I'm an ex-CPG founder. Here's why...

For the first time, I'm publicly addressing the fact that I made the tough decision to shut down my first venture in the CPG industry, my second business overall. Sharing this experience is not easy, but I believe it's important to be transparent and open about the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

The decision to shut down our business was a tricky one. We acknowledge that we made mistakes along the way, including:

• Expanding into retail too quickly.
• Justifying the high costs of being in certain retailers.
• Having unsustainable margins.
• Not being willing to compromise on the quality of our ingredients and packaging to increase profitability.

Despite our best efforts, we could not find a solution that would allow us to continue operating without sacrificing our standards, which ultimately led to the difficult decision to close our business.

While our product was highly innovative - it required education for consumers to understand its unique value proposition.

Farmers markets were great for showcasing the product's taste and benefits...

but to succeed in retail, we needed to do constant in-store demos to entice customers to try it.

During demos, our product quickly became a top seller due to the "wow factor," but sales would fall flat without them. Alternatively, we could have optimized the packaging design to make it stand out more on shelves.?

We experienced tremendous success with our DTC strategy by building a loyal customer base, largely through our active presence on Instagram and TikTok.

In hindsight, we could have invested more in enhancing our online presence:

• Consistent UGC (user generated content).
• More frequent influencer & CPG brand collaborations.
• Weekly content segments engaging our audience.

Rather than allocating significant resources towards our physical retail presence, we could have employed a more robust customer retention strategy, including:

• Email marketing, engaging with our acquired customer list while promoting our products, and building brand loyalty.
• Targeted advertising, connecting with our audience while enhancing our brand recognition, and ultimately driving conversions.

Focusing deeper on these strategies would have been critical to sustaining and growing our business. However, wearing multiple hats inevitably limits the amount of time and resources one can devote to any one area.

Despite our efforts, we were unable to secure a manufacturing partner.

As a result, we had to manufacture our products ourselves, which was a time-consuming and laborious process.

We made every single online order, farmers market sale, and grocery store purchase in small batches, entirely by hand.

To give you an idea of how small these batches were, we could only produce two jars at a time using our humble Cuisinart processor.

This meant that every jar of nut butter, from our early days on Kickstarter to our presence in grocery stores and farmers markets, was crafted with care and dedication by my co-founder and me.

Each jar represented hours of hard work and commitment.

We found ourselves in a situation where we didn't want to post on Instagram or send an email blast because although it would drive sales, we needed the inventory for a grocery store purchase order or an upcoming farmers market.

Our profit margins were too narrow to consider using a co-packer or nationwide distributor, even if we wanted to.

Looking back, focusing on building our DSD strategy in our home market of Chicago would have been a more viable long-term approach rather than attempting to expand into other regions.

We ultimately decided to discontinue our nut butter line and introduce a new energy bite line in a faster-moving category, with better margins and a fresh brand name.

As I developed the recipe for the new SKUs and worked with our dream designer for the new packaging, we moved towards rebranding our company into more of a lifestyle brand. However, I slowly began to realize that this direction did not align with my passion in CPG.

I am passionate about empowering individuals to become their best selves by using high-quality, delicious, functional, and nutritious ingredients. Therefore, I ultimately feel that I lost sight of my core values by moving away from my original mission.

Could I have sustained the business by running several farmers markets a week and selling DTC, as well as through a few key retailers in Chicago? Sure, it would have provided a decent living.

Unfortunately, having a product that's beloved by a small group of people is just one piece of the CPG industry puzzle.

My ultimate objective is to create a thriving CPG brand that not only supports my family but also provides a home for like-minded individuals who share a common vision.

The lessons I learned from this experience are invaluable and I'm eager to apply them to my future endeavors.

My co-founder is now leading the rebrand of our previous business and I couldn't be more excited for him.

Running a brand requires a great deal of personal investment and commitment. It's only natural for your identity and self-worth to become intertwined with it.

When considering the difficult decision to end a brand, it can feel like you're destroying a piece of yourself. Despite the challenges, the sense of satisfaction derived from creating a product that positively impacted the lives of many people made it all worthwhile. Even so, letting go can be an arduous process. But the experience taught me so much, and I'm grateful for it.

I am currently working at Pod Foods, where I assist emerging brands in achieving success by helping them with distribution and securing key retail accounts.

As the Category Manager for snacks, confections, and wellness, it gives me immense joy and fulfillment to witness others prosper.

I have the opportunity to learn from seasoned professionals in the CPG industry at all stages, every day. Additionally, I get to support emerging cpg brands as they debut in retail, sharing my personal insights and experiences, while adding a compassionate touch to an otherwise impersonal distribution landscape.

As someone who is deeply passionate about the CPG industry, I firmly believe in the transformative power of food to make a positive impact on people's lives.

My ultimate aim is to empower individuals to unlock their full potential by harnessing the benefits of high-quality, delicious, and nutritious ingredients.

Let's support one another by celebrating each other's accomplishments and learning from each other's mistakes as we pursue our passions with joy and determination.

I am interested in hearing about your experiences and insights in the world of CPG. I hope that by sharing my own mistakes, I can provide some value to you.

Together, we can inspire and support each other to achieve our goals and reach new heights of success.

#cpg #entrepreneurship #cpgindustry