How to succeed in CPG: Focus on what works, cut the rest

Many of us in CPG are knee-deep in 2026 promo plans for retail partners — and honestly, it feels a bit like trying to build a puzzle without knowing if all the pieces are in the box. Here’s what’s making me want to bang my head against a planogram: ** Category reviews happened months ago… still waiting on answers. Without knowing if we’re expanding or shrinking, how do we know whether to add fuel to the fire or save the matchsticks? ** Retailers want promo plans yesterday, but updated costs for promos/displays/ads? Still MIA or come AFTER we've submitted and SUPRRISE! They're more $$ every year. ** Even brokers can’t get responses — it’s like sending emails into a retail black hole. And an actual meeting with a buyer - a rare creature. The result? Brands are expected to make big financial decisions with little clarity, which feels less like “strategic partnership” and more like a trust fall… where nobody confirms they’ll catch you. 👉 Retailers, we love you — but transparency and responsiveness would make these partnerships way more productive (and a lot less ulcer-inducing). Curious: how are my fellow CPG friends surviving this planning season? Coffee? Wine? Both?

⏰ Timing can make or break your retail success. In retail, even the best product can underperform if it’s launched at the wrong time. Seasonality, buyer schedules, and category resets all play a massive role in whether your product gets noticed—or overlooked. ✅ Category resets: Most retailers only review and reset shelves 1–2 times per year. Miss it, and you’re waiting months for another shot. ✅ Seasonality: Launching a pumpkin spice SKU in spring? Not a good move. Match your product to seasonal demand for maximum impact. ✅ Buyer calendars: Retail buyers work months in advance. That means pitching holiday products in summer, or back-to-school snacks in spring. 👉 The brands that win at retail know how to align their pitches and launches with the right timing. It’s not just about the product—it’s about when and how you bring it to market. Ready to master the retail sales calendar? Let’s align your brand with the right timing → https://lnkd.in/ds2Nq4SA #cpgbrands #retailsuccess #retailstrategy #timingiseverything #cpgmarketing #foodandbeverage #retailready #brandgrowth #salesstrategy #wholesaledistribution

The most expensive lie in CPG... "Promo lift means success." Because volume lies. And every brand celebrating “lift” is blind to the margin they just gave up. Incremental profit tells the truth. Most teams still celebrate lift and here's how it usually plays out: +120% sales High fives Repeat the promo next quarter But here’s what they miss: On paper? Sales doubled. On the P&L? “You just lit $20K on fire.” Why? Because volume doesn't mean value. Here are 6 reasons volume lies: 1️⃣ Pantry loading → Tomorrow’s sales dressed up as today’s win 2️⃣ Cannibalization → You grew A by killing B 3️⃣ Subsidy → You paid discounts on sales you'd get anyway 4️⃣ Forward buying → Retailers & distributors win, you lose visibility 5️⃣ Execution leakage → You paid for a promo that never happened 6️⃣ Post-promo dip → The hangover that wrecks next month’s margin. The metric that actually matters? Incremental profit per store-week. That’s the number that tells you what worked and what never should’ve happened. That’s why I put together a promo scorecards: → 10 weighted metrics → Flags subsidy loss, cannibalization, leakage → Tells you when to STOP before Q4 gets torched It’s time to rebuild promo calendars around incremental ROI, not volume. Volume lied. The scorecard tells the truth. Want the high res PDF? Comment “scorecard” and I’ll send it. ➕ Follow Yuval Selik for CPG truth that protects your promo plans.

🔎 The Invisible Wall Between Food Brands and U.S. Retail Growth For many manufacturers, U.S. retail feels like walking toward a massive opportunity only to hit an invisible wall. Why? Because too many manufacturers launch blind relying on local success or gut feeling. Here is what happens when you go to U.S. retail without visibility: → Buyers see “just another SKU.” → Promotions eat margins without driving rotation. → Products sit on shelves until they quietly disappear. The difference between failure and growth is commercial intelligence: 🔹 Identifying which SKUs actually drive the category, not just your brand. 🔹 Pricing aligned with true U.S. consumer elasticity. 🔹 Tracking supply chain performance before the buyer flags it. With one ready-meals brand, focusing first on the 2 SKUs that represented 60% of their sales was only the starting point. The real turning point was showing the buyer how those SKUs could lift the entire category. That shifted the relationship from “another supplier” to “strategic partner.” 👉 In U.S. retail, the problem is rarely lack of demand. The problem is lack of visibility into what buyers and consumers truly value. Curious if your product has the visibility to succeed in U.S. retail? Let’s talk. Schedule your free consultation: 📧 info@integra-food.com 🌐 integra-food.com 🇺🇸 +1 786 998 4424 #USRetail #FoodBusiness #RetailStrategy #DataDriven #FoodInnovation Source: https://lnkd.in/dY6d6sJW

