How to Bridge the Gap Between Social & eCommerce | Barilla Group

In this episode of Connected Thinking, Nhoon Ahmed-McGowan, our Senior Social Media Manager, sits down with Nicole Pilkington, Global Head of eCommerce at Barilla Group. Leading the digital strategy across 15+ markets, Nicole has driven online growth, shopper experience and performance across global retail platforms.

With eCommerce expected to drive 50-60% of FMCG growth over the next three years, our episode dives into:

• Turning creator storytelling into eComm conversion
• Building a global brand voice that still feels local
• Breaking down the silos between social and eComm teams

Stay tuned for more episodes of Connected Thinking, our series of chats with standout voices from the world of marketing, where we unpack what’s trending, what’s shifting, and what’s coming next...

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Connected Thinking, our series of chats with standout voices from the world of marketing, where we unpack what's trending, what's shifting, and what's coming next. I'm Noon, your host and senior social media manager at Scene Connects. Today I'm joined by Nicole Pilkington, the global head of e-commerce at Brita Group, where she leads digital strategy across 15 markets, driving online growth, shopper experience, and performance across global retail platforms. She's played a key role in scaling Britain's digital ecosystems, connecting brand, media, and commercial teams to unlock e-commerce growth worldwide. So, welcome Nicole. This feels like a full circle moment because we obviously used to work together at Brilla. We've known each other now for almost five years. Yeah. And yeah, it just feels great to have you here on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Yeah, I'm really excited. Um, and to do it with you is a real special moment for me. So tell me a little bit more about you. Yeah, okay. Um, so I've always worked in e-commerce. Uh, I find it really interesting because no two days are ever the same and the goalposts continually change. And I really like to think that I challenge myself. Um, and e-commerce feels like a really good fit for me uh because I'm on that continuous learning path, figuring it out together, and there's a real community there, even within an organization, but also outside of an organization. I think it gives you a really nice opportunity to build a community around a common objective. Um, I'm currently at Barilla Group, as you mentioned, in within the global team, but before that I worked at Johnson ⁇ Johnson uh in their local and regional e-commerce teams.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Amazing. I also feel like there's a really big opportunity, I know, especially what you've done at Barilla, in like upskilling, I think, a lot of markets as well in terms of how they use e-commerce. And there's a lot of like growth um in education that can be done there too.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Yeah, I think being in a global role is a real privilege because you get to upskill individuals around the world and really be part of their growth journey. So as much as my role is grown the e-com business at Berilla, you know, I take a real deep interest in uh growing the local teams around me.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

For a long time, e-commerce in FNCG was treated just as a sales channel. Are we now seeing a shift towards it becoming more of a strategic growth engine for brands?

SPEAKER_00 2:14

100%. I think the best example I have of this is if I look at my 2025 results for one of my top three markets, uh, 73% of the company growth came from e-commerce last year. Um, so where previously I think e-commerce, you know, it was growing and it was a channel where it was kind of interesting, but it was like the little baby sister to your traditional um perhaps in-store discount retail channels. You know, it's now kind of if you want to grow as a business and as an organization, e-com needs to be kind of um one of your key uh retail channels and it needs to have kind of, I would say, a considered approach around where you spend your time and investment. I think e-commerce is a really interesting place to be because there's always a hundred things that you can be doing. Um, but really you need to try and figure out, you know, what's the two to five things that are gonna make a difference and how do you go after those? So I think outside of the results I saw last year, again, if I look at industry forecasts or industry trends, you know, they're kind of reporting, you know, 50%, 60% of growth in the next coming three years are gonna come from uh e-commerce. So I think as brands, we just really need to think about what role does that play for us and and how do we get there?

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Definitely. I also feel like there's a big opportunity, as you said, you should focus on like the two to five things rather than maybe getting ahead of where your brand is at and thinking, okay, how can we do this really big, shiny thing that other brands might be doing? And let's just think if we're doing like the more simple things best and then go from there and scale from there. Yeah. What does the evolution actually look like, do you think, in practice?

