The consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry is an enormous one. It’s projected to make about $721.8 billion in sales in 2020 (registration required). It also varies widely, encompassing everything from packaged fruit and nut bars to feminine hygiene products.

As you might imagine, with those kinds of sales, it’s an incredibly crowded marketplace. No matter whether your company is just entering the CPG market or is a long-standing supplier in the CPG market, it’s important to use these growth strategies to stay relevant.

Be In Many Channels

You can’t win in the CPG market if you aren’t operating an omnichannel strategy.

What do I mean by omnichannel? I mean you need to sell your products in physical stores (grocers, big box retailers), large e-tailers like Amazon and on your company’s website. Even as early as 2012, there were signs that selling online was going to have a huge impact on the success of CPG companies. For example, 64% of consumers purchased packaged food through a large e-tailer while 27% and 9% purchased through click & brick stores (e.g., Target) and the manufacturers’ sites.

With so many options available to consumers, especially when it comes to shopping for staples, you can’t afford to only be in one channel. You’ll only capture a small portion of your potential audience. In brick and mortar stores, you’ll capture traditional shoppers who prefer to physically pick out their grocery items each week. Online, you’ll capture the growing population of shoppers who want to order all their staples online through services like Amazon Prime Pantry. Prime Pantry had particularly strong growth last year, especially in the CPG category.

The best way to optimize your omnichannel strategy is to collect or purchase data about your consumers. The data should reveal how often buyers make a purchase, where and from how many channels they’re making their purchases, and what types of CPG goods they’re purchasing from each channel. To add context, you’ll want demographic information about how old your target markets are and how likely they are to opt for online shopping versus brick and mortar shopping.