When data works together, great things happen. A leading CPG brand used integrated forecasting and sales insights to preserve shelf space and cut shrink—saving $2M in annual sales. A great example of how Circana’s Liquid Supply Chain solutions turn complexity into clarity. #CPG #RetailAnalytics #InventoryOptimization #LiquidSupplyChain #CircanaInsights

From Mass Promotions to Dynamic Micro-Segmentation For years, promotions have been the default lever in CPG, mostly focused on price discounts. But here’s the catch: when every shopper gets the same deal, the baseline erodes. Even worse... you’re training consumers to only buy at a discount. We’ve all seen the symptoms:  With more than 20% of revenues consumed by promotions — over half of which fail to deliver positive ROI — many categories remain addicted to discounts, keeping margins under constant pressure. The real problem isn’t promotions themselves. It’s limiting them to price discounts, lacking negotiation power with retailers, and the absence of precision when delivering the same offer to every shopper. At Tandem, we approach this challenge by focusing promotions on value rather than price, and by shifting from traditional segmentation to dynamic micro-segmentation. That means designing promotions that are tailored to: • Who: the right customer or shopper segment.  • Where: the channel or retailer that matters most.  • When: the specific consumption occasion.  • How: the mechanic that maximizes value (not just volume). The right question is not only “what promotion should I run?”, but also “for whom, in which occasion, and under what mechanic?” In our experience, when promotions are treated as an integrated system — combining pricing, portfolio, and execution levers — the results are significantly different: Higher ROI, stronger baselines, and healthier growth over time. #CPG #promotions #strategy

🚨 Thinking about retail? Read this first. Getting your product on the shelf isn’t about sending samples and crossing your fingers. Texas retail is a huge opportunity—but it’s also full of costly detours. Join us for our October 9th DFW CPG Huddle: “Breaking into Retail: A Roadmap for Emerging CPG Brands” Our guide: Amish Puri, VP Sales at SPINS. You’ll learn: Texas grocery reality: Which retailers matter, how assortment decisions get made, and why “local foragers” actually matter. Sustainable growth: Avoid the trap of growing doors faster than cash. Picking partners wisely: Why bigger isn’t always better. Pitching like a pro: Data storytelling, the 4Ps, and what buyers actually care about. Data as your advantage: Velocity, category contribution, and real-world performance > glossy decks. 📉 We’ll unpack one illustrative brand that “won” national distribution too early—and went bankrupt. 📈 And another that grew step by step with mission-aligned retailers—eventually becoming a consumer favorite. You’ll leave with a clear roadmap for breaking into retail the smart way. 👉 Registration link in comments. #CPG #RetailSuccess #EmergingBrands #CPGStrategies #TexasRetail #SustainableGrowth

Control over Returns & Revenue = Control over Growth. 🚀 How do you win the retail game? It comes down to three levers: 📦 Minimize Residuals — #forecast accurately, tie production to real inventory flow. 📣 Promote Products — launch smart offers, ride demand spikes (not blanket discounts). 🛒 Expand Shelf Space — introduce value-adding SKUs, optimize for visibility & appeal. 💡 The secret? Balance circulation with attractive returns. That’s how distribution turns into growth. #FMCG #RetailTech #TradeMarketing #SalesOps #RevenueGrowth

🔵Best way to grow a CPG brand? Start local and stay local until demand reaches outside your current region. In the beginning it'll be a challenge to see where your product sells best: convenience stores, distributors, grocery stores, bars, restaurants, etc. Once some data is built up on sales/locations, you'll know where to focus your time and effort, which can be a combination of hammering the strong accounts and figuring out ways to build up the weak accounts.🟠 #robinsights

📊 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹? Across Walmart, Target, Kroger, and Albertsons, we mapped unit sales change vs. price per unit change (Q2 2025 vs. Q2 2024). Here’s what stands out: 🔹Pringles has leaned into price cuts, and the payoff is clear: strong unit growth. A reminder that price elasticity can still unlock share in a crowded category. The increase in volume has also offset the price cuts with a net gain in revenue. 🔹Barcel shows the opposite story – steep price increases paired with a drop in units. This highlights the ceiling consumers are willing to tolerate before switching. 🔹Frito-Lay portfolio brands (Doritos, Cheetos, Ruffles, Tostitos) are clustered in the middle, suggesting a deliberate balance between price protection and volume stability. 🔹Private Label isn’t capturing the upside you might expect from lower pricing, hinting that brand equity and shelf presence still matter more than raw affordability. The bigger takeaway? Growth isn’t one-dimensional. In an inflation-sensitive environment, retailers and brands need to understand both sides of the equation, price moves and volume responses, to anticipate where share will flow next. 👉 Success in the upcoming year hinges on precise investments guided by data-driven decisions, not mere instinct. This is where we support our clients in navigating towards clarity. What's your brand strategy in the current environment? Are you focusing on units or price? IF you would like to understand more on how these levers interact and what the impacts may be get in touch. *Data sourced from Circana #Retail #Analytics #CPG #ConsumerInsights