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Yeah, so I think in practice, you know, you you touched on it there, talking about um going after the things that that matter. I think it's having a real clear um approach, but also keep it simple. So um, to your point, it you you can kind of look externally and we should look externally for inspiration, but often, you know, that can mean we get a bit carried away and we think about, oh, well, this looks really good and this looks really interesting, and I've seen a really good case study. But where I found um success in e-commerce roles, particularly, is having a real kind of simple strategy of, you know, one to two pages of what are we actually trying to achieve and how do we kind of um yeah, relate everything we do back to that kind of overall um simple approach.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Social platforms are increasingly shaping product discovery before shoppers ever land on a retailer's site. How can FMCG brands better connect their creative storytelling with e-commerce conversion?

SPEAKER_00 4:52

There's a huge opportunity. I think um again, I saw a statistic the other day that 60% of um users on TikTok now are discovering new brands or new products through the platform, um, even though they're not in that product discovery or product research phase. So, one, the opportunity is 100% there. I think to your point about how can brands uh perhaps capitalize upon that or or really um take their fair share, I think it really comes down to thinking about the product and the category you sit in. Um, I don't doubt that in the future, you know, if I think about um uh storytelling or creators or social commerce that it suits and the nature of it will fit all categories. But today, for example, I work on um pasta, bakery, and condiments products. You know, I'm part of a weekly shop. I'm 60 to 80 items in a basket. I'm pretty mundane. No one really likes shopping for groceries. So people try to do it as quickly as possible. That kind of, if I think about creator storytelling, there's a role they play in inspiring, getting the brands at the forefront of um people's minds, but it doesn't necessarily always result in a purchase there and then. And I think there's that distinction between, you know, I completely admire all the beauty brands out there who, you know, they're able to use um storytellers and content creators to talk through the benefits of their products. And then due to the nature of um, yeah, the products they sell at the price point um and the target market they're going after, they can often convert instantly, you know. I think we've all probably had an Amazon shop where we've instantly had a moisturizer delivered or a mascara. I don't think it's quite the same for grocery products. Um, and like I said, I'm not denying that we might not get there in the future. I really hope we do. But today, again, I think it's thinking about what's the role these storytellers um and content creators can play and what does that mean in the total um looking at from a total perspective. So for me, I again, if I'm thinking in an idealistic world, it would be noon on a call cooking up their latest pasta recipe and talking about the benefits, the taste, you know, why, why to their followers it might be really interesting. And then, you know, it would be me working in an e-commerce, making sure when anyone lands on a grocery website, my products are there, you know, the the brand is um shown in a way that conveys the same message. And also, um, you know, we're at the forefront of that search um algorithm. And, you know, that's kind of what we think about as retail media, but often there's a there's a missing connection, I would say, between retail media and social or um content creators. And again, I think I saw a really good um, I talk about this uh a few times, but I saw a really good quote, which was people like great content, and sometimes great content is an ad. And I think it's a hundred percent true, you know, the best um ads we see out there, you don't understand or perhaps appreciate that it is an advert, but you're inspired to purchase. And I think as a brand, it's just thinking about um where is the moment where it makes sense for that that journey to lead to a purchase, and where perhaps can you connect the dots uh later down in in the journey?

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Really good response. I feel like you touch on a lot of really interesting points as well, because like you said, it's usually a case of it's a weekly purchase, it's maybe a smaller price point as well. Um, so it's one where you might buy it once, and then next week you're like, actually, I want to purchase something differently. So, how are we making sure that from a social perspective and a creative perspective, we're building these connections with people so that it becomes something where they're like, you know what, I cannot go this weekly shop without my Briller Pasta kind of thing. So I think that's a great point. And also, like you mentioned as well, there is a bit of a disconnect between like social teams and e-commerce teams. And I know it's something we've worked on together in the past, but the way that consumers will kind of consume that content, it's not disconnected. So it is a case of if I see a video, am I gonna have a link, or is there gonna be like an add-on on TikTok for a paid ad which allows me to click through and try to buy that product? Um, and we need to make sure I'd say, especially in like the FMCG spaces and the businesses, that that is connected because by making that kind of user experience a lot easier, you ultimately will be able to hopefully get a purchase.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

