Do brands really know their customers? In this episode of *The Retail Razor Show,* hosts *Ricardo Belmar* and *Casey Golden* tackle _consumer insights_ by exploring the *consumer sentiment gap* — the disconnect between _what shoppers say_ and _what they actually do._
Joining us are two industry heavyweights:
- *Trevor Sumner,* CEO of i-Genie AI
- *Stan Sthanunathan,* Executive Chairman of i-Genie AI, former EVP at Unilever & VP at Coca-Cola
Together, they reveal how AI-powered shopper insights, natural language processing, and billions of unfiltered consumer signals are transforming retail intelligence. From surveys to real-time analytics, discover how brands can finally understand their customers — and their products — at scale.
🔥 Key Topics:
- Why consumer surveys no longer tell the full story
- How AI closes the consumer sentiment gap
- Empathy vs sympathy in understanding consumer insights
- The rise of disruptor brands in retail
- Augmented intelligence: AI + human insight
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*Retail Razor Show S5:E13*
*Released on December 15, 2025*
*Guest info:*
*Trevor Sumner*, CEO, i-Genie.AI (http://i-Genie.AI)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevorsumner/
Trevor is a NYC-based entrepreneur, product and marketing executive and recognized startup advisor and angel. Trevor is the CEO at [i-Genie.ai](http://i-genie.ai/), the leading AI platform for consumer insights, revolutionizing an industry that had been dominated with antiquated survey methodologies by synthesizing tens of billions of searches, social and video posts, ratings and reviews and market data for industry leaders like Kenvue, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Bayer, Clorox and more.
Previously, Mr. Sumner was Head of AI and Data Platform products for Raydiant, a leading VC-backed digital experience platform that is transforming over 250,000 digital touch points across 4,500 clients with AI, computer vision and data.
Mr. Sumner came to Raydiant when it acquired Perch, a recognized leader in in-store Product Engagement Marketing, interactive retail displays and augmented reality, where Mr. SUmner served as CEO. Perch was named a Top Tech Company to Watch by Forbes, a Top 10 Retail Technology company by CIO Review and has won numerous Clio, Fast Company, Edison, Bloomberg and Digi awards.
*Stan Sthanunathan,* Executive Chairman, i-Genie.AI (http://i-Genie.AI)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stan-sthanunathan-1ab4035/
Stan Sthanunathan joined Unilever in July 2013 as Executive Vice President of Consumer & Market Insights. As chief provocateur, he headed up the insights function globally based in London. He retired from Unilever on June 1, 2021.
Post retirement he has started an AI/ML enabled company called [i-Genie.AI](http://i-genie.ai/) focused on delivering near real time insights and ideas to help business identify Next Big Thing
Prior to joining Unilever, he was Vice President of Marketing Strategy & Insights for The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, heading up the function on a global basis.
Stan co-authored a paper on Building an Insights Engine that was published in Harvard Business Review, Sept 2016. He has also co-authored a book titled AI for Marketing and Product Innovation.
He was awarded Lifetime Achievement award at TMRE 2022 event
*Chapters:*
00:00 Previews
01:23 Show Intro
04:43 The Consumer Sentiment Gap
05:37 Welcome Trevor Sumner & Stan Sthanunathan
06:30 Backgrounds of Trevor and Stan
09:11 Challenges in Understanding Consumers
16:58 The Evolution of Influencers
18:32 Limitations of Surveys and the Need for AI
25:46 Augmented Intelligence: AI + Human Insight
31:46 Challenges in CPG Innovation
33:02 Innovate: A Data-Driven Product
34:42 AI and Predictive Analytics
36:21 Democratizing Data Access
38:07 Mindset Shift for Rapid Actions
40:46 Adopting AI in CPG
48:16 Retailers and Data Utilization
52:59 Future of Brand Understanding
57:23 Conclusion and Contact Information
58:15 Show Close
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