The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) is calling on retailers and suppliers to move beyond category management and focus on leading categories to shape demand, warning that current practices are not fit for delivering sustainable growth.
IGD’s new 2030 Blueprint for Category Success framework, which it developed in collaboration with 11 leading grocery suppliers, defines category leadership as “prioritising changing shopper behaviour, strengthening long‑term category health, and driving value creation.”
In contrast, IGD argues, organisations tend to be set up for short‑term optimisation by managing performance, space or range efficiency, which limits growth potential at a time when many categories have flat or declining volumes.
Lucy Whittaker, head of consulting, said: “Category management has delivered consistency and control, but growth requires category leadership. That means setting a clear direction for the category and prioritising insight, innovation and collaboration over more executional work.”
A central finding in the new research is a mismatch between category teams’ priorities for the future, capabilities and where they devote their time. Based on a survey of 300 professionals, the IGD found teams typically spend the most time in areas where they already feel capable, even when those activities are declining in future importance.
Activities expected to be critical through to 2030 are often those where capability is weakest and time investment remains limited, it added. These include “insight‑led innovation, long‑term category vision development, strategic retailer and supplier collaboration, omnichannel integration and future‑focused planning,” it said.
The IGD’s Future of Category Leadership 2026 event, which takes place on 23 June in London, will bring together retail and supplier leaders to explore category leadership in practice.
Further details and tickets are available here.
No comments yet