Cameron Gawley

This sounds like common sense but you would be amazed how many DTC brands fail at this.... Only bring your hero SKUs into distribution on retail shelves. Why? They are proven winners. A great base to expand upon. And new placement can get costly. Save the full portfolio for DTC. Surprise and delight on DTC. Get a strategy on how to move what forward at retail. Strategy is NOT saying yes to everything. Onward y'all. Go, sell, and rejoice! #sales #strategy #alittlelouderforthebrandintheback

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-- Podcast Teaser Alert -- "If you want to lead the consumer, you need to be the consumer." - Eric Ryan At one point, Eric Ryan and I were "frienemies". Friends personally, competitors professionally. He was the co-founder and CEO of Method Products PBC, while I led Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day. ................ But in the real world, we were always on the same team. Our collective efforts, along with the team at 7th Generation, were revolutionizing the cleaning category. At Mrs. Meyer's, our mission was clear: 'Together, we dream of a world where the better way becomes THE way.' ................ Eric Ryan shares his insights on creating method products pbc, OLLY PBC, and Welly Bandages, along with his go-to-market approach. Stay tuned for the next drop of the CEO podcast. 🎙 You won't regret it. #cultureFIRSTleadership #ceoPodcast #ChiefEternalOptimist

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CPG Marketing Leaders,  You know how we always say “people don’t read” as a reminder to keep marketing messages simple? And to use visuals due to “short attention spans”? That’s all true and good to keep in mind, but I think it discredits the Power of Curiosity. Where am I going with this? I’ve been thinking about what’s drawn me to what I do--use trends and insights to unlock growth opportunities-- and it struck me: a lot of it comes down to 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆.  My love of reading 📖 was instilled in me by my mom at a very young age. I was the kid who read more books than anyone else in the class 🏫. I was voted most likely to be an English teacher in 8th grade👩‍🏫. I studied English literature in college.👩‍🎓 Every day I MUST, either before I go to sleep or right when I wake up, read my two favorite political newsletters. 📱 Being Curious makes me better at my job. I Read to Learn. So, I’m Curious (shocker) about your relationship with Reading: do you love it, or do it because you feel you have to? 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱? #insights #curiosity #alwayslearning #brandstrategy

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66% of product listings were 3rd Party!!!! Here's a stat from DCG's Digital Commerce Intelligence Index research that shocked me. When Laura Cullen interrogated data for 25 global manufacturers across Walmart, Target, and Amazon, provided by Salsify (our excellent collaborator), she discovered that 2/3rds of all the product listings were from 3rd Party sellers. Put another way, two out of three listings for some of the most frequently bought products in grocery retail weren't manufacturer listings; they were from resellers. When Laura dug deeper, she discovered that content completeness scores for those 3rd party listings were typically 55% lower than the 1st Party listings. But here's the thing: shoppers can't tell the difference. Unsurprisingly, on retail platforms, shoppers equate product listings as belonging to the brand/manufacturer even if they are actually 3rd party. So, the reality for the 25 manufacturers we looked at is that 2/3rds of the product listings relating to their products are nowhere near as effective as they could be. Visual content is how brands represent themselves online. Having 3rd party listings with ineffective, outdated, inappropriate or unoptimised content costs brands, manufacturers and resellers sales, share and conversion. There are manufacturers that are leaning into this challenge and, based on our scores, are performing significantly better than others. Topping our rankings for the 3rd Party Content Completeness Scores are L'Oréal, The Hershey Company and The Clorox Company. For other manufacturers, these scores highlight not only a challenge for the industry but also an opportunity. Those manufacturers that support 3rd parties with content optimisation will see more robust conversion onsite and, therefore, greater sales ex-factory into the resellers, wholesalers and distributors. #digitalcommerce #ecommerce #cpg #cpgindustry #fmcg #ifmcgindustry #omnichannel #digitalretail #digitalgrocery #grocery #retail #manufacturer #brand #3P #content #contentcompleteness

