1/ Sort of @mattydom :) I think what @andrewchen is saying makes a ton of sense for the consumer internet and even digitally native CPG brands that had become darlings in SV over the last few years (and now are all going offline).
2/ For CPG digitally native, I see a ton of VC firms pumping $X0m into fake mayo companies, juicers and online personal care companies where the money is burnt on marketing before there is clear product market fit.
3/ The result? Post-money trap (raising too much at too high a valuation), VC gets upset they aren't seeing growth, further unnatural acts to boost growth.
4/ Traditional CPG (think @HUMNutrition, @Supergoop, @RXBAR) almost never raises as much money as those mentioned above, and thus doesn’t have the "luxury" of dumping big $ into marketing.
5/ If you look at the last 200 most successful exits in CPG, they all had a) a product that was unique in a way that mattered to the consumer, and b) a brand that really resonated with the consumer.
6/ That's it. That's the secret. Product Uniqueness + Brand intensity = CPG brand that is going to be successful.
7/ For 4b- think of @vitaminwater 15 years ago (before Coke) or @HaloTopCreamery today. Brand intensity with the consumer matters. It is driven in part, but not solely, by the product uniqueness.
8/ So if brand intensity matters in traditional CPG, and it is more than just product uniqueness, then what is it?
Packaging. The packaging is the brand billboard.
Packaging. The packaging is the brand billboard.
9/ What a lot of brand consultants will focus on is related to ads (typically digital), FB/Instagram campaigns, PR etc. I've seen 10x the money go into those campaigns as is warranted, and about 1/10th as much go into the packaging.
10/ You walk by the beverage case at Whole Foods- you buy based on what you see right there. Which is the packaging. That is brand marketing for traditional CPG. (other parts - ads/PR aren't good focus for emerging CPG)
11/ In traditional CPG, for brands with <$5m in rev, 90% of the brand is packaging. (rest is the site and other collateral that tell the brand story). Almost none of it should be ads/PR - they haven't yet proven product market fit. Nailing brand positioning on package is v. hard
