Fernando Cobos - Essity

Fernando Cobos leads Consumer Insights, Growth Planning and Digital Insights at Essity, a global hygiene and health company operating across both consumer and professional markets. In this conversation, he shares how Essity approaches brand growth through a structured global framework that combines data, investment discipline, and local market flexibility. From managing penetration and product mix to navigating growth in commoditised categories, Fernando explains why consistent brand investment and actionable measurement are essential to turning strong brands into winning competitors.

From Building the Car to Winning the Race

At Essity, brand growth is approached with the precision of a strategic system rather than a single marketing tactic. Strong brands need the right foundations, but they also require the right strategy to compete in the market. Fernando describes Essity’s approach to brand growth using a motorsport analogy. “I was thinking of the brand-building principles as building a car. And then this growth mindset and growth planning are the strategy to make the car win the competition.”

At the heart of Essity’s framework lies a simple but powerful growth logic: brands grow by increasing penetration and by managing the product mix effectively. “Growth is coming from focusing efforts on gaining mostly two things. One is penetration, and the other one is managing the product mix.”

Penetration ensures that more consumers enter the brand’s funnel, while managing the product portfolio allows brands to win across different segments and occasions. The right balance between these levers depends heavily on the brand’s situation within a specific market. This is why Essity’s approach begins with a careful analysis of the market context before deciding which growth levers to prioritise.

“Growth is coming from focusing efforts on gaining mostly two things. One is penetration, and the other one is managing the mix.”

Why Investment Remains the Biggest Growth Barrier

Despite the sophistication of growth frameworks, Fernando believes that the biggest barrier to brand growth remains surprisingly simple: underinvestment. Insufficient investment creates a negative cycle. Without investment, brands struggle to remain visible in consumers’ minds, making it harder to compete at the moment of purchase. “If you are not investing enough, then you are not bringing your brand into the mind of the consumer in the moment of purchase.”

Breaking this cycle requires commitment from the top of the organisation. Growth programmes succeed most when senior leadership supports sustained investment and allows markets the time needed to see results. “Those programmes work when they come from top to bottom, and top management is really engaged and committed.”

Fernando also emphasises that investment decisions must be strategic. Companies cannot invest everywhere at once, so they need to prioritise the markets and brands with the greatest potential for traction.

“If you are not investing enough, then you are not bringing your brand into the mind of the consumer in the moment of purchase.”

Growth in Commoditised Categories

Essity operates in categories such as toilet paper and kitchen roll, categories that are considered commoditised. Yet Fernando is convinced that growth remains possible even in these environments. “The challenge is maybe greater in some categories, such as toilet paper.”

In such categories, price sensitivity can be higher and product differentiation smaller. As a result, the growth strategy often requires a more balanced marketing mix that combines promotions, distribution, product quality, and brand communication. “You need to find the ways to be visible, to have the proper product, and place the right mix depending on the competitive context.”

Even when brands achieve strong market positions, Fernando warns against reducing investment. Consumers are rarely loyal for long, and brand equity can erode quickly if investment stops. “You cannot stop investing even if your brand has already grown.” This dynamic is the well-known “leaking bucket” effect in marketing. Brands must continuously bring in new consumers simply to maintain their current level of penetration.

“You need to find the ways to be visible, to have the proper product, and place the right mix depending on the competitive context.”

A Framework That Combines Global Direction with Local Freedom

One of the most distinctive aspects of Essity’s growth model is its structure: a global framework combined with strong local autonomy. Rather than imposing rigid plans from the centre, the framework provides markets with tools and guidance to build their own strategies. “It’s a framework, but within this framework, they can play whatever they want to do.”  

This balance ensures that global learning and consistency coexist with local relevance. Markets can choose the KPIs and levers most appropriate to their competitive situation while still operating within a shared strategic structure. For Fernando, this is where the real power of the model lies. Growth frameworks must not only provide clarity but also enable action. “If you cannot manage the conversation end-to-end, it’s not actionable. And if you cannot measure, you cannot act upon the measurements.”

Ultimately, the framework reflects a broader philosophy: growth does not happen by chance. It requires disciplined measurement, strategic investment, and a clear understanding of which levers to pull in each market. And when those elements align, even brands in the most mature or commoditised categories can find ways to accelerate.

“If you cannot manage the conversation end-to-end, it’s not actionable. And if you cannot measure, you cannot act upon the measurements.”