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CPG Brand Marketing Leaders, Let's face it: In a🌍 that changes by the minute, "Long Range" Planning might be a thing of the past, especially if you're not a huge company with big dollars to parse out, or you just want to be "more nimble". Even Annual plans should be revisited quarterly or more often. Chances are, since it's late November, you've already put something "on paper" 📜 for 2025--vision, objectives, strategies, tactics--the usual suspects. But that doesn't mean you can't still be Thoughtful and Strategic about what might change for your brand and how you'll adapt. 🤔 You may already have questions ❓percolating or nagging at you. Putting myself in your shoes, in which I've walked some miles myself, a few come to mind--and I'm wondering if you agree. So tell me: 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄, 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿? #brandstrategy #strategicplanning #adaptability #brandgrowth

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Would you be interested in purchasing a subscription box featuring the newest CPG product launches? Each month would feature a different product category and would cost $49 per month. Been thinking about this idea for a while now, and want to gauge interest. If enough people say yes then I may do it! Also comment if you’re a brand interested in participating. If you’re a “maybe”, what would you like to see to make it a “definite yes”? #cpg #subscriptionbox

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CPG brands: You are wrong, distributors are not the problem, nor the enemy of your brand. Quite the opposite in fact. Your problem is a lack of preparation in the necessary business understanding for working within the distribution model. Your lack of preparation and understanding of that model does not constitute blaming the distributor for the poor outcome you experienced. I can’t tell you how many brands over the years have asked me for distributor advice, (ONLY because I have a very long history working on the distribution side at multiple distributors, before ever moving to the brand side, not because I know better than any other brand owner..) My message is almost always the same & what I hear back is almost always the same. Me: “Did you adjust your pricing model to account for the fees and requirements for shipping / logistics and chargebacks that are built within the contract you received and signed?” Brand: (in some form or another of the following) “ I did not want to price myself out of my market, or have to change my pricing in my other channels… and nobody told me that all these fees would actually hit, and some of them I was not aware of” The reality is no one blindsided you. You were unprepared, you are upset and you’re looking for someone to blame. Regardless of what type of founder, entrepreneur, business owner or executive at a CPG company that you are, you must absolutely understand the contracts and financial requirements that you are dealing with AHEAD OF TIME. You don’t have to work with the distributor— in fact as we know, tons of brands work fantastic simply D2C, or direct to retail without them. But if you’re going to work with the distributor networks, be prepared to work within the model. If it helps, I’m happy to answer any questions that I might be able to answer when it comes to distributor model.. feel free to hit me up anytime if I can be of service and I’ll do my best to get back to you with information that is appropriate based on my experience. Rant over, and go have a great day! Lets sell some stuff 😎 #distribution #cpg #branding #wholesale #dietarysupplements #vmisports

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Listening to JD Vance on JRE and he said something about advertising that I hadn't considered. He was talking about big pharma's television ads. "Talk to your doctor about <drug>, side effects may include...." He said, "Nobody is being influenced by those ads, so why run them?" He says they are essentially bribes under the guise of an ad spot. Big pharma pays the network millions of dollars to run these ads, and in exchange, the networks avoid running any negative news, investigation or hit pieces on these big pharma companies. Why bite the hand that feeds you? Interesting theory, sounds about right. #advertising #bigpharma #JDvance

In order to create real change you can’t win by fighting against the system. Understand the entire system. Notice how it works. Acknowledge that you are a part of the system. Change one thing. Say you are launching an emerging brand… change one piece of how you disrupt and show up on shelf. The system will shift and you? You become an agent of change. #thisiswhattransformationlookslike #agentofchange #everythingshetoucheschanges

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Compliance isn't sexy Quality isn't sexy We aren't superheroes But what we do drives so much value and impact in the CPG market Qualitas Executive Group helps protect you from: -demand letters -angry customers -regulatory action -product rejections -angry retail partners -class action nonsense -those gosh darn auditors And that's pretty sexy tbh #quality #compliance #consulting #qualitas #cpgindustry #dietarysupplements #food #foodandbeverage #cosmetics #beautyindustry #qualitymanagement #regulatoryaffairs

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According to demographic trends, Americans over 60 are projected to soon surpass their fellow citizens who are in their 20s to 40s in terms of income. However, many companies continue to target their brands toward younger demographics under 40. This article offers an interesting perspective, since it points out that the solution does not lie in simply shifting marketing strategies from one generation to another, as research indicates that there is a significant variability among individuals within the same age group. Therefore, marketers should focus on highlighting shared values across diverse age ranges and strive to establish "post-generational" brands.

