https://www.vazen.com/ Insights, newsletters and product news from Vazen. en-gb https://www.vazen.com/resources/what-is-a-retail-data-platform https://www.vazen.com/resources/what-is-a-retail-data-platform Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT What the category does, how it differs from BI and planogram tools, and what to ask when evaluating one. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-august-2026 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-august-2026 Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hello, welcome to our August newsletter, diving into the most interesting things we've spotted from the world of retail and CPG over the last month. https://www.vazen.com/resources/vst-is-now-vazen-the-retail-data-ai-platform https://www.vazen.com/resources/vst-is-now-vazen-the-retail-data-ai-platform Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Same company, same team, same nine years of category evidence. Wider frame. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-july-2026 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-july-2026 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hello, welcome to our July newsletter, diving into the most interesting things we’ve spotted from the world of retail and CPG over the last month. https://www.vazen.com/resources/can-supermarket-shelves-talk-how-vst-won-two-awards-at-iiex-europe-2026 https://www.vazen.com/resources/can-supermarket-shelves-talk-how-vst-won-two-awards-at-iiex-europe-2026 Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Vazen took both the Audience Favourite Award and the Industry Impact Award at the Insight Innovation Competition. https://www.vazen.com/resources/ai-is-ready-to-transform-category-management-the-real-question-is-your-data https://www.vazen.com/resources/ai-is-ready-to-transform-category-management-the-real-question-is-your-data Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT What we told the panel at IGD’s Future of Category Leadership 2026. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-june-2026 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-june-2026 Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hello, welcome to our June newsletter, diving into the most interesting things we’ve spotted from the world of retail and CPG over the last month. https://www.vazen.com/resources/retail-in-2026-the-practical-shifts-leaders-say-matter-most https://www.vazen.com/resources/retail-in-2026-the-practical-shifts-leaders-say-matter-most Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT We asked a group of senior leaders across grocery retail and FMCG one question: what is the biggest, most meaningful shift happening in retail this year, and why does it matter? https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-may-2026 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-may-2026 Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hello, welcome to our May newsletter, diving into the most interesting things we’ve spotted from the world of retail and CPG over the last month. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-april-2026-key-learnings https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-april-2026-key-learnings Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A roundup of our key learnings from April's What's In-Store Event https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-april-2026 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-april-2026 Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hello, welcome to our April newsletter, diving into the most interesting things we’ve spotted from the world of retail and CPG over the last month. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-march-2026 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-march-2026 Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hello, welcome to our March newsletter, diving into the most interesting things we’ve spotted from the world of retail and CPG over the last month. https://www.vazen.com/resources/how-shoppers-make-alcohol-decisions-and-what-it-means-for-cpg-strategy https://www.vazen.com/resources/how-shoppers-make-alcohol-decisions-and-what-it-means-for-cpg-strategy Mon, 02 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Beer, Wine & Spirits is one of the most context-driven categories in grocery. Shoppers rarely enter the aisle thinking in brands or SKUs. They arrive with an occasion, a mood, or a constraint in mind - tonight, the weekend, guests, gifting, unwinding, moderation. https://www.vazen.com/resources/top-5-shelf-execution-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them https://www.vazen.com/resources/top-5-shelf-execution-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT The executional blind spots costing brands sales at the shelf. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-february-2026 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-february-2026 Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hello, welcome to our February newsletter, diving into the most interesting things we’ve spotted from the world of retail and CPG over the last month. https://www.vazen.com/resources/how-shoppers-make-petcare-decisions-and-what-it-means-for-cpg-strategy https://www.vazen.com/resources/how-shoppers-make-petcare-decisions-and-what-it-means-for-cpg-strategy Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Petcare is one of the most purposeful categories in grocery. Shoppers arrive with specific missions - caring for a puppy, managing health concerns, rewarding behaviour, supporting an ageing pet. They navigate with intent, and they expect the aisle to make sense. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-january-2026 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-january-2026 Fri, 02 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stepping into 2026, slowly remembering how to “do work”. January’s here, and with it comes the latest slice of interesting things happening around the world of retail. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-december-2025 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-december-2025 Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT December’s here! And with it, a packed out newsletter featuring some of the interesting things from the world of CPG mostly falling into two camps important on the minds of both shoppers and the wider industry right now - AI and Health. https://www.vazen.com/resources/from-crisis-to-caution-how-shopper-behavior-is-evolving-in-2025 https://www.vazen.com/resources/from-crisis-to-caution-how-shopper-behavior-is-evolving-in-2025 Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT What UK shopper behaviour in 2025 really tells us about value, confidence, and choice. