Midmarket CPG firms have been viewed as IT wallflowers, with the amount they spend on IT creeping down to 2.5% of revenue in 2004, a decrease of 0.3% from the previous year, according to AMR Research Inc. in Boston. But the ever-increasing pressure from fickle consumers has forced the industry to use IT both to get products to market faster and react quickly to their performance. "Unlike other industries, we can't complain about not having enough data," Thermos' Huang says. "Our challenge is for our people and our systems to use that data better."

The days when CPG firms waited three to six months or longer to see if a new product would catch on are no more. "Today, if you don't win in the first six weeks," says analyst Elbaum, "a competitor will."