Door-counting is easy to pick on as a completely common yet non-strategic ‘metric.’ Door counting is the easiest public way to suggest growth without divulging your actual trailing revenue to your competitors. The problem is twofold. Not every door is created equal in retail. The reason for this is pretty
In celebration of the second anniversary of its publication, I want to share an excerpt from deep inside the book. I pound heavily on the topic of iteration because it’s critical for most consumer brands to unleash exponential growth (or any kind of growth). Iteration, though,
There’s a fundamental adage in the social sciences when it comes to observing human affairs: all is NOT what it appears to be. The season of investor conferences has begun in person yet again. Bevnet. Nutritional Capital Network. And so on. Founders new to the industry should
One of the enduring challenges in premium CPG innovation is that the founder(s) are usually category geeks. This makes it hard for these founders to accept that even their early fans may not be so geeky. Fans may routinely gravitate to a specific attribute embedded in your offering. Differing groups of fans may gravitate
It sounds so obvious; it almost seems sad we have to discuss it. But here’s a great description of the problem founders with NO track record face in the CPG industry: they disproportionately attract weak talent from within their immediate social circle, exploitative partners, and
Yes and no… I got into a debate recently with a seasoned investor who was adamant that the ecosystem of resources is better for today’s founders of consumer brands than twenty years ago. When I pressed him for his rationale, he pointed to the greater amount
I should admit, first of all, that I’ve only been inside one retail buyer ‘pitch’ while consulting for a significant multinational food company years ago. It was painful for reasons that don’t concern you. Actually, no. There was one thing these boneheads did that still
You probably know by now that I promote the idea of building the business early on by finding and creating heavy-using fans. To do this practically with a tiny budget and a small team, I advocate building heavy usage inside small social networks predisposed to
It’s no secret, I hope, that venture capitalists in any sector already know that most investments in their fund won’t generate a return. It’s the 10% or so that will that they count on. But which ones? Well, that’s a mystery worthy of a psychic. They
In my book – Ramping Your Brand – there is a line that gets at the fundamental danger in CPG innovation, the fundamental threat to above-average memorability in a crowded, oversupplied marketplace. “Rarity in its purest form—rare ingredients, rare flavors, rare sensory textures, rare symbols, and rare consumer