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As another tumultuous year ends, we eagerly anticipate what’s to come in the following twelve months. Here are the top CPG and retail trends we predict will be top-of-mind for retailers, brands, and consumers in 2023:

1. Direct-to-consumer

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) is a retail model where brands sell directly to new customers, eliminating the need to join forces with big retail brands and brick-and-mortar stores. Consumer expectations and preference to buy from DTC brands are at an all-time high, with 23% of shoppers claiming DTC channels offer better quality products. And 61% of consumers also believe DTC companies provide the best personalized and engaging digital experiences compared to marketplaces and third-party channels.

A DTC brand takes complete ownership over its relationship with a consumer from sales, distribution, and marketing. For brand owners, DTC channels help increase profits by cutting distributor and middle-men costs, creating strong relationships with consumers, and forming a memorable brand personality. DTC brands also have the mobility to create personalized relationships with their shoppers, follow retail trends in a timely manner, and use their consumer data to their advantage.

2. Personalized experiences

Closely connected with the rise of DTC comes the trend of personalized shopping experiences. Personalizing a …

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Retailers Focus On Customer Experience With Store Remodelling

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seemed as if the demise of physical retail was imminent. With stores forced to close, the popularity of e-commerce accelerated and many retailers wondered if in-store shopping would ever return. So far, such fears are proving unfounded – in the U.S., foot traffic has continued to rise, and retailers are expected to open more than 75 million square feet of new space.

However, this is not simply a return to pre-pandemic normality. Retailers are recognizing that shoppers are now looking for a different experience – and are remodeling their physical space accordingly. Walmart spent $ 3.3bn on store upgrades last year and continues to remodel its spaces. Target is investing larger sums in revamps of existing stores and new openings.

Aligning the physical with the digital

In many cases, the store remodelling programmes now underway at leading retailers worldwide reflect an attempt to bring the physical shopping experience into line with the digital one. Retailers often talk about the importance of an “omnichannel” approach, offering shoppers a means to buy their products in any way they see fit. Still, these channels will not operate independently of one another – consistency and interoperability …

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How CPG Brands are Surviving – and Thriving – Amid Increasing Costs

If there is one thing that all consumer packaged goods suppliers have learned over the past two years, it’s how interconnected our global economy is. Even a supplier that is local to its primary market is at the mercy of events happening on the other side of the planet. 

Nowhere has this been more evident than with the rising costs of doing business, whether it’s due to scarcity of raw materials, supply chain bottlenecks, or increasing fuel and labor costs. At the same time, inflationary pressures are squeezing them from the consumer side, as shoppers are more cognizant than ever of spending. 

I spoke with more than a dozen suppliers from around the world – some of them during a recent ECRM session – to get a sense of the challenges these brands are facing, and how they have adapted their businesses to accommodate them. 

What it basically comes down to is that suppliers are getting hit on all fronts: rising costs of raw materials, shipping and freight (even local freight prices have gone up due to the increased fuel price). Labor is also getting expensive and can be scarce. Added to this are shipping backlogs at the ports, which …

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Building a Customer Retention Strategy

Most CPG founders are so focused on acquiring new customers that they don’t spend enough time and energy retaining their existing ones. According to Neil Patel, “The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-80%, while the probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20%.” On top of this, customer acquisition costs for new customers are much higher than for existing customers.

Are you building your strategy around retention first and acquisition second? If not, you should be as it’s the foundation to building a successful business.

Let’s break down what a retention first strategy looks like and how to build one for your business.

First, let’s look at a traditional marketing funnel.

Marketing funnel

Ideally, each potential customer moves from awareness down to advocacy. Now it’s called a funnel because at each stage you’ll have fewer and fewer people moving to the next step. Sometimes it’s because the product isn’t a fit, while other times people are simply busy and forget. As a company, your goal is to:

1) Build as many advocates and loyalists as possible, and 

2) Increase the number of people moving from one stage to the next without exiting the funnel

Why? Advocates and loyalists …

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This Veteran-Owned Sauce Brand Proves to Retailers That “It’s Gon Be Good”

John Walden, Founder and Chief Quality Assurance/Quality Control Officer of J.W. Southern Sauce grew up in restaurants. His parents and family worked long careers in the service and restaurant industry, where he learned a lot about what makes a good meal. The secret? Sauce. While his love for food and delicious sauces sparked at a young age, manufacturing and producing his own masterful sauces was a new endeavor. From 2005 to 2011, Walden served in the United States Army, where he completed two combat tours in Iraq. While serving in the Army, he started developing J.W. Southern Sauce, born through his collective experiences across several countries and many years of trying to make military food more flavorful. Several years and lots of hard work later, the one-of-a-kind LGBTQ-, veteran-, and now Black-owned and operated brand launched on March 18, 2021. 

J.W. Southern Sauce

We mustard from the beginning 

Before launching J.W. Southern Sauce, Walden received formal education about the sauce manufacturing industry by attending an array of food-safe programs and the University of Georgia’s Department of Science and Technology’s Better Process Control School. From there, he needed a message behind his brand, something that represented all his hard work and would resonate with …

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Hitting the Big Time: Are You Ready for Retail?

Many small businesses and startups are conceived to bring new and unique products to market. Entrepreneurs often start by selling their products via local boutiques and company websites. However, to reach a wider audience and achieve greater success, you will need the bigger, broader sales channels and supply chain acumen of retail and e-commerce marketplaces to help you grow. Here’s what it takes to make that leap: 

Establish credibility with major retailers

Before you can sell your product through a national retailer, you must sell it to them. In addition to pitching your product, you’ll have to pitch your company – and prove your ability to meet their requirements. Scale is an obvious point: do you have the production capacity to meet the retailer’s needs? If demand takes off, will you be able to meet it? 

You also need to demonstrate your company’s credibility in a marketplace that utterly depends upon customer satisfaction – timely delivery, sufficient supply, reliable quality, and product authenticity. The gatekeepers will carefully vet new products and suppliers, so it’s important to work within an infrastructure that supports the retailer’s systems and reputation. 

One key qualifier large retailers look for is the implementation of a standardized, …

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