Yeah, exactly. And I think sometimes we can add an ad-to-buy button, so we feel like, oh, we we can do it, so we may as well. Um, but I think it's really thinking about the shopper and what do they want in that moment. And to your point, it's all building towards the same thing, but we need to have that kind of shared vision and objective to understand what are we actually going after.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

There's quite an important piece between e-commerce teams and social teams working together. And I know that's something that we worked on quite closely at Barilla to make sure that we're not working in silos and our teams are collaborating really well. So, what do you think is one, like an advantage and good results that can be driven by that? But also maybe like what not to do when you're trying to build that.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Well, I think I mean together we worked really hard to overcome this, but I would say they separated us. Um, and that you you mentioned there when you were talking silos, um, and I think in separating us, well, they didn't separate us, just for context, we we started in different teams and they were never joined together. But I think, you know, that in itself created a silo, right? We had different reporting lines, we had different um leaders who ultimately had different objectives. In previous roles, you know, I've worked in a digital marketing function where e-commerce sat next to social um and they sat we sat next to data, and it was kind of one hub where actually, you know, in my regular team meeting, I wasn't just discussing e-commerce, I was understanding what was happening on social, and we had one leader who has really brought us all together. For me, silos come out of structure. And so the way an organization is created, I think that, you know, in itself, everyone's trying to achieve what they can within their role. And even up to a leadership perspective, you know, um, we have different objectives at kind of year end or start of the year. And I don't necessarily see that social and e-commerce are, I think ultimately we're trying to aim towards doing the same thing. But if you were to look at those two objectives side by side, I would think they'd be quite different. Um, and so I think it takes people, um, like, like ourselves to, you know, create those conversations, take an interest, um, and and kind of take a step back, I would say, out of your specific role and specific deliverables to really think about, oh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna see what Noon's up to this week. Let me, I remember going behind your desk and always seeing um different content being created. You'd be perhaps looking at our Instagram or our TikTok accounts. And for me, you know, that's a million miles away from selling products on a retailer website, but we're ultimately trying to do the same thing. We're, you know, we're trying to create a competitive advantage for the brands we work for and really make that part of the purchase set. So yeah, I I think silos are created by structure, I would say. I think in in kind of raising your head a little above above where where you're at today and what your specific role looks like and building those connections, you know, that that's been really invaluable for me.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

It's really important to do as well, because I think on your point too, it's easy where your day-to-day is this is your team, this is your structure, these are objectives. But I remember in my first ever job, there was a senior leadership person that always used to say, everything that's happening is outside of these glass windows. Like day-to-day you're just so looped into our team, what's important, our objectives, like how am I gonna finish the day, how are we gonna finish the year? But ultimately, what's important is outside of our walls, and we have to always make sure that we're thinking about that. And the way that a consumer sees Gorilla or sees your brand isn't this is the social team, this is the e-commerce team. It's what is my journey? Is this easy? Do I feel connected? Can I purchase? That's a really good point. And what would you say not to do?

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Allow yourself to not interact with the different stakeholders that you work with, not think about the people outside of the windows, um, and and really just, I would say, quite be quite close-minded on what you're trying to achieve. I think the the best results come from that collaboration, from I would say being being curious, um, but also being a little raw in kind of, you know, I definitely don't know as much about social as you. So can you help me kind of understand? Can you talk me through what you're trying to achieve? Because even if I have a, you know, a conscious bias of, okay, well, social's just for awareness, you know, how do I kind of ask myself the questions to question those, those thoughts and beliefs, to not only expand my knowledge set, but also to your point, kind of um further develop what we're doing here as a brand through that genuine curiosity. So I think I guess what not to do for me would be to not be curious um and to not kind of think about the the the possibilities of just opening up that that headspace a little.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

So, Nicole, you lead e-commerce strategy across multiple markets. How do you balance that global consistency in brand voice with their local expertise?