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“Ugh, marketing has another crazy idea” Good, they’re supposed to Without a good marketing team in CPG… You won’t have a job At least not for long Find ways to help those crazy ideas become reality without sacrificing quality, compliance, or customer experience along the way If you can do that, you are light years ahead of your peers in quality and compliance On the brand side, if I had to choose one key factor that accelerated my career It was learning how to help the marketing team win, and win FAST Marketing is not the enemy Your mindset about marketing is the enemy Give them the tools to succeed and spend that energy on real issues Like the fact you haven’t trended complaints in 9 months Or ever #marketing #quality #compliance #cpg #dietarysupplements #cosmetics #beautyindustry #qualitas

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CPG Marketers & Innovators: You’ve been eagerly awaiting the reveal of my #𝟮 𝗼𝗳 𝟯 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 🔧 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀. This one is my favorite secret weapon⚔: Reframing. And of course it has nothing to do with hanging pictures.🖼 Reframing is a strategy & innovation technique to expand the lens of how you view an opportunity, often making it Substantially Bigger. 📈 Check out these examples from my experience to illustrate how Reframing can change the game 🎲 .   𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: a granola bar brand sees their competition as other snack/energy bars. What if that view changed FROM snack bars TO ANY portable, healthy snack?” The potential product and/or marketing opportunities just grew exponentially. 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚: a makeup 💄brush brand launches a new cleansing gel because dirty brushes don’t perform as well. But a secondary problem may be just as or more compelling: dirty brushes can transfer bacteria to your skin. Reframing the solution FROM a makeup brush cleanser (used weekly or less) TO a way to keep your skin clean & healthy increases it’s relevance in the daily routine. 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙨𝙚 𝙊𝙘𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣: a beloved, 100 year old cracker brand 🍘 suffers from low purchase frequency because it’s seen as something to serve at events or parties. Reframing it FROM a fancy party snack TO a fast yet substantial snack that brings a bit of the party 🎉 to any day can both increase sales and attract the modern consumer. Pretty Cool, huh?   𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺? #innovation #brandstrategy #brandmarketing   💡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 Growth.

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Best partner to launch with as an at-scale DTC brand? Undoubtedly Walmart. Here’s why. Target established themselves early on as being a destination for digitally native, disruptive brands launching in retail. Example? Harry's Inc. They went too far in that direction. They took on trendy brands through their accelerator program. Many didn’t work. They’ve since narrowed focus and assortment substantially. Enter Walmart. They’ve been launching an impressive number of at scale digitally native brands across categories. A pioneer was LOLA - mylola.com. Then of course Dr. Squatch. quip. Billie. These brands are crushing. Walmart has captured substantial category share as a result of this. I don’t see this trend going away, with more disruptive brands continuing to launch there. Biggest challenge? Being one of those brands that can break through.

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CPG Brand Marketing Leaders: How do you feel about the expression, “𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘦?” I have a visceral reaction to it...that's not great. 🙄 I’ll explain. The classic marketing playbook says we can’t stay competitive without a constant flow of new stuff; so that’s what we expect from those with “Innovation” in their job titles. I’m here to say it a bit differently: 𝙄𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙚𝙩, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚. I spent much of my career leading Innovation teams to identify and launch unique, relevant new products. Some performed. 🎆Some didn't. 😓 There are many reasons for both outcomes. Now, as a brand strategy consultant, I’m less inclined to assume product proliferation should be the first Must Do to grow. Why the 180? ◀  Well, really, it’s more an Evolution. To be crystal clear, 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘌𝘚𝘚𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘐𝘈𝘓 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩. Yet road-tested experience reveals the pitfalls of a never ending quest for The Next Big Thing. Examples: ⚡We set such a high bar that solid ideas are left behind, and niche ideas go out too early ⚡In saturated, competitive categories (hello, CPG), an amazing idea may fail despite doing EVERYTHING right ⚡In those situations, the ROI diminishes, eroding confidence in the people or the process, which may be unwarranted. So, I reframed my set of Innovation Must Do’s—here are a few: ✔Find creative ways to understand consumer needs/problems at ANY budget ✔Lead by example in building a Culture that embraces failure, continuous learning, and adaptability ✔ Create Value through a wider toolbox that includes: Product Upgrades, New Business Models, Supply Chain innovation, and Innovative Marketing Here’s a litmus test on whether this is a productive shift:   💡 A focus on PRODUCT requires a LOT of time/$ investment from Product Development/R&D Teams, which brings opportunity cost to those resources 💡A focus on bringing INNOVATIVE THINKING into our every day requires daily commitment from EVERYONE. 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚? #innovation #innovationculture #insights  #brandstrategy 