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-november-2025 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-november-2025 Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT If you’re reading this on Monday, Halloween will have been and gone (sadly, given the wealth of excellent in-store displays), and we now canter towards the end-of-year holiday season. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-2025-key-learnings https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-2025-key-learnings Mon, 27 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT A roundup of our key learnings from 2025's What's In-Store Event https://www.vazen.com/resources/vst-partners-with-co-op-to-unlock-planogram-data-for-suppliers https://www.vazen.com/resources/vst-partners-with-co-op-to-unlock-planogram-data-for-suppliers Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT For years, planogram data has existed quietly in the background of grocery retail - essential, operational, but rarely accessible to the people who need it most. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-october-2025 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-october-2025 Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Read on for September’s interesting things including Kraft Heinz’s decoupling, Whiny Baby’s acquisition, more CPG, and a podcast featuring ME (and others). https://www.vazen.com/resources/what-is-shelf-testing-and-why-its-replacing-in-store-trials https://www.vazen.com/resources/what-is-shelf-testing-and-why-its-replacing-in-store-trials Wed, 17 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT From opinion to evidence: testing shelf decisions before they go live. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-september-2025 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-september-2025 Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT A happy Labor Day to those in North America! At the time of writing from the UK, I can say it’s not just the “unofficial end of summer”, as I look out onto another day of rain. Anyway, I’ll be back in Minneapolis and Bentonville for most of September - let me know if you’re around. https://www.vazen.com/resources/the-ai-opportunity-hiding-in-your-planogram-data https://www.vazen.com/resources/the-ai-opportunity-hiding-in-your-planogram-data Tue, 05 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT The hidden cost of ignoring shelf data, and the upside of fixing it. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-august-2025 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-august-2025 Fri, 01 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT I’ve been in Bentonville for most of July having fun and drinking some excellent coffee. Thanks to everyone who took the time to really delve into what’s driving US retail with me. Good to be back in the UK for summer and getting out to some stores. Safe to say that I’m pretty out of touch with the Children’s Health industry. https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-july-2025 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-july-2025 Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Read on for the interesting things happening in retail and CPG last month, including an anti-competitive ingredients purchase, “Fridge Cigarettes”, and the wildest set of Celebrity CPG launches I think we’ve ever featured (warning; do not read with your breakfast). https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-june-2025 https://www.vazen.com/resources/whats-in-store-june-2025 Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT Positives and negatives from the month of May for UK retail. Where we’ve seen positives (hopefully!) in trade deals with the US and the EU that should help ease complexity and cost pressures on the industry, cyber security divisions are on red alert after hackers infiltrated systems at M&S, Co-op, and, Harrods. https://www.vazen.com/resources/vst-is-heading-stateside https://www.vazen.com/resources/vst-is-heading-stateside Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT We've opened our first U.S. office in Bentonville, bringing our shelf-first approach to one of the most important hubs in global retail. https://www.vazen.com/resources/over-half-of-the-uk-label-themselves-concerned-about-the-rise-in-cost-of-living https://www.vazen.com/resources/over-half-of-the-uk-label-themselves-concerned-about-the-rise-in-cost-of-living Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT We’re approaching the worst recession in decades. Following on from a pandemic (or potentially into the next stage of it), supply-chain… https://www.vazen.com/resources/unlock-the-value-of-planogram-data-a-new-frontier-for-retailer-and-cpg-collaboration https://www.vazen.com/resources/unlock-the-value-of-planogram-data-a-new-frontier-for-retailer-and-cpg-collaboration Tue, 04 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT Over the past two decades, the value of shared data at the retailer-CPG interface has been proven time and again. Data-driven retailers… https://www.vazen.com/resources/introducing-planogram-publisher https://www.vazen.com/resources/introducing-planogram-publisher Fri, 01 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT Imagine as a CPG brand if you could zoom into any grocery store and view where your product is and what it’s sat next to. https://www.vazen.com/resources/shopper-behavior-in-inflationary-times-brands-vs-supermarket-private-brand https://www.vazen.com/resources/shopper-behavior-in-inflationary-times-brands-vs-supermarket-private-brand Wed, 23 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT Note: this article is an extract from a workshop by Vazen. If you’d like to book a workshop for your brand or category, please get in touch… https://www.vazen.com/resources/testing-times-6-themes-from-vst-testing-in-2021 https://www.vazen.com/resources/testing-times-6-themes-from-vst-testing-in-2021 Mon, 03 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT Most years are dynamic in CPG strategy, but this year has been one of the busiest. If 2020 was defined by ‘stay at home’ orders and a rush…