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Looking at looking globally for any brand, I think there's always commonalities um that we can draw. And for me, in an e-commerce, that's the way people shop online. Um, you know, it's it's kind of, I would say, very stereotypical across lots of different countries. But I think thinking about the brand voice is a really interesting, interesting perspective. And it's something I would say, Barilla, we're I would say we're actively working on. Um I think, you know, we we've recently moved into a global category organization, um, which is really interesting for us. So, of course, now having this um global category matrix, it enables uh us to have for the different global brands we own, playbooks, thoughts, uh, approaches, uh, one kind of one message, one voice, one brand. But but working in a retail face and channel, that can be quite challenging because yes, the messages we want to deliver are the same, but actually the message that's going to convert a shopper in store or online is sometimes quite different to the broader brand messaging. And I think we really need to think about, you know, how do we draw synergies? So is it with the visuals we use? Um, is it with, is it perhaps with the claims or the word and or or or the brand voice? The approach I have globally is that it's very much led by the local markets. So I like to use an analogy of being in a global team, whether it's global category or global e-commerce. If you think about a tennis player, the tennis player's on the pitch, but actually they have a um nutritionist, um, you know, they have a coach, they have lots of different functions supporting them. And I think it is global, your role is to be those support functions to make that um to make that tennis player perform as best as they can on the day. And the tennis player can be a local e-com manager, it can be a local um digital marketeer, it can be a local marketing person. But you know, we're really there as the behind-the-scenes support functions. So I think balancing the brand voice is really interesting. We do, of course, want that consistency and you want to feel like you experience the same Gorilla brand everywhere. I think that that's ultimately, you know, one of our key goals. But in practice, it doesn't always work that way. And I think having that kind of flexibility, but also understanding that the local teams they understand the shopper and the market way more than we ever will at a global level. So I think again, I it's kind of um taken a very tight, locally coordinated approach within e-commerce specifically. That's supported by five um key roles within a global, uh, global kind of center of excellence. But again, um my role is to listen and learn and provide the guidance, but also kind of appreciate where the global tone of voice or global approach might not necessarily translate the way we want it to into retail and rethink about those nuances.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

It's such a delicate balance as well, I feel like, because now thinking back to when I would be working on, let's say, campaigns, it's very much we've got our brand voice, we've got our campaign, and then you almost like then work with the markets to just localize that. But that in itself is a delicate balance. And then now the layer that you're adding of, then there's the retailer layer of okay, we've kind of customized this and localized it, but how are we making sure it's relevant to the retail shopper? Because that's a completely different kind of messaging and approach. So I think your direction of yeah, you need to make sure that you're listening to the experts of that space and then kind of um customising and adjusting as you see fit.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

Yeah, and I think one thing we've discussed together before is it's the same shopper, right? So I know we talk about the retail shopper, but it's the same shopper, but their mindset is fundamentally quite different. When we're sat at home, whether we're watching TV, we're browsing social, we're browsing um the internet. The mindset we're in is very different to being in a retail store or purchasing our products on a mobile phone or on a website. And so that's the difference we need to think about. Yes, we're all going after the same cohort and the same shoppers, but actually the mindset is fundamentally quite different. And we we need to make sure as a brand we're meeting that and we're meeting the shopper where they are, as opposed to, you know, we've got this one message, we should put that everywhere, and then it's the same experience. Actually, the shopper might need a you know, a nudge in a different direction in order to result in in that purchase.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Yeah, and I think it's a big reason why we work really well together, I would say. It's because, like you said, it's very easy for, let's say, from an e-commerce perspective to be like, these are our targets, this is what we have to hit from a social perspective, these are the KPIs, this is what we need to make sure that we're achieving. But if you think about again how a per like a human being is going to purchase your products, there is kind of like a mental load that you want to be lifted. There is an emotional connection or a feeling that I want people to feel when they see our content. And on your e like your shopping um kind of point of view as well, like I know that if a brand makes it easy for me to, I see something, it isn't then bombarding me with messaging, and then it's just really easy to even the Apple Pay feature at the end when I'm trying to finish and close my purchase, then I'm like, oh, I'm definitely gonna do that again. But if it's difficult, like eight times out of ten, I'm gonna just close that tab and be like, I can't do this right now. You know, it's it's too difficult of like a process. So I think that is something that's really important for businesses to think about how, again, they're kind of seeing their teams and their sections bigger than just what's inside your office, and how are you thinking about how genuine people which are buying your products are going to consume your content, purchase your content, um, and take anything that you're kind of giving to them in? And your point on the teams too, I think, is a good point around making sure that you have that kind of connection, collaboration, and curiosity. But what I wanted to ask was how do you think you can build that in teams that are more global or maybe completely remote or in the office like once a month? Because obviously there's this whole question around, well, if you're not physically together, how are you making sure that you are working together collaboratively from more of like a remote perspective?

