What I Fix Inside $5M–$50M CPG Brands (And How)
Most founders don’t realize they’ve hit an inflection point until the symptoms pile up.
Somewhere between $5M and $50M, things change:
Growth is happening but it’s getting harder to explain.
Metrics look “fine,” but revenue still feels inconsistent.
The consumer feels less clear and your message doesn’t feel as sharp or differentiated.
Competitors seem to be moving faster than you are.
Launches and day-to-day execution take more energy and deliver less upside.
Retailers are putting pressure on velocities, and you’re not sure what story to tell.
You’re hunting for growth because nothing is delivering like it used to and you don’t know where to lean in next.
This is the natural sign you’ve outgrown the scrappy model that got you here. Because what gets you to your first $5M won’t get you the next $10M — the system and mindset driving your growth fundamentally change.
The Real Problem: You Have Channel Owners, But Not a Systems Owner
At this stage, most marketing teams look like this:
a paid media agency
a social/content lead
an email or retention manager (sometimes)
an SEO contractor (sometimes)
an Amazon lead or agency (sometimes)
a overwhelmed founder making high-stakes decisions
CMO or Head of Marketing/Brand/Growth — but with depth in either brand or performance, not both, and rarely with a systems mindset
Everyone owns a lane. But no one owns the system.
No one is connecting:
branding
positioning & messaging
growth, profitability & P&L
retention
consumer, category & competitor insights
channel strategy
product & launch planning
SEO and its new cousin, AI search visibility
creative & campaigns
team & agency alignment
Who is an expert across all of this?
Frankly… no one inside your organization.
This Isn’t a Marketing Problem — It’s a Commercial Engine Problem
When founders hit this stage, the questions they ask are tactical:
Should we launch a new flavor?
Do we refresh the packaging?
Do we need new creative — or a new agency?
Should we change our pricing or run a promo?
Logical questions — but they’re symptoms-level. The root causes are almost always structural:
Positioning hasn’t kept pace with how consumers now choose.
The value story is diluted across retail, digital, and internal teams.
The portfolio expanded, but strategic focus didn’t.
Retailer and consumer narratives aren’t telling the same story.
Repeat or subscription leaks because product, message, and experience aren’t aligned.
Teams make smart decisions — but they optimize for channels, not the full consumer journey or the non-linear path to purchase.
AI-driven discovery deprioritizes you because your story isn’t consistent or machine-readable.
Your commercial engine isn’t aligned anymore. That’s the layer I fix.
What’s the Cost of NOT Fixing This?
You spend more but learn less.
Competitors sharpen their story while yours drifts.
Consumers become unsure what you stand for.
Retailers shift support to companies with tighter narratives and execution.
AI models surface competitors with clearer positioning.
Internally, teams stay busy but not effective — morale dips, decisions slow, and strong operators eventually leave systems not built to scale.
…and they all compound quietly. This is how a brand loses momentum long before the numbers make it obvious.
What I Actually Fix
I step in as the senior strategist your team doesn’t have yet — the person who sees how every piece interacts and rebuilds the system so growth becomes predictable again.
1. I identify what’s truly driving growth and what’s quietly blocking it.
The system-level truth grounded in consumer behavior.
2. I help you decide what matters, what to stop, and where to double down.
Founders feel this relief first. You stop chasing noise and start focusing on what actually moves the business.
3. I rebuild the unified brand + growth strategy your team needs.
One direction. One story. One plan — across every channel and partner.
4. I align your specialists and agencies under a single strategy.
Execution starts amplifying, not competing.
5. I make growth predictable again.
Not by doing more — but by sequencing and prioritizing the right things so they amplify.
What Happens When the System Works Again
Founders notice:
decisions get clearer and faster
launches become smoother, more structured and repeatable
the brand finally sounds like one voice everywhere
the team aligns around real priorities
revenue patterns start making sense again
Marketing becomes a growth lever — not a guessing game.
Why Brands Bring Me In
I can pinpoint the real issue quickly because I’ve sat in the seat where brand, product, retail, digital, and financial decisions all converge. I’ve run brands end-to-end — from positioning and P&L to retail sell-in, product launches, and digital growth — inside both Fortune 500s and fast-moving DTC teams.
When growth feels off, I know where to look because I’ve had to deliver results across every part of the business.
Brands bring me in when they want someone who has actually operated the engine they’re trying to scale — and understands how each piece impacts the others.
