What is FMCG All About?

FMCG: Fast Moving Consumer Goods

So called because they are used/consumed/replaced within a short time of purchase, this can vary between an hour, a day, a week, a month, right up to a year. This is the world of FMCG, speed, adaptability, efficiency and scale.

The FMCG industry is truly vast. There are thousands of different roles and skills required and the opportunities range from marketing, sales, retail, management… the list goes on. The FMCG industry is considered one of the most lucrative industries to get involved in both in the long and short term. Of course, FMCG companies have to work very differently depending on whether their aims are short or long term, but there are opportunities with both.

Competition in the industry has certainly increased. This is partly due to an increase in the rate of globalisation: companies are now forced to compete internationally as well as locally (the increasing oil prices however are making it easier for firms to take advantage of lower prices at local levels). India for example is one of the fastest growing FMCG industries in the whole world: the amount of available factors of production keeps costs low and profits (relatively) high. This has certainly had an impact domestically as British FMCG industries try to beat the rising tide.

In many countries the FMCG industry comprises up to 10% of GDP: New Zealand, India, etc are good examples of countries heavily dependent on the FMCG industry. The growth in the industry is also possible to track through investment in it, which has increased greatly over the last 10-15 years.

In a time when unemployment is rising and job opportunities are diminishing, the FMCG industry is an important one: FMCG creates a huge amount of job opportunities, many of which involve widely available transferrable skills rather than niche skill sets: another reason that FMCG is essential and useful in an economy.

Some examples of FMCG include: food and drink, papers and magazines, medicines and pharmaceuticals, everyday electrical goods, cleaning and household products, etc.

There are a number of areas of the FMCG industry I could have talked about – it’s a vast and interesting industry. I hope I’ve given a sufficient overview to encourage some interest and further research in the industry. It’s often an industry which is overlooked because in reality it’s the umbrella term for a number of smaller industries. The most commonly encountered firms are those of retail, marketing and delivery but there is certainly much more to it than that.