Tasty CPG News 9/25/23
Jordan Buckner
👋 Founder Foodbevy.com and Joyful Co. | Forbes 30 Under 30 | I help food and beverage founders grow from Startup To Scale. I help people and companies spread joy by sending meaningful gifts featuring minority founders.
Well, that's a wrap from Expo East... no really. If you haven't heard the news, New Hope announced that this would be the last year putting on Expo East. I have a personal affinity to this event as it was the first conference in which I pitched my brand TeaSquares and gave a talk 5 years ago.
Now there's a ton of debate in the emerging CPG space on how beneficial these tradeshows truly are. Brands invest tens of thousands of dollars (sometimes more) in getting a booth and flying the team out, without an ROI to show for it.
New Hope is moving to a new event style focused on connecting buyers to brands, which, I honestly think is a better opportunity. Let's be real... most of expo consists of being pitched by service providers and giving out free samples, when founders are really just looking to connect with buyers and distributors.
So I'm cautiously optimistic about this new format and it's ability to help propel brands... as long as it stays affordable.
What do you think? E-mail me back and let me know.
Jordan
😋 This Week in #CPG
A roundup of CPG news that happened last week brought to you by Amber Caro
🛒 Retail Rollouts
➡ Tea Drops is in Sprouts nationwide Sashee Chandran
➡ Better Nature Tempeh is in all UK Whole Foods (Fabio Rinaldo and Christopher Kong)
➡ Wandering Bear Coffee is in 200+ Whole Foods (Ben Gordon)
➡ MingsBings is now in over 150 Whole Foods (Ming Tsai)
➡ GOODLES launched in HEB
➡ NanaShake's Nanapops are available at all Goodness Me! Natural Food Markets in Ontario (Yazeed Yasin)
➡ Perfy is now available in 16 Harmons Grocery stores Vasa Martinez
➡ Two Bears Coffee is now available in select Costco stores in Canada (David Schneiderman - Oat Milk Aficionado)
🚀 Product / Brand Launches
➡ BOBABAM launched new brown sugar and coffee variety pack in Costco along the East coast (Apu Mody)
➡ IQBAR launched a limited edition pumpkin spice flavor Will Nitze
➡ Cocojune Products has new line of labneh dips in an Original, Red Pepper, and Lemon and Dill flavor in Whole Foods nationwide (Frederik Høgh-Christensen)
➡ Honey Mama's launched a cinnamon roll, mocha crunch, and chocolate cake flavor of truffle treats (Christy Goldsby)
➡ Thor's Skyr released three new flavors: Coffee, Key Lime Pie, and Coconut (Unnar Beck)
🤝 Partnerships
➡ Aura Bora and Graza have partnered to launch a non-alcoholic olive oil martini Paul Voge Andrew Benin
➡ Ruby Hibiscus has partnered with Adrian Cashmere to introduce their Ruby Hibiscus Pink Lemonade Noah Wunsch
Who did we miss? E-mail Me
JOYFUL CO. REDESIGN
BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHY
At the beginning of this journey, I thought I could just take all the product photographs on my iPhone and call it a day. I even bought a light box to shoot everything in. All the photos I took myself just turned out....ok. I mean, they would pass, but wouldn't embody the premium brand I'm creating.
I partnered with Wonderkind for a lifestyle photoshoot, and couldn't be happier with the results. The shots are vibrant, fun, and showcase our brand and partner products. Huge shoutout to Elle De Freitas and her team for the amazing photoshoot. I'll be using the photos on our website and in e-mail campaigns. Super excited to get these out to the world.
WEEKLY UPDATES
WEBINAR: ASK AN EXPERT- THE BEST WAYS TO USE DATA FOR CPG BRANDS
As a CPG brand, you know that you should use data to support your business, but where any how do you find the data you need?
Join me for our Ask an Expert Session as I’m joined by my guests from NielsenIQ to answer all your data questions.
We’ll cover:
How to find data for your brand
How to find category data
Utilizing data for investor and retailer pitches
MAKING THE NUMBERS WORK® FOR YOU
The Making the Numbers Work® for You retreat is a 2-day transformational business finance and mindset retreat. It was designed especially for those business owners who struggle with or who wish to improve the management of their business finances.
With a focus of mindset, mechanics, and motivation, you will leave the weekend with an improved mindset, a thorough review of your financials, and a custom finance activities calendar.
The next retreat will be on October 26 and 27th via Zoom, 11am to 5:30pm Eastern Time.
Click here for more information and to book your strategy call.
Note: All retreats are held virtually via Zoom
TAKING YOUR PRODUCT FROM RECIPE TO FORMULA
Taking a recipe from a raw concept into a tangible product is a path paved with challenges and tough decisions. But there are huge rewards on offer for those that can successfully navigate the journey.
A delicious prototype is one thing, but when it’s time to invest significant money in manufacturing and scaling your recipe, there are serious considerations at play.
Does your recipe scale into a saleable product? How much is your ideal customer willing to pay? These questions must be answered using research and careful planning. Only then can you embark on the product development journey and start turning your recipe into a formula for commercial success.
STARTUP TO SCALE PODCAST
140. Accuracy vs. Aspiration in Demand Forecasting
Building a CPG brand is like playing a game of which came first, the chicken or the egg. You need inventory to feel confident making sales, but you need sales to have the money to pay for inventory. This is especially true with products that have a short shelf life. What’s the answer? Utilizing proper forecasting tools to know how much product you should make.
I’ve invited on Ian Leaman, co-founder and CEO of Pantry AI to discuss how to improve your forecasting.
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
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