The Growth Channels That Work When the Timing Is Right
I’ve found that growth gets easier when you stop chasing broad awareness and start showing up for specific customers. This week I wrote specifically about how to connect with outdoor consumers and how to build die-hard fans for your brand. Now, this same strategy can also be applied in other context knowing the real advantage comes from building systems that convert trial into repeat demand. That’s something I saw firsthand at TeaSquares too. Seven years ago I sat down with Peter Rahal (RxBar) and he shared that you need to find who your initial customer is and get your products directly in their hands. For RxBar that was Crossfit gyms. For TeaSquares, that was corporate offices.
Trial works best when it happens in a moment of real need.
Retail growth gets stronger when your broker strategy matches your stage.
Cash flow and operations discipline create room to grow with confidence.
How to Win with the Outdoor Consumer
Outdoor consumers are not one niche audience. They are a collection of highly intentional buyers who care about utility, enjoyment, experience, and values alignment. In this article I share how sampling works best when it solves a real problem in the moment, like post-hike hunger, mealtime at camp, or shared snacks around the fire. For emerging brands that can create the kind of pull that leads campground stores and other small-format retailers to stock you because consumers are already asking for more.
✍️ Articles From This Week
The Ultimate Guide to CPG Brokers
A broker can accelerate retail growth, but only when your margins, trade spend, and retail readiness are strong enough to support the relationship.
Read More
Modern Cash Flow Blueprint for CPG Brands
One of the most practical reminders here is that monthly forecasting helps you plan, but weekly forecasting helps you avoid the surprises that can derail growth.
Read More
🎧 Podcast This Week
256. How to Turn Affiliate and Ambassador Programs Into a Real Growth Channel
Affiliate marketing can be a strong growth lever for CPG brands when it’s approached with the right strategy. In this episode, I talk with David Abbey, co-founder of Endlss, about how brands can turn affiliate and ambassador programs into a real growth channel instead of treating them like one-off campaigns.
We talk about what makes these programs work, how to find the right partners, and how to build a system that drives sales over time.
255. Tuyyo Foods Merger: Latina-Founded Food Brands Merge to Form Unified Cultural CPG Brand
What happens when collaboration becomes the growth strategy?
In this episode, we sit down with the founding team behind TUYYO Foods to unpack the decision to merge Nemi Snacks, Todo Verde, and TUYYO Foods into one unified cultural CPG brand.
This conversation goes beyond press-release headlines. We talk about the realities of building independently, the behind-the-scenes conversations that led to alignment, and why they believed growing together was the more powerful long-term move. From shared values and cultural integrity to operations, leadership, and representation, this is a rare look at what intentional scale can really look like in CPG.
📅 Upcoming Events
Webinar: Conversion-Driven Packaging: The Ultimate Guide to Boosting Sales (Live Packaging Audit)
Your packaging is your first sales tool. Is it working for you? Join us for a live packaging audit, where packaging expert Sanders from NUEX Creative will analyze your packaging design and share insights to improve visual appeal, messaging, and functionality to boost sales.
Register now to refine your packaging for better conversions!
Want your product packaging audited? Submit product page when you register.
💰 Opportunities / Resources
🔍 Quickbooks Cleanup Checklist -Clean books give you clearer cash flow, fewer surprises, and faster, more confident decisions. Download the Clean Books Diagnostic Worksheet to spot bookkeeping gaps before they affect your next big move.
👩💻 Plus Forty helps CPG and e-com brands scale with vetted offshore talent - without the admin or the overhead. From executive assistants to media buyers and sales support, they handle sourcing, pre-vetting, contracts, payroll, insurance, 13th month pay and more, so you only pay for hours worked.Limited Offer: First 5 brands get the first month of work free (3-month minimum)."
👨💼 JPG Resources are now accepting applications for their 2026 Spring Founder Cohorts, and Foodbevy members get access to special discounted pricing! This virtual, B-school-style program is built specifically for food and beverage founders growing new and emerging brands. Discover and learn disciplines required for a solid foundation, while you receive actionable strategies, expert guidance, and personalized 1:1 advising.
💻 Peasy is a free, all-in-one operating system for CPG brands, built to replace spreadsheets with one simple dashboard for purchasing, receiving, production, inventory, and sales. Right now, they’re offering completely FREE access to the full platform with no limits, no credit card, no contracts. It’s free forever.
E-mail: intro@foodbevy.com to request an introduction to any of the partners above