Jeffrey Mard’s Post

Think a retail giant teaming up with a beauty powerhouse is just a gimmick? Let’s talk about Target and Ulta’s collaboration. This wasn’t just a random move; it was a strategic counter to Sephora’s aggressive expansion and efforts to broaden their distribution. Target with its massive customer base, has always been a go-to for everyday essentials, but its beauty aisles? Not exactly top-tier. Enter Ulta Beauty, known for its comprehensive beauty product range and expertise. By setting up mini Ulta shops in select Target stores, they aimed to offer a more elevated in-store experience for beauty enthusiasts. Target leverages Ulta’s beauty expertise to attract new customers, while Ulta benefits from Target’s foot traffic. It’s a partnership that looks good on paper, but does it really revolutionize the shopping experience, or is it just a strategic play against Sephora? This blend of strengths could redefine retail collaborations, but what do you think? Will this partnership make your beauty shopping better, or is it just another sales strategy? Comment below, share your thoughts, and follow for more insights! Think these strategic partnerships happen easily? Think again. To establish a partnership that endures and achieves results, brands need experts in developing and establishing strategic partnerships.

4 Ways To Launch Retail Successfully I get asked about our Ulta Beauty partnership all the time! We’re coming up to one year and sell through has been great. Will make for a huge 2024! Here are the 4 lessons I learned: 1) Not all retailers are a match (I could write a full post on this!) Planogram placement and shoppers looking for your product is key. Bushbalm is in the women’s shave section = strong traffic, high intent shopper for our items. 2) Brand awareness is key We drive over 10M impressions per week through our marketing efforts. If you are a new brand you can certainly succeed in retail, but it’s hard if you aren’t driving awareness. 3) Packaging that’s clear & actionable Our first packaging versions didn’t have much description on the front. Our revised packaging for Ulta Beauty was far more clear and actionable. What does your product solve? How? Featured ingredients? Proof badges? 4) Your buyer and team is a key asset! All retailers have buyers and some sort of supply chain support for you. They understand the retailers sales, trends, and opportunities better than anyone else. Unlock this to make better decisions and grow the partnership. Hope this helps 👍 If you have retail questions let me know in the comments. DG

There are a million reasons why eliminating Grey Market sales of your products is the right thing to do for Brand Health. We've covered most of them, but if you've missed them, here are a couple. Tailored Engagement: Retail outlets that resonate with your target consumers offer a unique opportunity for personalized and tailored engagement. Understanding the specific needs and preferences of your audience becomes easier when you choose partners who share a similar ethos. Enhanced Consumer Experience: Genuine retail channels contribute to an enhanced consumer experience. From knowledgeable staff to curated displays, the overall ambiance of these outlets contributes to a positive perception of your brand, leaving a lasting impression on consumers. Building Trust and Credibility: Trust is the currency of any successful brand. By eliminating grey market sales and establishing partnerships with trustworthy retail outlets, you are reinforcing your commitment to quality, authenticity, and transparency. This, in turn, builds a robust foundation of trust among your consumers. Total Brand Health: Your brand is a holistic entity, and every interaction contributes to its overall health. Engaging with consumers through authorized retail outlets ensures that each touchpoint is aligned with your brand values, reinforcing a positive and consistent image. Fostering Long-Term Relationships: Establishing a strong connection with consumers through reputable retail channels is not a one-time transaction; it's about nurturing a long-term relationship. These outlets become ambassadors of your brand, advocating for your products and creating a community around your offerings. Would love to hear your thoughts! #BrandManagement #RetailStrategy #ConsumerEngagement #AuthenticityMatters #BrandHealth

All brand-owners want to grow their business. But when that desire for growth leads then to take on a deal that's beyond their capabilities, bad things can happen. Sometimes, the smart move is to say NO, as TIG Brands' Jenny Cawthon notes in her recent RangeMe blog post. Not only can saying no protect your business, but it also garners trust in the buyer because it shows them that you are being honest and transparent about your business. Besides, it doesn't mean "no" forever; just right now. Instead, brands can ask for a smaller deal, say 200 stores instead of 2,000, which would enable then to organically scale up their capabilities while learning more about the retailer's market. This way they can expand with intentionality, as Jenny notes. Read the full post at the link below! #smallbusiness #founders #cpg #retail #ecrmrangeme Elliot Begoun

Putting yourself in the shoes of your dream retailer can yield an understanding for their priorities. Each year, major U.S. retailers open a crucial window to evaluate new and established brands. This is your golden opportunity to pitch to buying teams. Retail Insight: Product resets in retail are both time-consuming and costly for retailers. Store teams continue to do the things they always do: – Restocking shelves – Serving customers – Maintaining store cleanliness Buying teams are also inundated with extra work: – Creating new blueprints for stores to lay out the new items – Meeting with 100+ brands that all have exciting newness to share – Landing on a strategy that will yield growth Major resets also involve: – Printing new shelf labels – Rearranging product placements – Managing discontinued items – Communicating big bets and strategy from corporate to stores These resets can evoke mixed feelings among retail teams: • Excitement about new products and the potential growth they bring. • Anxieties over the additional workload. Why am I sharing this? Because timing is important, you get one window annually to pitch your brand at big retail. So when you approach the retailers treat it like this is your one shot. Prepare your pitch → Nail it. Share your brand purpose → Inspire them. Understand what it takes to be successful →  Make them believe in you. Take this opportunity to show buyers all of the things your brand has done. Shine bright. PS - Have you pitched to a retailer? Share your experience in the comments. – 👋🏾 Hi, I’m Monique, a former retail buyer turned beauty industry advisor who helps emerging brands ready to scale at big retail. If you are ready to scale and invest, book a discovery call, and let’s see if we can work together.