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Leadership play a really big role in this, I would say. Um so again, if you're leading a function, um, I I think it's you're setting the example. If I think about the way I behaved in early roles, you know, I was completely looking at the person above me and just reflecting their behaviours because I thought that was what was correct. And of course, as you grow and develop in roles, you begin to find your own style. But anyone in a leadership role needs to be taken omni-channel. Uh, how do I be connected with lots of different functions? And I, you know, I touched upon this point of earlier within my career, I sat within an e-comm team, but I was also sat with the social, with the digital marketeers. Um, and just hearing what, what, what we're up to is really interesting. And it's so I think it's building time for those connections. I know everyone thinks of themselves as time poor. Um, but you know, on a Friday morning, a 30-minute coffee where different teams join and you're speaking through kind of what's new within your world, if you're already connected, that can be really seamless. And I think, you know, 30 minutes, it might be once a week, it might be once a fortnight. It doesn't have to be, I would say, on a specific cadence, but creating those moments where in the office, I mean, you and I would stand by the coffee machine and catch up and understand what each other were were working on quite regularly when we were at Barilla. So we need to make time. To create those moments. And I think working remotely, you fall into that trap of, you know, I well, I only need to have a meeting in my diary if it's going to deliver a really specific purpose. And we get kind of trapped within back-to-back meetings. But if we're in the office, you know, we're taking time to walk past someone's desk to be at the coffee machine. So for me, it's really creating those moments in a virtual world to be connected. But again, also I think leadership needs to set that example and almost kind of, I would say, encourage that knowledge sharing across departments and creating those connections beyond the people that you need to work with to be the people that are going to complement and help you.

SPEAKER_01 22:43

And I feel like that's particularly important when you're doing a global and a local role as well, or working global and local teams, because I know like we definitely did this where we would have all of our global meetings and our agency meetings, et cetera. But then what will happen is you then have the local teams probably all doing similar things that we can all learn from each other and work together on. But then by putting in, let's say, like you said, that doesn't need to be like a particular cadence, but a forum where you're able to come together and knowledge share and just kind of share winnings and things that you need, like support on your working on, you then just create much more of like a uniform um business, let's say. And it then just means that everyone's working more collaboratively and then back to your point previously, where it then allows you to be more curious. It allows you to make sure that your social, paid, digital commerce are all connected because you are asking questions of like, oh wait, hang on. So that content that we've shown on social, how can we maybe use it on e-commerce? Or how can we make sure we're working together in the best ways possible?

SPEAKER_00 23:38

Just to add as well, um, we host an annual like e-commerce, well, I call it leaders of change, because I believe anyone working in e-commerce is a leader of change in an organization. Um, but you know, I get together all my e-comm managers from around the world into one place for two or three days, but invited to that event is the global social, is the global shopper marketing, the global digital marketing teams, the global category teams. And it's bringing you those those individuals into the community, but it's also creating that forum. And, you know, it would be very easy to keep that closed, um, to only have e-com people in the room. And yes, you might sit there and think, okay, this is less relevant to me. But again, it's all kind of complementing that that dissemination of knowledge, I would say, across the organization.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

And if you were advising an FMCG brand building its e-commerce strategy from scratch today, what would be the first three priorities you'd focus on?

