As a leading CPG business, Nestlé is always looking to grow its retail presence and audience. This means maintaining an omnichannel approach that engages consumers both online and in-store, whichever way they want to shop.

“We're obsessed with the consumer and we are truly giving that reward to our consumer wherever they're shopping,” said Nicole Lesinski, director of category and ecommerce strategy at Nestlé, in a recent episode of “Behind the Numbers."

To support this approach, the company partnered with rewards company Fetch, to meet new and returning customers where they are.

Retail rewards and insights

Fetch is a single app where shoppers upload receipts to gain access to rewards. It provides shoppers with a flexible alternative to having to deal with each retailer individually to access rewards.

The large number of shoppers who use Fetch, as well as the receipts they upload, provide insights into how better to reach and serve these customers.

Our analyst Arielle Feger said on the episode that Fetch has 12.5 million monthly users and scans 11.5 million receipts per day.

Lesinksi said Nestlé leaned into Fetch's data and tools and saw that one of its health science brands, Vital Proteins, was gaining first-time customers at Costco. She said this was a tremendous insight for her team, which immediately pivoted to targeting Costco customers and accelerating them toward purchasing Vital Proteins and related products.

"We were like, 'Oh my God, the point of market entry is Costco,'" said Lesinski. "Why are we not surgically going after all Costco shoppers to quickly accelerate them into this brand and family?...That data point and insight, we do that across their entire portfolio."

Gains over competitors

Fetch's data from DiGiorno Pizza customers also allowed the Nestlé team to learn more about frozen food consumers.

“What we see is we are actually competing against out-of-home occasions too,” said Lesinski. “So I'm not just competing against my competitor at the shelf that's in the frozen aisle, I'm competing against a quick service restaurant.”

Knowing this, she said the brand can pivot. Instead of comparing it on price or quality against other frozen pizzas, DiGiorno can distinguish itself as an enjoyable experience at home, away from a noisy restaurant.

“We know restaurant occasions are always going to be there and continue to grow, but we're trying to make that moment that matters at home for your family,” Lesinski said. “Or, if you're by yourself, pop a pizza in the oven.”

Full-funnel knowledge

To find new customers and spread awareness at the top of the funnel, Nestlé has launched licensed frozen foods paired with recognized TV names, including Chef Ming Tsai and the hit series "Yellowstone."

“Trial and awareness is a huge issue when you're putting something new on the shelf or on the online digital shelf,” Lesinski said. “And so we really used Fetch to help drive that upper-funnel awareness.”

This doesn’t mean Nestlé isn’t using Fetch for traditional low-funnel rewards engagement.

“Understanding my consumer, and understanding the environment and where they're shopping, and their basket size, the household retention, all of those things, those are the KPIs we align to in these campaigns that we're running with Fetch,” said Lesinski.

Listen to the full episode.