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In the world of branded food, a critical gap often overlooked is the deep understanding of core consumers and brand identity. Too many early-stage food companies see packaging as just a container, missing its true power. Your packaging isn't just a wrapper—it's your brand's billboard. It tells your story, defines your values, and sets you apart in a crowded market. Brand identity is essential for distinguishing a brand and maintaining customer loyalty, especially in the franchising sector, where it is key in driving value. A lack of alignment on this can easily make or break a deal. During my conversation with the 1851 Franchise on successful mergers and acquisitions in franchising, I emphasized other critical factors such as a strong back office, well-defined standard operating procedures, robust field support, and a cooperative partnership with the franchisor. At Greenwich Capital Group LLC, we observe firsthand how effective implementation of these elements can influence outcomes in the M&A market. To read the full article, click here: https://lnkd.in/gByQbPGd

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Interested in starting or scaling your CPG brand? I’m offering an exclusive opportunity to work 1:1 with me on building and scaling your CPG business — and 100% of proceeds will be donated to The Entrepreneurial Spirit Fund, a program that has already donated over $350,000 in grants to minority small business owners. As the founder of SIA Scotch Whisky, I built and scaled a  one-employee company from a Kickstarter campaign to an exit in just 6 years. Now, I’m excited to share my playbook with you. The @Intro team has invited me to try out their new subscription feature, and I’m offering 5 exclusive mentorship slots. Here’s what we can cover together: ✔️ Brand building and product differentiation. ✔️ Retail distribution strategies for the spirits industry. ✔️ Early stage growth, PR, and preparing for acquisition. ✔️ Unlimited chat and 30-minute monthly video calls for hands-on support. $600/month — all proceeds go to The Entrepreneurial Spirit Fund. Honored to be featured on Intro alongside other CPG Experts like Ariel Kaye (Founder of Parachute Home), Vanessa Dew (Founder of Health-Ade Kombucha), Nik Sharma (CPG Investor in brands like Feastables and Juneshine), Ben Zises (Founding Advisor for quip and Caraway), and Melanie Masarin (Founder and CEO of Ghia). Comment “interested” to secure your spot: intro.co/carin

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We’ve been able to take in data and pump out new SKUs that align with what works And you should be too. Our Collagen Burn = our best SKU So we took that data, and released the elite version. And they’ve just been ripping We then looked at what’s trending in our market → fasting being so popular lately, we released Burn Fast which mimics the effects of fasting That’s all great – but what you do with these new releases will make or break you. You have to use the existing success product the right way to be able to market the new ones correctly – so what we did was include it in a bundle with the new SKUs We emphasized the fact that though these all stem from Burn, they all work together -- further educating on the products What you have to do is stay 2-3 products ahead – release variations of your success product and create bundles and sets including the existing product to really bump up that AOV That innovation is what’s going to reignite the community especially if you’ve been riding that success wave for a while and haven’t released a new SKU yet

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Here’s a little insider scoop on beauty products in grocery stores: Grocery buyers? They’re mostly focused on food—so hair care product sales are a bonus! That’s why many grocery store corporate buyers work with distributors (like TWT) who specialize in beauty. These distributors offer a specialized expertise of understanding the details of a category like Black or Hispanic hair care. They do some of the heavy lifting of curating hair care shelves in grocery stores and are key decision makers in deciding which brands and products make it to the shelf. Each item on a grocery store shelf is a financial investment, so a distributor helps grocery stores stay stocked without taking away from their main goal: selling food. If you're an emerging brand, this is key to know! Pitching to the right distributor might be the shortcut you need to get on those shelves.

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