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Retail media isn’t just shifting. It’s expanding into new territory, and experiential is finally getting a seat at the table. As brands look for more accountable, high-impact ways to reach shoppers, a new set of questions keeps coming up: • How do we extend retail media beyond screens and into real-world moments where shoppers actually make decisions? • How can retailers use their first-party data to power sampling and experiential programs that deliver measurable lift? • And how do brands cut through the noise with experiences that are both scalable and tied to performance? At Recess, this is the work we live in every day. We’re helping retailers and CPGs use experiential as a performance channel, connecting sampling, targeting, and attribution into a single retail media engine. Which is why I’m pumped to be heading to CES 2026. It’s where the industry gets real about what’s next and where the retail media conversation goes from theory to execution. If you’ll be in Vegas, let’s get something on the books to talk about how experiential can unlock new revenue for retailers and new ROI for brands Retail media is evolving quickly. Experiential is becoming a core piece of it. Looking forward to connecting at CES!

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞, 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐩, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞. After seeing Andrew Lipsman’s post on the new SMG x Plan-Apps report, one stat jumped out (see chart below 👇): 𝐈𝐧-𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟗𝟓.𝟐%, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐧-𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭. That is a huge number, but not surprising. Sampling works because it creates a direct, sensory connection that few other media channels can match. When someone tries your product, whether in-store, at an event, or in the community, it drives real conversion and measurable sales impact. At Recess, we’ve built on that same principle by taking the proven power of sampling beyond the store and into the real world. Our platform helps brands reach consumers out-of-store—at events, campuses, music festivals, parent pick-up lines, gyms, and more—while maintaining the same ability to measure impact and incremental sales lift. This report reinforces what we’ve always known: sampling is not just experiential, it’s one of the most powerful ways to drive trial, awareness, and sales. If in-store sampling can deliver a 95% lift, imagine the potential when those experiences happen in more targeted, contextual, and measurable environments. That’s exactly what we’re enabling with Recess.

🍜 Cup Noodles Joins the Freezer Aisle & the GLP-1 Conversation When a legacy brand like Cup Noodles enters the GLP-1-friendly food space, it signals more than a product launch; it’s a strategic response to where the consumer is headed. Nissin Foods’s new Kanzen Meal line reflects several powerful trends reshaping CPG: 1. Innovation driven by real consumer pain points. Focus groups revealed a common insight: ramen meals weren’t keeping consumers full. Many added cheese or ate second portions. This informed Nissin’s R&D to prioritize satiety and nutrient density, not just convenience. 2. Ethnic foods are now the fastest-growing category in CPG. But consumers don’t want to sacrifice taste for function. Nissin partnered with Michelin-star chefs to build flavor first, then worked backward to fortify meals with the right balance of nutrients. 3. Nutrient density is the new must-have. As GLP-1 drugs redefine how people think about hunger and health, more consumers are scrutinizing nutrient quality. Nissin isn’t branding Kanzen Meal as a GLP-1 product, but they’re leaning into that demand: meals designed to keep you full, with no compromise on flavor. 4. The freezer aisle is becoming a hub for better-for-you innovation. Nissin joins a growing list of brands using frozen formats to deliver nutrient-dense, chef-inspired meals, tapping into a category where consumers expect both quality and convenience. When an iconic ramen brand adapts to the modern health-conscious eater, it’s a clear sign: even the most nostalgic names in CPG are evolving fast.

Retail media’s golden goose (sponsored search) could be headed for a reckoning. Ask ChatGPT for the “best party poppers” and it won't just generate a shortlist. With the launch of ChatGPT agents, it’ll soon place the order for you, bypassing the digital shelf entirely. This shift was front and center in a recent episode of RiskReversal Media's podcast where Joe Marchese broke down how this exact dynamic could disrupt RMNs and the CPGs funding these sponsored placements. Joe highlights 3 major implications: 1/ Sponsored search revenue is increasingly at risk. AI agents are already handling product discovery and beginning to transact directly. This cuts out the auction for placements entirely, eliminating the need to trigger a DSP or compete in a bid. Because AI makes decisions upfront, traditional auction-based targeting models become irrelevant. Google is actively working through this disruption, but the same challenge is coming for retail media. 2/ Experiential marketing is emerging as a monetization and trust engine. CPG and media brands are using IRL (in-real-life) experiences (think: events, festivals, dinners, salons, etc) as the new premium advertising inventory. These are harder to measure, but more defensible against AI and automation. 3/ RMNs need to revisit their product offerings to prepare themselves for a world where sponsored search is no longer the golden goose. If these trends play out, sponsored search won’t remain the profit center forever. As its value erodes with AI, RMNs will need new levers. Experiential campaigns delight consumers with discovery moments that no LLM can replicate, and will play a critical role in capturing consumer attention. Real-world experiences from festival sponsorships to neighborhood sampling events build brand equity that AI can’t scrape. CMOs will need to meet consumers, not their algorithms, where they live, work, and play.

What’s old is new again – but if you stop there, you’re leaving growth on the table. Take pizza snacks. Food & Wine recently reported that General Mills Totino’s, Kraft Heinz Bagel Bites, and Nestlé Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza thrive by leaning into childhood memories and comfort. Nostalgia brings people back, but it’s just the start. Look at Nerds Gummy Clusters. The Nerds brand already had near-universal recognition and emotional equity. Ferrara could have coasted on that, but instead, they doubled down on innovation to make Nerds relevant for today’s consumer. The result? Nerds Gummy Clusters became the candy aisle’s fastest-growing hit. By merging the nostalgia of classic Nerds with a chewy gummy format, Ferrara didn’t just reactivate old fans, they unlocked much more: 1/ New audiences: older consumers loved the texture 2/ New niches: distance runners and endurance athletes swapping energy gels for a sweet boost 3/ New occasions: movie theaters, airports, and convenience stores The lesson is clear: nostalgia sells, but innovation bets keep you top of mind. It’s not enough to remind consumers why they loved you; you have to keep giving them fresh reasons to buy, share, and come back for more. If your brand is sitting on a legacy icon, ask yourself: how can we reinvent it to reach new consumers, new moments, and new shelves – without losing what made it beloved in the first place?

For years, sampling has struggled to earn its place in the marketing mix. Without sales attribution, it is dismissed as wasteful spend. That is changing. The next era of experiential marketing is here, precision sampling that is: ✅ Targeted to the right shoppers in their trusted communities ✅ Measurable across the full funnel ✅ Directly tied to retailer sales data At Recess, we have built an approach that transforms sampling from a “nice-to-have” into a performance engine. By partnering with retailer media networks like DG Media Network and activating in trusted communities such as gyms, schools, campuses, and coworking spaces where surprise and delight moments can turn trial into long-term loyalty. The payoff is stronger retailer relationships, smarter marketing mix decisions, and a clear path from trial to adoption to growth. This is not about giving away products. It is about building a measurable growth channel. 👉Curious to learn more? Check out the article linked below.