Dive into the CPG industry’s dynamics, uncovering essential insights on profitable growth, learning in detail how and where you’ll create value, fiduciary responsibilities, and avoiding the most common founder mistakes.

Key Lessons:

1. CPG Industry Overview

2. Success Stories

3. Profitable Growth

4. Fiduciary, Founders & Advisors

5. Fatal Flaws

Learnings:

• Discover the secrets behind unicorn CPG success stories.

• Learn the true essence of “challenger” brands and how they’re disrupting.

• Identifying where your brand is positioned on the “skate” ramp and adjust accordingly.

• Master fiduciary roles and relationships to protect and enhance your business.

• Avoid the “fatal flaws” and “fatal mistakes” that derail early-stage brands.

Learn the art of raising capital, crafting a compelling pitch, and structuring investments to minimize dilution. While there are tons and tons of articles and books written on the fund-raising process, Jeff and CPG Brands focus on real world founder case studies and examples to enhance your’ understand of what’s really important to know.

Key Lessons:

1. Anatomy of Creating Value

2. The Fund-Raising Process & Key Steps

3. Who, Why and How Often do we have to Fund-Raise?

4. What are the Organization & Security Considerations?

5. Raise Amount & Valuation
   Fund-Raising Tips

6. Creating Your Own Cap Table

7. How to Minimize Your Dilution
   Pitch Slams

8. Investor Pitch Deck

9. Smoothie Cube Deck

10. Do’s & Don’ts of Investor Decks and your first Investor Meeting

Learnings:

• Learn the “Anatomy of Creating Shareholder Value” for your brand.

• Discover the science behind valuations and how you can maximize them.

• Value Creation: How to Build a Brand that Lasts.

• How to choose among; valuation, raise amount, security type, entity type, investor type and much more.

• Learn how to reduce dilution and learn what types of transactions that you should always stay away from.

• Avoid common pitfalls in early fundraising rounds.

• Build a winning investor deck that stands out and learn the “do’s” and “don’ts” regarding your first investor meeting.iption text goes here.

Gain critical financial insights to model success and manage trade spend, gross margins, and contribution metrics effectively. Understand how to use accounting on your side to help you organize your income statement to maximize gross margin.

Key Lessons:

1. Financial Statements

2. Contra-Revenue – Trade Spend

3. COGS, Gross Margin & Contribution Margin

4. Cost Reduction

5. Revenue Growth

6. Your Financial Model

Learnings:

• Tailored to CPG Startups Master your Chart of Accounts and your accounting to support your gross margin.

• A deep dive into the little know but single largest expense line item that you have! Unlock hidden profitability through optimized trade spend. Learn our Trade Spend Calculator.

• Learn strategies to maintain a healthy gross margin over 40%. Learn how much extra fund-raising the difference in 12 margin points made to Suja Juice.

• Gain understanding and confidence in the new models: 1) Detail 5yr financial model and the 2) Trade Spend Calculator.

Create a brand story that resonates, define your unique selling proposition, and build impactful digital strategies. Through increases in digital consumer marketing and with the inclusion of more objective performance metrics, marketing returns are now more tangible than ever. Learn what level of marketing is right for your enterprise size and where should marketing expense be on a long term % of revenue?

Key Lessons:

1. The Power of Storytelling 

2. Defining Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

3. Direct to Consumer

4. Traditional CPG Marketing

5. Building a Professional Website. 

6. Create a Social Media & Influencer Strategy.

7. AB Testing to Optimize Your Packaging

8. Taste: What Really Matters

9. Creating Brand Value

Learnings:

• Leverage the power of storytelling to build emotional connections.

• Define and capitalize on your unique selling proposition (USP).

• Build a professional website that converts browsers into buyers.

• Learn emerging brand CPG marketing strategies and tactics to drive awareness.

• Learn how to do digital comparisons of images and in person product tastings.

Build an effective sales strategy that includes brokers, door expansion, and winning at the shelf.

Key Lessons:

1. “When” and “Where” is the right order of Retailer Expansion?

2. Brokers “when” to use them and when “not” to use them.

3. Merchandising

4. Retailer Presentations

5. The Truth is at the Shelf. Spend time there!

6. SWOT Analysis. How to do one and how to use one.

Learnings:

• Recognize the right time for logical door expansion.

• Navigate the broker landscape to optimize costs and performance.

• Learn the “truth is at the shelf” approach for real-time insights.

• Create compelling retailer presentations that close deals.

• Align sales team compensation with measurable success metrics.

Scale your brand by validating proof of concept, understanding consumer behavior, and leveraging category dynamics.

Key Lessons:

1. Proof of Concept – All Around

2. Proof of Concept – Velocity

3. Category, Market & Niche

4. Consumer Adoption & Diffusion

5. How Brands Grow

6. How Brands Become Profitable

7. Category Management

Learnings:

• Learn how to gain proof of concept with repeat purchase and velocity metrics.

• Build scalable strategies that appeal to investors.

• Balance innovation with operational scalability for lasting growth.

• Use Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a brand satisfaction indicator.

• Understand the dynamics of category management and competitive positioning.

Navigate the operational complexities of co-packing, supply chains, and intellectual property to streamline efficiency. Understand how to effectively manage and spend the capital that you do have to maximize its impact. A third major tool – Inventory Planning in Excel is unveiled. It could become your primary inventory management tool.

Key Lessons:

1. Getting the basics right with your Co-Msn.

2. Dialing in Your 3PL.

3. Effective Cash Management

4. A “Poor Man’s” MRP – Finished Goods & Ingredients

5. Establishing Clear SMART Goals & Objectives

6. Finding the “Right” KPI’s to run your CPG business

7. CPG Brand Case Study

Learnings:

• Identify and partner with the right co-packers for long-term success.

• Optimize inventory planning to avoid stockouts or surplus.

• Protect your brand with robust intellectual property strategies.

• Build a strong supply chain that supports growth and profitability.

• Leverage case studies to anticipate and solve operational challenges.

Build a high-performing team, foster a winning culture, and learn and use proven tools to scale your business. Learn how SMART Goals can dramatically improve your internal relationships. The program concludes with Jeff walking through his 25 “plays” that hes used on more than one transaction and will create thoughts and ideas for you and your brand.

Key Lessons:

1. Building a championship Team

2. 16 Personalities

3. Payroll & Consulting, how to know what’s the right level to have

4. Compensating Your Sales Team

5. A Competitive Offer Letter

6. Jeff’s Playbook

7. Core Model Review

8. Tools & White Papers

Learnings:

• Build a championship team with clear roles and responsibilities.

• Learn why SMART Goals are critical to learn and use.

• Utilize personality tools to enhance team dynamics.

• Access white papers that provide actionable insights for decision-making.

• Get Jeff’s CPG Playbook that he’s evolved over his 8 transactions.