September 2026•6 min read
Food Prices Look Calm. Your Invoice Says Otherwise.
Input costs are up double digits and buyers are jumpier than ever. 'Costs are up' isn't a pitch anymore. Here's what actually gets a price increase approved.
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CPG Buzz
Monthly straight talk on brokers, distributors, buyer pitches, trade spend and growing a diversity-owned brand in real retail.
8 articles
July 2026•8 min read
Launching a CPG Brand in 2026 vs. 1996: Same Dream, Completely Different Nightmare
Capital got cheaper. Attention got more expensive. What actually changed for CPG founders in thirty years, and what didn't.
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June 2026•7 min read
How to Run Promotions in 2026 Without Quietly Funding Your Own Demise
The buyer's ask always sounds reasonable. Here's the breakeven math that decides whether your next promo builds the brand or bankrolls the retailer.
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May 2026•5 min read
Broker vs. In-House Sales Team: The Math Nobody Wants to Do
Hire a VP of Sales or keep the broker? The answer depends on numbers most founders haven't run, and on being honest about stage instead of ego.
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April 2026•5 min read
The Sell Sheet Is Dead. Here's What Buyers Actually Look At First
Founders spend weeks on a sell sheet. Buyers spend about eleven seconds on it, and most of those seconds are on one line.
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March 2026•6 min read
You Got Into KeHE. Now What?
Distribution is shelf space you're renting, not shelf space you own. What the brands that survive their first distributor relationship actually do.
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February 2026•6 min read
Diversity-Owned and Still Waiting: What Retailers Say vs. What They Do
Certification gets you into a database. It does not get you a category review. What actually converts diverse-supplier status into shelf space.
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January 2026•5 min read
What a CPG Broker Actually Does (Besides Take a Cut)
A CPG broker isn't a rolodex with a pulse. The job is translation, turning founder passion into something a buyer will actually act on.
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