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Consumer behavior in CPG is shifting faster than most innovation pipelines can keep up. According to McKinsey, 37% of consumers have tried new products in the past quarter, while Market Logic’s, Ipsos,’ and Alchemy-Rx’s Innovation Reignited research reveals that 72% of consumers couldn’t tell private label from branded products, showing that with stronger branding, quality, and design, private label has become direct competition, not just a budget alternative.
But the same report shows that despite this pressure, 75% of innovations fail to meet expectations. It reveals that 74% of new product launches — which are essential for staying ahead of competitors — are still reformulations, not true innovation.
For CPG insights and innovation leaders, the message is clear. Despite having access to more consumer data more than ever, largely thanks to AI, those signals are not translating into breakthrough products.
The challenge is not having enough data. It is what happens with the data and if it can reach the business effectively and fast enough.
Source: Innovation Reignited Report, 2026
When signals don’t convert into innovation
Most CPG organizations are not short on insights. They are overwhelmed by them.
Data sits across systems, teams, and formats. Signals exist, but they are rarely connected. Insight teams spend more time searching and validating than enabling decisions.
The result of data fragmentation in CPG organizations is consistent. Innovation moves slower than the market. Pipelines fill with incremental ideas. Differentiation becomes harder to sustain.
This means that opportunities are rarely missed because they were invisible, rather, they are missed because they were not acted on in time in an industry where speed matters.
At the core of this issue is the insights paradox. The more data organizations collect, the harder it becomes to use it effectively.
AI has improved speed in parts of this process, but speed alone does not solve fragmentation. Most generic AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude process information in isolation, but they do not connect context, sources, and signals into something that drives decisions.
Faster outputs do not automatically lead to better outcomes.
From signal overload to active intelligence
Leading CPG organizations are shifting their focus from insight generation to insight activation. This is where active intelligence comes in.
Active intelligence is a system that transforms insights from static outputs into a continuous capability. It connects historical knowledge with real-time signals to create an evolving understanding of the market.
Powered by agentic AI, it moves beyond answering questions. It continuously monitors, interprets, and surfaces insights at the moment decisions are made.
DeepSights is an award-winning, purpose-built active intelligence solution that helps CPG organizations make sense of the insights paradox. It fills the innovation gap with purpose-built, always-on agents — proactively transforming enterprise knowledge into trusted, decision-ready intelligence.
The result is a clear link between signal and action.
Turning signals into product decisions
The difference becomes clear in the innovation process.
Consider a category experiencing declining engagement. Traditionally, teams would commission new research, analyze trends, and build a case for change over time. But this isn’t enough to catch up with the needs of the business.
With an active intelligence approach, the process accelerates — freeing up CPG Insights and Innovations leaders from operational tasks, and empowering them to become a strategic driver within the organization.
Agentic AI connects existing research with live signals to reveal deeper shifts in consumer needs and behaviors. These signals point directly to opportunity and guide idea generation.
Unlike generic AI, DeepSights was purpose built for CPG companies to continuously analyzes trusted research, maintains full source transparency, builds on past insights, and delivers clear, explainable findings when teams need them most.
Concepts can be tested earlier and faster. Using AI-generated synthetic personas — individually or as a panel — for trends forecasting, teams can explore consumer reactions, refine positioning, and remove weaker ideas before investing budgets in full research.
What once took months can happen in weeks — resulting in time and cost savings. A Forrester research commissioned by Market Logic revealed DeepSights’ specific impacts to business performance and the transformation of insights’ strategic role within enterprises. Across a three-year period, the benefits identified include:
- 411% ROI
- 97% reduction in the time taken to answer insights requests
- 3% revenue growth attributed directly to the use of DeepSights.
- 27% reduction in market research costs
- >50% faster time to insights efficiency
- 50% cost avoidance for legacy IT solutions supporting insights
The real advantage is not only speed. It is confidence, as decisions are grounded in a shared, evidence-based view of the opportunity.
Redefining the role of insights in CPG organization
As this model takes hold, the role of Insights changes.
Instead of reacting to requests and validating decisions late in the process, insights teams become embedded in innovation. They shape decisions in real time.
Insight becomes continuous, connected, and actionable. This shift allows organizations to move faster while maintaining rigor. It also builds confidence across teams and functions.
The shift starts with a more effective link between human and AI collaboration.
AI and human collaboration: A practical path to continuous innovation
Leading CPG companies are already putting this into action, with Fonterra and Mars showing how organizations are turning fragmented signals into innovation impact. What becomes clear is that unlocking the value of active intelligence is not just about technology. It is about creating the right conditions for it to succeed.
Achieving this requires a shift in how insights are embedded across the business. Intelligence must sit closer to decisions. Validation must happen earlier. Knowledge must continuously evolve.
Organizations that make this shift will not just move faster. They will innovate more effectively.
Read on below for an excerpt of Market Logic’s partner Fonterra, and how they were able to empower their organization and speed up innovation.
Case study: From insights overload to competitive advantage — How Fonterra uses agentic AI to accelerate innovation
The challenge
Fonterra had already invested heavily in insights, building its “Insights Farm” with tens of thousands of research assets. But instead of driving innovation, the team became overwhelmed by volume—spending most of their time responding to ad hoc requests rather than proactively generating ideas.
What changed with agentic AI (DeepSights)
By introducing agentic AI, Fonterra shifted from reactive research to always-on intelligence:
- Connected fragmented knowledge by synthesizing existing research with continuously monitored market signals
- Identified new growth opportunities and white spaces across both core dairy and adjacent categories like healthcare
- Accelerated idea validation using synthetic personas, helping teams test concepts early before investing in costly research
The impact
Within months, insights access became self-service across the business—freeing up the Insights team to focus on high-value innovation work.
The result: a transition from a reactive support function to a strategic driver of the innovation pipeline.
Timing’s everything when it comes to ideas. The smarts of AI is making sure we can leverage it to monitor conversations and flag when it’s appropriate to take some of these ideas and consider bringing them back into our innovation pipeline.”
— Tim Opie, GM Global Insights & Innovation Enablement, Fonterra
👉 Want the full breakdown (including implementation details and results)?
Download the complete playbook here:
https://marketlogicsoftware.com/resources/agentic-ai-for-cpg-playbook/
You’ll benefit from:
- Best practices to unlock value from your consumer research using agentic AI
- Learn how to accelerate concept development in CPG
- Get a five-step rollout framework for implementation of active intelligence in your workflows
- Find real-world examples and case studies from CPG leaders
Download the full guide to learn how to turn signals into breakthrough products consistently and at scale.
