The PGS Blog

Why a Sales Strategy is NOT a Growth Strategy

The vast majority of CPG startups operate as B2B businesses. They don’t interact with their consumers. They aren’t curious about how they receive and use their products. As long as case volumes grow, they’re happy. As long as their wholesale price can float operations and

Successful Innovation is Increasingly About Resolving Nuanced Trade-offs

The standard of consumer goods innovation has risen in the past 10-15 years. If you want to achieve scale without influencer hype and keep growing, you must understand category-specific trade-offs and resolve them with an excellent sensory experience.  To get a real foothold, therefore, you need

Why Venture Capital is Pouring Back into Food

Gotcha. April Fools. VC money is not coming back. Maybe at a trickle from small funds that somehow sold the food sector to their LPs. Mostly, Wall Street is done with super early investments in food because, unlike soft drinks, precisely none of these brands

Riding the Ramp Training – April 12 

I’ll explain. But before I do, there are less than 10 spots available for the April Q2 cohort. So, you may want to grab one now.  OK. For the rest of you reading this, this is my best explanation of why it matters for CPG founders

Billion Dollar CPG Brands – How Do They Scale?

The power of focus is how they do it. They keep their revenue primarily within 1-2 core categories and even further, mostly within 10-15 prime cash cow UPCs.  This makes their plants very efficient since most of the UPC diversity becomes different packaging runs or flavorings

Why You Need a Strategic Review – Not a Re-Brand

When early-stage businesses struggle in the premium end of consumer-packaged goods, a shocking number of founders and operators leap to the conclusion that they need a “brand refresh” or a “re-brand.” Look, branding agencies are numerous, and they network heavily at Expo West. They sponsor

Why is the Natural Foods Sector Decelerating?

Here’s a teaser for my free webinar this Wednesday - What Has Changed Since 2019? The latest data I have on hand shows that, across food/beverage/personal care and supplements, natural and organic product dollars only grew 3% in 2023, which is more or less on track

Beware the Ego-Stroking Angel Fool

There are more wealthy angel investors than ever. This is a result of the US Dollar’s role in global finance. Most of these newly rich angels add no value beyond money. Suppose you are doing well and are an excellent networker of advice and talent.

Hiring a Strategy Consultant is Not About You

My best clients approach me understanding that a) they can’t know it all, b) because they are new to their operating category, and c) if they learn just one transformational insight about their business’ competitive situation, even a five-figure fee is cheap. They don’t take my

Valuations that Work for Founders and Investors – Part 2

Conversely, founders often try to go to the other extreme. Hey, Mark Cuban, give me $500,000 for 5% equity. Give it! This is a pre-money valuation of $9,500,000. For a typical Shark Tank business selling less than $1 million, this is a crazy 10x of