SPEAKER_00 24:33

So my first priority would be keep it simple. So my global strategy is two pages. Uh, the first is where to play, and the second is how to win. Um, there's been some small tweaks over the past five years, but it's pretty much remained consistent, and that's enabled us to get to where we are today. And I think, again, it's to the point earlier, it helps you focus on the two to five things that are going to matter and almost help you kind of um, I wouldn't say ignore, but take a pause on the 95 other things that you could be doing. Secondly, I would say um getting really good content live that meets retailer algorithms, but also now um LLM algorithms, I think that is really important. It's almost forgotten, but it's such a simple piece which helps guide um shoppers through purchase consideration. Um, and then my final one would be don't forget about the importance of the of people, because I think an e-comm strategy only works if the people working on it actually um, you know, feel empowered and they feel like it's something they can reach and achieve. So that would be my my kind of three ways of of looking at e-comm strategy from scratch.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

So just to dig deeper into one of your points, so how would you recommend maybe that brands balance e-commerce and retailer? I know it probably is different based on like different brands, budgets, et cetera, but just kind of like a ballpark um guideline or percentage?

SPEAKER_00 26:05

Yeah, I think so obviously the natural thing to do would be to look at e-commerce as a as a sales percentage, um, which for us, you know, we're still in single digits. Um, but it's thinking about that influence piece. So again, we know between somewhere between 60 to 80% of in-store purchases are influenced through some form of digital touch point. So for me, it's trying to think about the shopper, as we said, as being omnichannel, multi, um, multi-touch points, you know, they're not, I I would say I find it hard to believe someone would just be exclusive to online shopping. We do know there are people who are exclusive to in-store, but quite often people are moving to be that um, you know, they they they use both touch points. And I would say um there's a sometimes a misconception that um oh e-comm's stealing my sales, and you know, they're they're taking away my traditional retail, but it it's not the case, right? It's where the shop is at, and we need to meet them at that moment and deliver the the brand experience as opposed to um thinking about it as conflict and channels.

SPEAKER_01 27:16

I think also to your last point around the whole thing of like, oh, but they're stealing our sales, you kind of I would say also mentioned that earlier in the case of don't forget that we're working together as a team, we're working towards the same goal, you know, it's very easy to be like, these were objectives for our team, but there is power in all of your teams working together collaboratively. Like, I know our best campaigns were when we'd be on a call and we would have the e-com team, we'd have the shopper team, the social team, our social agency, and our influencer agency all working together. And like you said, some parts you might be like, that's not really relevant, but when you're then putting that campaign together, you know that we have worked together, gotten all gotten all of our like knowledge and our skill sets, um, and we're able to drive more impact basically as a whole on that. Now, quickfire questions. What is your favorite book or podcast that you'd recommend at the moment?

SPEAKER_00 28:05

I'm really into personal development. So my favorite book at the minute is a book called How to Own the World. Um, and it's a guide to global, uh having a global perspective, but also a guide to investments. And we're not talking here about investment with loads of money. It's even if you're starting out with a pound, you know, where's the best place to put that pound? And I think I feel really passionate that this type of financial education, it doesn't happen in school, it doesn't happen in many homes either. And I've I've really found um a lot of value in this book, basically teaching me how to invest globally, um, which I'm finding really interesting. And what's the best piece of advice that you think you've received? In my first job, um, someone once told me uh, your worst day is only ever 24 hours long. And in challenging times, I always remind myself of that. Um, because it's true, right? You know, each day is only 24 hours, and that's really helped me um bring a lot of perspective into um a a challenging situation.

SPEAKER_01 29:09

Well, thanks so much, Nicole, for joining us on Connected Thinking. It's been such a pleasure to have you. And yeah, it's super inspiring, such a great chat, and I hope that everyone listening has been able to take some of your nuggets of wisdom away. Thank you so much.