Retail Strategy with Nate Rosen

Nate Rosen is a CPG expert who consults and advises emerging brands on retail and growth strategy. He’s also the founder of Express Checkout, a CPG industry insider newsletter that keeps execs informed about the latest happening in the consumer industry. 

Nate chatted with us about retail strategy and lots more!

What do you see a lot of emerging F&B brands struggle with? 

I think a lot of emerging brands get caught up in the idea of going nationwide at a large retailer, but the reality is they don’t have the infrastructure in place to support that type of distribution. 

There are some retailers out there -  like Costco and Whole Foods  - where you start out regional and then go nationwide. 

My biggest advice to F&B brands is to be strategic with retail distribution. Do an in-depth assessment of your brand and operations. Understand what your fulfillment capacity looks like right now, next month, and 6 months from now.

What ways have you seen brands get strategic with retail distribution? 

There are places besides a grocery store that you can market and sell your product!

Be creative about your retail channels - hotels, food service, college campus, etc. 

Athletic Brewing did this. They started selling their non-alcoholic beer next to energy gels in running stores because their target demo was this healthy, active individual. They also got in front of customers by showing up at sports events like Iron Man, Spartan, and local marathons. 

What other brands had a unique retail strategy? 

Ghost - the energy drink that got bought by Keurig Dr Pepper for over $1 billion - was not at every bodega or grocery store in the beginning. The founder was intentional about selling them at GNC and Vitamin Shoppe’s because Ghost’s initial target demo shopped there. 

An A&B sales exec discovered Ghost while shopping at GNC and emailed the Ghost founders to discuss a partnership. That’s how Ghost really blew up. 

RXBAR is another famous example of this. The founder was doing CrossFit and sold the bars at CrossFit gyms. 

Once an F&B brand has the distribution, what’s usually on their mind? 

Growth!

A lot of these brands see a lot of growth and then it starts to slow down. Brands need to figure out a way to kickstart that growth again. That’s why they create new flavors and products. 

Besides growth, I’ve particularly noticed celebrity founded brands have their own unique problem. They reach a point where they need to separate themselves from the celebrity. In other words, the brand needs to be able to stand on its own and reach an audience outside the celebrity’s fandom. 

What’s the best way to stay on top of your retail velocity?

Look for tools to help you automate the finance & ops side. 

Founders have so much going on that it can be really difficult to focus on every nitty-gritty detail. It’s easy for these things to fall to the wayside. 

What’s some advice you have for emerging brands? 

I think more brands should talk to each other because they’re probably going through the same growing pains. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions to the buyer or retailer you’re working with. I think a lot of brands don’t ask questions because they’re afraid of looking stupid, but it’s actually smart to ask questions. 

Mistakes cost money in this industry!