Research-Thesis: Sustainability Challenges in the FMCG Sector: Evaluating the Role of Embellishment as a Solution for Short-Lifecycle Products and Waste Reduction

Abstract

FMCG sector is known for its short-lifecycle aspect, high promotional intensity and growing pressure regarding sustainability. In this context, embellishment involves late-stage packaging and product reconfiguration performed on already produced products. Although used in practice, embellishment is generally missing from academic studies. The thesis fills this gap by anchoring embellishment to the existing literature on contract packaging. This study provides a conceptualisation of embellishment, analyse its relation to short-lifecycle products management and its impact on sustainability. A qualitative and exploratory research was performed, based on six semi-structured interviews with FMCG professionals regarding embellishment and contract packaging operations. The data were analysed with a deductive-inductive thematic analysis that focused on four research themes directly linked to the gaps of the literature review. The findings indicate that embellishment is equivalent (empirically) to contract packaging. It is an intermediary step between manufacturing and distribution in the supply chain. It provides late-stage flexibility, allowing companies to respond to volatile demand, adapt promotional volumes, and avoid obsolescence by reworking existing inventory in some cases. However, this flexibility is constrained by structural limits, including forecast inaccuracies, shelf-life, and minimum order quantities. Concerning sustainability, embellishment creates trade-offs. Although it prevents economic or environmental waste by saving products from destruction and recovering value from at-risk stocks, it increases use of material, packaging, energy and transport. Socially, embellishment offers inclusion and employment but causes physically demanding and seasonal-dependent work. Moreover, sustainability performance is not measured, and circular practices are reactive as well as upstream-oriented. In conclusion, embellishment is not a fully sustainable solution. Rather, it is a mechanism allowing companies to mitigate short-lifecycle risks through increased flexibility and reduction of waste. Nevertheless, such benefits are being counterbalanced by further use of materials, energy, and low circularity, meaning sustainability problems are often displaced rather than directly resolved.