Kimberly G.

James and I are interviewing Rachel Peters (Clean Age) this Friday for our pod, BrandBusters. CleanAge has been laser-focused on serving Gen Z, and they bucked the traditional 2010s CPG launch by going RETAIL FIRST instead of DTC FIRST. They have an awesome brand aesthetic and make products with better ingredients (and sustainable packaging). What should we ask Rachel? #CPG #podcasts #brandbusters

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The business world can be tough, especially in the CPG industry with its unique challenges. Class action lawsuits are unfortunately common, and every brand may face them at some point. At paperroo branding + package design, we strive to cover our customers legally from every angle, focusing on understanding food laws and avoiding unsupported claims. I personally value clean eating and comprehend food terminology. I never once thought poppi was going to cure my gut issues. It's a healthier alternative to soda that will hopefully allow those of us with gut issues to enjoy a tasty beverage. What is the real problem here? I believe it's crucial to prioritize education of the body and its relationship to food. The people of the US have a real problem with this and suing a beverage company for a "false" claim is not it. https://lnkd.in/gdjzS6Zr

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The odds of raising venture capital as a CPG in 2024? Less than 1%. Brutal, but true. Of the tens of thousands of brands currently operating in the US market, just 51 closed venture deals in Q2-24. This number is down from 54 in Q1-24. Here's a quick look at the descending trajectory of CPG venture $s over the past 3 years: Q2-22 --> $562m (99 deals) Q2-23 --> $466m (81 deals) Q2-24 --> $295m (51 deals) In an economic environment prioritizing profitability > all else, the criteria brands need to clear in order to close this type of financial support is staggering. A few key requirements for brands attempting to pull this off: ✅ Outstanding products ✅ Best in class unit economics ✅ Mass market growth potential ✅ Operational excellence (production, GTM) ✅ Ownership drive to exit in reasonable timeframe If the box isn't checked on all of the above venture funding is likely not in the cards. And that may not be such a bad thing. Venture tends to be an odd fit for the vast majority of CPGs and should typically be reserved for the outliers. The best path forward as a founder? Raise as little outside $ as possible. Control your own destiny. MUCH easier said than done. But in 2024 and beyond, optionality > everything. Stay nimble, my friends. h/t FABID BevNET.com Ryan Williams for the report. Link in comments. #cpg #funding #venturecapital #venture

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As a follow-up to my recent post on the the Effects of Inflation on the Pet Industry, below from Pet Age and Packaged Facts about pet parent behavior: "The National Retail Federation predicts slower consumer spending growth in 2024 due to tighter credit conditions, higher borrowing costs, a cooling labor market and political uncertainty. While gas prices are down and inflation has been moderating, it now seems likely that inflation won’t further normalize until the calendar reads 2025. Last but certainly not least, in an industry for which dog spending accounts for two-thirds of sales, dog population growth is flat at best." click below to read more: https://lnkd.in/ggGKZwZz

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To those posting job listings requesting applicants to provide free design or consulting work, please STOP this practice. It demonstrates a lack of consideration for the applicant's time and skills and rarely yields positive outcomes for them. Moreover, it can be profoundly demoralizing. If your interview process cannot adequately assess a candidate's creative abilities without such tasks, then the responsibility lies with your organization's failure to properly conduct interviews for creative roles. While I can comprehend the idea of a paid creative project assignment as part of the pre-offer evaluation to gauge compatibility, expecting creative professionals to work for free merely for the chance of securing an initial interview is unreasonable. #productdesigner #graphicdesigner #UIUXDesigner #printdesigner

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A cookie dough brand + A curated pop-culture, celeb site..... What do these two have in common? They came together to create one of the most clever, creative, fun, well-executed, and delicious brand partnerships I've seen! 👏 Bravo DEUX x Deuxmoi! Why is this brand partnership so great? 1. Brand synergy - similar brand names, fun, playful tone 2. Building buzz - with over 2M IG followers, Deux is getting some serious brand exposure to a new, and highly engaged customer base 3. Product - the Deux product incorporates the Deuxmoi catch phrase ANON PLS into the product with a "rich, creamy flavor you know and love…..” But what is the actual flavor? Well, it is going to remain anonymous, so you'll just have to try it! Plus, Each ANON PLS jar features a scratch-off sticker with a NEVER BEFORE SEEN blind item, courtesy of Deuxmoi. Get all the deets here: https://lnkd.in/djMNkpGr What are some of your favorite brand partnerships?

