previous year(s). This metric is crucial for identifying trends and understanding the factors influencing consumer demand. Brands can use this data to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, product launches, and promotional activities. It also helps businesses gauge the product’s overall performance in the market and assess its popularity among consumers.

Typically, you would expect brand sales and category sales to mirror each other; a rising category lifts all brands, right? But what if those sales do not match up? Or what if there are variances between your brand’s performance at various times of the year?

Byzzer’s Category and Brand Trend Report is a powerful tool that illustrates the relationship between category and brand sales over time. It enables businesses to quickly assess if their brand’s monthly performance is in line with the category. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of week-by-week individual product performance across critical KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). This concise report allows brands to know how they are performing relative to their category, helping them spot potential issues that can affect their market share.

The Category and Brand Trend Report’s primary function is to show how your brand’s sales trend compares to the category. This valuable data allows you to benchmark your brand’s overall performance against the category and discover whether you are keeping pace or falling behind. Furthermore, by examining monthly and weekly deviations in sales, distribution, and market share, businesses can take prompt action to address performance-affecting issues.

What sets the Category and Brand Trend Report apart is that it combines the broad perspective of category trends with the granular insights of week-by-week product KPIs. This at-a-glance “topline” report delivers a wealth of valuable data, allowing businesses to make well-informed decisions and stay competitive in the market.

See an example of the report below for a closer look:

So, what can you do with this data? Because the Category and Brand Trend Report captures weekly product sales, you get an in-depth look at per-week performance compared to a year ago. Although you can expect small variations in weekly sales volumes, larger swings or significant gaps between the category and the brand may indicate something else at work. By delving into this data, businesses can uncover underlying factors influencing sales fluctuations and devise targeted strategies to address them effectively.

In conclusion, in the fiercely competitive CPG industry, staying ahead requires leveraging crucial metrics such as $ Sales, Velocity, Distribution, and Unit Sales to gain insights into brand performance and market position. Byzzer’s Category and Brand Trend Report offers a powerful tool to benchmark performance against the category and spot deviations, enabling businesses to make informed decisions and maintain a competitive edge in the market.

With access to this valuable data, businesses can adapt to changing trends, capitalize on opportunities, and achieve sustained success in a dynamic marketplace. Embracing data-driven decision-making and utilizing comprehensive reports like the Category and Brand Trend Report is essential for brands aiming to thrive in the ever-evolving CPG landscape. NielsenIQ has partnered with Foodbevy to offer all members a complementary Byzzer account with three free data pulls! Click the link below to sign up for your free account.

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