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If you recently launched a new business, you’re not alone. New business creation rose in 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic layoffs, the online commerce boom, and the shift to working from home. Since June 2020, the average number of monthly business applications has been 92% higher than between July 2004 and February 2020. 1 Strangler, Dane. New Business Creation In 2022: Continued Surge—Or Another Slump? Forbes. December 29, 2021.

Despite this enthusiasm for entrepreneurship, the reality is not all businesses survive the steep learning curve associated with being your own boss. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of operation and about 50% don’t survive past the fifth year. 

We don’t want this to happen to you.

That’s why we’re sharing business lessons of what never to do, according to leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies as well as start-ups. We want you to avoid costly pitfalls that erode productivity and profitability as you build, grow, or stabilize your brand. 

Even big brands bomb (and that’s okay)

Companies of all sizes make mistakes, which can serve as lessons for us to apply to our own ventures. Here are …

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How to Use E-Commerce To Foray Into Retail

More and more food and beverage consumer packaged goods (CPG) discovery and commerce is happening online. CPG brands who want to get ahead of the competition use e-commerce activity in different ways to jumpstart their retail strategy. 

Consumers discover products online

Undoubtedly, a utopia for many CPG manufacturers is seeing their products go into shopping carts and out the checkout aisle. Successful brands in national retail distribution know this journey can take more than a decade – if they make it at all.  Ninety five percent of new products fail, according to INC.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has shown an upswing in online grocery sales, the majority of food is still bought in retail stores. At a retailer point of sale, brands will grow and gain maximum consumer awareness.

Yet, retailers – faced with challenges of limited shelf space and the pressure of stocking high velocity goods – will need to rely on brands to bring in customers to their stores and increase product sell-through. Additionally, the average grocery store carries ~30,000 SKUs, according to FMI data*. Therein lies a great responsibility on brands to have some consumer recognition once they hit the shelf. 

Curious to learn more on how …

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Launching a new brand is exciting – you’ve seen a gap in the market and you’re ready to take advantage. For creative business founders and managers, this is the moment to seize the opportunity with the right new product.

However, the best new product in the world won’t succeed unless you get the basics right when running a business. So, in addition to thinking about what will get your product flying off the shelves – from smart customer research to great marketing – you need to think about the basics. Below, we deal with some of the issues you’ll need to address when launching a new brand.

The insurance you need

Liability insurance – This  insurance protects your business in the event that someone brings a legal claim against it in various circumstances. For example, general liability insurance protects your business from claims that it caused injury to someone else or damaged another person’s belongings; it may also cover claims for other types of injury – such as libel or slander claims. Separately, professional liability insurance covers claims that you made some form of mistake when providing services; this cover is sometimes known as errors and omissions insurance.

Commercial property …

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Combatting Waste in the CPG Industry

As I drove home a few days ago, I noticed the amount of litter along the sides of the roadway. Cans, coffee cup lids, wrappers, and empty water bottles decorated the shoulder where flowers would have been more pleasing.

Who’s to blame for this waste? The consumers who throw it out of their car windows, certainly, but can we also point fingers at retailers and the CPG industry?

Sian Sutherland

And what’s this waste made up of? Plastic, primarily, although you’ll certainly find a few metal cans too. If plastic were a country, it would be the fifth biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, reports Sian Sutherland, co-founder of the campaign group A Plastic Planet, in the U.K. And it gets worse: plastic production is forecasted to triple by 2040, she recently stated in an interview with the BBC, and 40% of that is for packaging. 

And although consumers have become used to the convenience of plastic packing, it’s not their problem, Sutherland told RangeMe. “The only way to seriously impact it is to take decisions away from the consumer. The industry simply need[s] to sell them something better, something different. And governments need to mandate that they do so fast.”

What are

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Decoding Upcoming HFSS Regulations in the U.K.

Two for the price of one? Who can resist?

Consumers in England and Wales will soon be forced to resist, at least to some degree, with new legislation around food merchandising, starting in the coming months. The new rules will affect foods high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) and are designed to thrust them less under the eye of shoppers and to not proffer them through special offers.

However, part of the new regulations have recently been pushed back. Here’s what we can expect to see:

October 2022: Retailers will no longer be allowed to place non-compliant foods (HFSS foods) in the most prominent places in their stores — such as endcaps and at checkouts — to boost sales. Small stores and specialty stores are exempt.

January 2024: It’s anticipated that retailers will no longer be allowed to offer Buy One, Get One offers and multi-buy deals on HFSS products. Commercials of these products will also be banned before 9 p.m. on TV; there will be a complete ban of paid-for advertisements for HFSS products online.

“This has the potential to be quite impactful given that products are put in those places for their sales impact,” says James Anstead, MD, …

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Diversity is in-demand worldwide. This 2022 retail trend is welcome news for diverse suppliers looking for growth abroad. Right now, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are trying to manage the risk of tighter profit margins. Many diverse suppliers now seek new sales opportunities, especially as global e-commerce and digital advertising make it easier for them to sell anywhere. 

Let’s see what diversity looks like in international markets, including how market gaps give diverse suppliers new ways to satisfy underserved consumers and improve their top line.

What diversity looks like around the world

Globally, we’re seeing a rise in conscious consumerism, where consumers shop according to their values. For instance:

82% of shoppers want a brand’s values to align with their own;1 Silberstein, Nicole. Harris Poll: 82% of Consumers Want a Brand’s Values to Align with Their Own. Retail Touchpoints. April 27, 2022. 32% of global consumers will buy from brands that support social and political issues that align with their values; and2 Evans, Michelle. Three Ways The Future Retail Store Will Change. Forbes. December 1, 2021. 27% will boycott brands that do not.3 Evans, Michelle. Three Ways The Future Retail Store Will Change. Forbes. December 1, 2021. …
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