McKinsey: AI as an engine that funds growth in the CPG sector

By McKinsey & Company (Danielle Bozarth, global leader of the Consumer Packaged Goods practice) · Fri, 23 Oct 2026.

The email introduces a new episode of The McKinsey Podcast titled “Focus, scale, fund: The AI playbook CPG leaders are missing.”

According to the text, for decades food and beverage companies could rely on population growth and geographic expansion to deliver results. The email says that engine has run out and that investors have punished the sector: the industry has reportedly lost nearly $1 trillion in enterprise value.

In the episode, senior partners Duncan Miller and Frank Sänger speak with editorial director Roberta Fusaro. According to the email, they cover what lies behind the sector's steep drop in valuation, why the industry's old competitive moat (scale and brand loyalty) no longer holds, and why CPG leaders should see AI not just as a cost-cutting tool but as the engine that funds growth itself.

The email notes that the full interview is available on The McKinsey Podcast playlist on McKinsey's YouTube channel, and that the podcast can be followed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube, with new episodes every week.

The newsletter also lists other recent episodes, without further detail: “Place, purpose, and the path to economic mobility,” “The playbook for seeing around geopolitical corners,” “Democratized superintelligence is coming: The world needs to get ready” and “Why transformations stall—and where only CEOs make the difference.”

For industry context, this kind of message fits the trend of consulting firms presenting AI as a lever for value creation rather than just efficiency. However, the body of the email offers no further figures, cases or details about the episode's content, so this summary is limited to what was announced.