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Getting into a retailer like SEPHORA is a huge accomplishment. Once small brands get that initial yes they quickly get hit with the reality that they are in direct competition with 100s of other companies. Some of that competition is going to be multi-national companies that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to support their brand’s success in Sephora alone. Indie brands cannot compete with that kind of financial power. It’s one of the reasons I support the merchandising effort this retailer has done under The Next Big Thing. The section highlights many of the new entries coming into the retailer. It gives a collective nod to the underdogs. It also becomes a pivotal benchmark for how much product will be sold from those shelves. Products that do well in this section...stay in the store. Products that do not sell well in this section....get discontinued from the store. I encourage customers to seek out The Next Big Thing sections in Sephora. There are separate sections for skin care and hair care in each store nationwide. Black and brown founded brands are being highlighted here. They must be supported to survive. #IndieBeauty #BlackBeautyBrands #Sephora

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CPG Marketing & Innovation Leaders: Remember when Disruption meant a call 📞 from the principal about your 6 year old’s antics at rug time? (just me?) Ahhh, such simpler times. But the 2000s tech visionaries and bros ushered in the now prevailing definition: “a radical change to an existing industry or market due to technological innovation.“ I’ll be honest—I’ve struggled with the D-word, even throughout a career in innovation with that exact lofty goal. “Disruptive” innovation in CPG happens far less frequently than in tech, carries more risk, slower time and lower odds to get to market, and requires huge investment to launch and sustain. A daunting bar to clear.🚧 So I was first curious, then energized, by this straightforward definition from SPINS, a leading analytics and insights firm: “𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴: 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.” This was a�� moment for me, and might be for others fighting the good innovation fight: 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙉𝙂, 𝙞t'𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚. HOW it comes to life in market --from target insight to channel to message and activation-- is just as important as WHAT it is. You may not know it’s disruptive…until you do. I highly recommend the report, which features examples from pickles, to squeezable packaging, to marine sourced sustainable superfoods. Find it on the SPINS website/link in comments. What's an example of a disruption that surprised you, or just blew you away? #innovation #strategy #insights I'm Elizabeth, and I help consumer marketing leaders harness strategic insights to fuel brand growth and market impact. DM me to talk Trends, Strategy, and Insight-driven Innovation.

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At the ANA Brand Masters Conference in Carlsbad, California, I had the pleasure of hearing @DougZarkin, author of "Moving Your Brand Out of the Friend Zone," share his insights on building brand love. Doug explained that the formula behind brand love is value = experience/price. This might sound simple, but it's all about the value a brand creates. According to Doug, it’s not just about getting a good deal or a low price. He refers to the entire experience a brand offers. I could resonate with that too, when I am hooked on a brand I talk about them to my friends and recommend them. Bringing this full circle to my work at Quest Global, I believe this is why we should live into being the most trusted thinking partner for our customers. Another key takeaway from Doug’s talk was the importance of nurturing lifelong customer partnerships, making them reach a sweet spot where they are loyal and emotionally invested in the brand’s success. To maintain this lifelong relationship with customers, we need to listen more to them, understand their needs and consistently deliver more than what’s expected. It’s about making customers feel valued and showing them that their trust in us is well-placed. I think this helps move a brand out of the friend zone and step forward into the hearts and minds of our customers forever. What brand do you have loyalty to and why? #BrandLove #CustomerExperience ANABrandMastersConference #DougZarkin

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I want to talk about consumer behavior. We spend a lot of $$ on focus groups and research to understand it, but there's a huge gap between what people say they do and what they actually do in stores. I've learned not to rely only on research; I use it as a guide. The truth is, in studies, people often tell us what they think we want to hear, not what they really do. For example, I recently observed shoppers checking nutritional labels on products full bad for you ingredients. When I asked why they bought these items, they quickly said it was for their kids, not themselves. As a parent, I know we all want the best for our kids. This got me thinking: if they’re willing to buy unhealthy items for their children, what are they buying for themselves? This contradiction revealed a deeper truth about consumer behavior. People often rationalize their choices to align with a better image of themselves, even if their actions tell a different story. This insight shows the the importance of trusting your instincts and observing real consumer behavior in stores, rather than just believing research or studies. Real behavior at the point of sale tells us more than any survey can. It highlights the need to watch closely and listen carefully to what consumers do, not just what they say.