An underrated tactic to better understand your category: store visits. Marks and Spencer recently mandated that executives spend seven days annually on the shop floor. If you’re in marketing or sales, you probably know the value of spending time in the field. Competitor insights, spotting new launches, checking out best practice point of sale executions.. But here are three ideas to make the most of store visits in 2024: 🛒 Set a small annual budget to buy stuff. Shop competitors, try out unrelated brands, collect interesting pack designs. The best inspiration usually comes from experiences. 🛒 Get off the beaten path and seek out non-traditional retailers. Independent retailers usually range a wider variety of brands and they are a great place to spot up and coming products. 🛒 Involve your team. A great way to build relationships is to go out and do stuff together - regular store visits can help to deepen connections. 📸 Bonus tip - take lots of photos and file them properly. For those in Melbourne, make the visit to Jefferies | Your Local Provedore - they have easily the best selection of interesting brands and it’s beautifully merchandised. Do you have any ideas you would add? If you liked this post, follow me @ Brent Vrdoljak for more FMCG insights.

Market research and analysis of retail sales channels is crucial while building your business. Often we think we know where we want our products to be sold, but is it actually the right fit? When we first launched naturemary beauty/body-care products, we had dreams of retailers like Ulta Beauty and SEPHORA How wrong we were!! Our first problem was our body care products have a wellness component that requires consumer education that is expensive at the retail level. We also found out our target demographic was wrong… We thought those products would target the 25-40 age range, but what emerged in the data was the 35-60 age demographic. We pivoted and moved categories with the bodycare products and then released pain relief for a separate category that shares the same demographic. Strategic placement is the most important detail after a proper pricing strategy. There is so much data to comb over, so make sure you always conduct deep analysis before launch into brick and mortar. At TheCPGCircle, we build a consumer story and strategy of identifying where the products belong and the associated marketing and support required to make it a success. Never hire a broker or bring on a distributor until you have this figured out.. Contact me to help strategize your emerging brand and make sure you are ready for the retail jump! 🚀💪🏽 Sonia Kalra | naturemary #emergingbrands #strategy #branding #brickandmortar #retail #retailplacement #retailstrategy #distribution #distributors #brokers #cpg #cpgmarketing #cpgbrand #cpgmarket #entrepreneurship #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneur

Why should major retailers be interested in your innovative brand? It may seem obvious, but I've seen many companies fail to do sufficient due diligence before talking to retailers. This usually means a significant revenue and brand awareness opportunity is lost for 6 – 12 months. Having a thorough understanding of your market and what the retailers are looking for is one of the most important steps to successfully persuading them to list your brand. Here are 9 questions to help with the process: Market ✹ How big is the market for your product – volume and value ✹ What is the realistic market share could you win? ✹ How price sensitive is the market – commodity, premium, niche or mass Product & Retailer ✹ What are the unique needs met by your product? ✹ How is it different from in market competitors? ✹ What is its value proposition - (premium/mass/budget) ✹ How much will customers be willing to pay? ✹ What will your product do for the target retailers? ✹ Will it enhance category value, margin, volume, drive more consumer traffic? Demonstrating an understanding of how each of the above impacts the retailer’s business is a vital part of persuading them that your brand is right for them. #founders #brandbuilding #consumergoods #fmcg #marketingstrategy

Why should major retailers be interested in your innovative brand? It may seem obvious, but I've seen many companies fail to do sufficient due diligence before talking to retailers. This usually means a significant revenue and brand awareness opportunity is lost for 6 – 12 months. Having a thorough understanding of your market and what the retailers are looking for is one of the most important steps to successfully persuading them to list your brand. Here are 9 questions to help with the process: Market ✹ How big is the market for your product – volume and value ✹ What is the realistic market share could you win? ✹ How price sensitive is the market – commodity, premium, niche or mass Product & Retailer ✹ What are the unique needs met by your product? ✹ How is it different from in market competitors? ✹ What is its value proposition - (premium/mass/budget) ✹ How much will customers be willing to pay? ✹ What will your product do for the target retailers? ✹ Will it enhance category value, margin, volume, drive more consumer traffic? Demonstrating an understanding of how each of the above impacts the retailer’s business is a vital part of persuading them that your brand is right for them. #founders #brandbuilding #consumergoods #fmcg #marketingstrategy

"What's the best way to drive sales velocity?" It's something I’ve focused on for many brands, in thousands of stores, for multiple companys throughout my 22 year beverage career. The answer? Three things: -Availability -Visibility -Brand Advocacy 1️⃣ Availability - CPG is such a physical business. Grocery managers and distributors deal with thousands of SKUs, so it's inevitable that there will be out-of-stocks and voids periodically. Ensuring you close voids and work with your distributors and DSD teams to order the right amount of product ahead of promo periods is essential. 2️⃣ Visibility - Finding ways to disrupt the shopper's path through displays and secondary placements is key. Leveraging in store relationships is key to go beyond the planned activity and secure incremental space throughout the store. Get creative! 3️⃣ Brand Advocacy - Brands that actually visit stores and chat with retailers and distributors are able to see what they care about most. Finding win/win solutions to help meet their category goals while boosting your opportunities is what it's all about. Competing in CPG is brutal, but with the right team, plan and focus, you'll put your brand in the best place to succeed! Color outside the lines and create the next trend. Don’t fall in line, be the one to draw it.