Modular content matters: how FMCG brands can scale for AI-driven discovery

Once upon a time, content was a one-and-done exercise. You wrote a web page, designed a campaign asset, and pushed it out to the world. If you needed a variant for social or email, you’d copy-paste or rewrite from scratch. But shopping journeys are no longer linear, and if content can’t flex to meet customers in the moment, it risks being ignored. 

Today’s retail reality in Australia is fragmented. Shoppers discover products on grocery sites, marketplaces like Amazon, TikTok, and Google’s new AI-driven overviews. They ask Meta AI or Alexa for recommendations while cooking dinner or browse retailer blogs before a weekend barbecue shop or even ask ChatGPT to design a meal plan for the week. If your content isn't showing up consistently across channels, formats, and discovery points, it reflects on the perception of your brand.  

That’s where modular content comes in. 

 What is modular content?

Think of modular content like building blocks for your brand story. Instead of building content based on a set structure for PDP pages or other marketing assets, you create small, reusable blocks of content, each with its own purpose and metadata that can be snapped together to suit different platforms, audiences, and moments. 

Sanity.io calls modular content “small, interchangeable units of content that can be used across multiple channels and devices.” Rise at Seven describes it as “building content to answer multiple intents in a flexible way that AI and search engines can easily surface.”  

Both definitions capture the essence of the concept being you’re separating the content from the layout and making it retrievable. 

For FMCG and CPG brands, those blocks might include: 

→ Nutritional info and allergen statements 

→ Sustainability or sourcing claims 

→ Usage suggestions (e.g. “perfect for BBQs” or “pairs well with chicken”) 

→ Pack sizes and price points 

→ Brand story snippets or heritage claims 

→ Customer reviews or ratings 

→ Lifestyle imagery or short demo videos 

→ Seasonality content 

→ Common FAQs and more 

Each of these can stand alone or be combined. Your Woolworths PDP can pull in the nutrition and sourcing modules, your TikTok ad might use the lifestyle video and slogan, while an AI chatbot can instantly pull the allergen module when a customer asks, “Is this gluten-free?” 

Why This Matters Now 

Three big forces make modular content essential today. 

First: AI-driven discovery.  

Google’s Search Generative Experience, AI assistants like Amazon’s Rufus, and retailer algorithms now surface content in snippets. If your product info is buried in a PDF or scattered inconsistently across channels, it won’t get surfaced. Modular blocks, tagged and structured correctly, give algorithms clear, bite-sized data they can use. 

Second: Fragmented journeys.  

Australians don’t just visit a brand website and buy. They jump from an influencer’s TikTok to a retailer search result to a Messenger chat. Modular content ensures the same accurate, persuasive information follows them everywhere – delivering one experience – rather than a fragmented one based on the channels your product is showing up within. 

For FMCG brands, which often rely on third-party retailer sites, this is critical. If Coles or Chemist Warehouse pulls outdated or incomplete content, you’re invisible in search results where filters are being applied for an array of special needs e.g. “vegan”.  

Third: Consumer expectations 

The modern-day consumer and shopper is far more discerning than years gone by. They want to understand the provenance of their food, the ingredients, the nutritional benefits, the different uses of a product and much more. It means we need to provide far more insight into every facet of a product than ever before, do so at scale and ensure it is always fresh and up to date to minimise compliance issues and ensure shoppers can make informed decisions. 

Tying Modular Content to Retail Media 

Retail media in Australia is growing fast, with brands increasingly investing across Coles360, Cartology,  Amazon Ads and other specialist networks. But retail media only works if the content being promoted is relevant, accurate, and conversion ready. Sponsored placements that click through to thin or outdated product pages waste spend. Modular content ensures that wherever your ad traffic lands - be it Coles Online, Chemist Warehouse, or Amazon - the shopper sees rich, consistent details. 

Modular Content in Action for CPG 

Picture a dairy-free yoghurt brand in Australia: 

• A nutrition module lists allergens and dietary suitability. 

• A sustainability module outlines local sourcing and recyclable packaging. 

• A usage module offers recipe ideas and meal occasions. 

• A brand story module provides a two-sentence heritage statement. 

• A promo module contains current offers or member pricing. 

When a shopper searches “dairy-free yoghurt” on Woolworths, the retailer’s AI pulls your nutrition module to tag the product correctly. When TikTok Shop does finally launch here in Australia (although a date is yet to be confirmed), creators can use your usage module to script engaging videos. Meanwhile, your marketing team reuses the brand story block in a newsletter. One set of blocks - endless applications. 

Speed and Flexibility Gains 

Beyond discoverability, modular content streamlines operations. FMCG teams are under pressure to produce more content with fewer resources. With modules, you don’t rewrite a whole page for every seasonal promo, you update the promo module. Need to localise for different states or retailers? Swap in the pricing or pack size blocks without touching the rest and then push the content out to the appropriate channels.  

The AI Connection 

AI tools can’t work magic if they’re fed messy data. In a world where LLMs are increasingly the go to, to make decisions – we need to be preparing better and more product content rather than less. Clean, structured, modular content lets AI assistants, voice search engines, and retailer algorithms pull exactly what’s needed. For example, Klarna’s AI assistant (available globally) can answer, “Which sunscreen is reef-safe?” only if that content and associated attribute exists as a discrete, tagged module. 

As AI adoption accelerates in Australia with Meta AI now embedded in WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, and TikTok Shop preparing for local launch - structured modular content will determine whether your brand is featured or forgotten. 

Implementation Tips for FMCG & CPG Teams 

In order to start to evolve your content management to one that is more modular, we recommend the following: 

1.  Start with an audit. Identify the most important product information that informs shopper decisions: allergens, sourcing, usage, benefits, sustainability claims, pricing formats, weight and more. 

2. Work with your PIM or PXM provider to tag and separate these blocks. Headless CMS platforms (Sanity, Contentful) and retailer syndication tools (Salsify, Brandbank) are built for this. 

3. Collaborate across the organisation to set rules for module updates and approvals. Outdated allergen info or incorrect pricing erodes trust but also creates brand risk. 

4. Pilot on a single SKU, category or with a single platform. Measure improvements in conversion or search visibility before rolling out. 

---

Arktic Fox partners with FMCG and CPG brands to improve digital shelf performance, from content strategies like modular frameworks to retail media planning and AI-driven discoverability. Let’s talk about making your product content work harder, everywhere it needs to be.