The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, also called the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector, is one of the largest industries worldwide. FMCGs are generally cheap products that have a short shelf life, and are purchased by consumers on a regular basis. Profit margins on these products are usually low for retailers, who try to offset this by selling large volumes. Some of the most well-known FMCG companies in the world include Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, and Johnson & Johnson. The FMCG sector comprises a large variety of products, with some of the most important categories being food, beverages, personal care products, and home care products. Within categories, FMCG products are often near-identical, and for this reason price competition between retailers can be intense. To boost profitability, companies use marketing and other techniques to establish loyalty to the product, which enables them to charge higher prices. Another important characteristic of the FMCG sector is that it generally does well in an economic downturn, with consumers rather cutting back on luxury products.

The FMCG sector in Africa has significant scope to expand. Poverty levels in especially sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are still quite high, with food and other necessities dominating consumer budgets. For this reason, the food sub-sector of FMCG has a very large market to cater for, while penetration rates in the other categories still have significant room to expand.

KPMG’s recent 2014 Fast-Moving Consumer Goods sector report analyses the key drivers of the performance of the FMCG sector. The report also presents the current state of the industry in Africa and the long term growth outlook. Finally, the report identifies the African countries with the biggest potential for expansion of their FMCG industries, and examines the structure and outlook for FMCG in these countries.