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Who is the king of data collection and buying patterns pre Amazon that most don't think about...Albertsons Companies aka Albertsons Media Collective???? Want to serve up an ad, who knows everything you Eat? Not new information but always interesting to hear the direction they are taking. #food #marketing #consumers #buyingpatterns #data #albertsons #media https://lnkd.in/g3dNNHMZ

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Love this NSQ by Rachel Brown in Beauty Independent. While one size never fits all, there is an emerging trend with more nascent brands looking to bring in executive teams and a founder empowering the team to run the day-to-day while the founder exploits their superpower. At True Beauty Ventures, we are firm believers in identifying and enhancing a founder’s superpowers. It is one of the first things we try to assess when getting to know a brand. Part of this exercise requires understanding a founder’s strengths and weaknesses and where their strengths can most positively impact the brand and business while aligning with their interests and passions. In the article, Cristina Nuñez, co-founder and partner at True Beauty Ventures, emphasizes that appointing C-suite executives early can greatly benefit emerging beauty brands. She highlights that early leadership helps to establish a clear strategic direction, operational efficiency, and strong investor relations. Nunez notes that experienced executives can drive growth and navigate the complexities of the beauty industry effectively, which is crucial for startups aiming for long-term success and market differentiation.

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I'm trying to follow more CPG / ecomm folks to learn from them! Who are your favorite follows in CPG and Ecomm? Please tag them here!

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Selling to consumers is hard. Mastering the art and science of that process takes a lot. Selling to retailers is also hard. Mastering that process is what provides your trajectory for scalable success. Selling into beauty supply stores provides lower financial stakes and is an avenue that could be considered by most brand founders selling to Black consumers in the US. But how do you sell your products into the stores? You start by going into the local ones that are closest to where you live and the consumer you want buying your products. Typically stores are purchasing from other wholesale distributors but they do have the ability to one off purchase your products. They do however have to be sold that once they take your products into the store that they will move. That responsibility will reside with you as the brand owner so having some creative marketing plans in place before going into the store works to your benefit.

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I'll shout into the #PrimeDay void. The Bluebird Group clients are seeing something interesting this Prime Day vs. the last. 💡 ASPs for brands are trending up YoY 💡 Slightly lesser ad spend (to flat). 💡 Total sales not suffering Sure product mix, deep hero product performance, etc. can all contribute but I think this speaks to the fact that deep promo prices, on lesser desired products, continues to be a misfire. Focus *ALL YEAR* on your CVR related tactics. SEO, metadata excellence, content (visual), etc. Use your ad spend surgically and give people a reason to purchase items that have ranking, ratings or review validation. It will pay dividends come high traffic days like #PrimeDay, #BlackFriday and the balance of holiday. Open to objections here but my cart was full of items that I already knew I wanted or had crowed-sourced validation.

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Yeti has done a masterful job of building a brand. They are now a $1.7bn brand and growing steadily YOY. The cooler and outdoor gear brand has shifted their channel strategy in the past few years from pure wholesale to building out DTC, where they sell an exclusive extended range, and developing a formidable Amazon presence. I keep coming back to how they’re doing on Amazon because it’s a great lesson in full-funnel marketing. They are currently the #1 organic listing for “coolers” but priced 9x (!!) higher than the next bestseller from Coleman. Here’s how they’re dominating the market - on and off Amazon: - They sell a high quality product in a niche commodity market, and it’s super distinctive - They market to a clear audience. They’ve built their ethos around serving outdoor enthusiasts - it’s in every image and all their product features - They create compelling brand stories: They share creative and inspiring content. They use testimonials from people in the field to build social proof. - They capture attention AND build engagement on social - e.g. they do lots of giveaways, and this encourages user content, which builds community and loyalty - Their PDPs and store on Amazon are a world-class lesson on using AMZ to grow brand equity. Way better than peers. Capturing that high-intent community despite the price tag. Their work on the top of funnel off platform drives 200k monthly searches for “yeti” - that’s more than the total people searching for “coolers”. And here’s what’s so interesting: They’re winning on Amazon, but doing very little bottom-of-funnel PPC. Minimal brand defense and very little non-branded advertising. They’ve driven so much engagement off Amazon that they can rely on organic on Amazon to capture those conversions, because their customers aren’t even looking at other brands. THE KEY TAKEAWAY: Build awareness, interest, and community at the top of funnel. If customers connect with your brand and products, And your merchandising on site is compelling enough, The customers you drive to Amazon will be so high-intent that they’ll find and convert on your products without you having to spend a ton more money on bottom of funnel ads. Who's another brand nailing their #marketing #funnel? DMS are always open to chat marketing strategy.

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