Weekly Updates 08/28/23

The Online Community for Food and Beverage Startups

Good morning !,We're in the dog days of summer and fall is quickly approaching. Guess what? If you haven't already started planning for Q4 then you're already late!Want to know what my best Black Friday Sale was? I didn’t have one, because I never planned far enough in advance!Running TeaSquares I was a very reactionary founder, barely planning a week out. Don’t make the same mistake I did and start planning now.You can use my e-commerce plan as a starting guide:  Select which Key Selling Events you’ll participate in   Identify Your Goals   Create a unique offer   Build Your Execution Strategy Key Selling Events: Amazon Prime Day Black Friday Cyber Monday Giving Tuesday Holiday Gifting Better For You New YearGoals:The first decision is if you need to be first order profitable on every sale, or if you can operate at a loss. Be very clear on this as it’ll effect your goals and offers. Maximize sales Sell through inventory Acquire new customers Engage existing customers Re-acquire lapsed customersOffers: Holiday specific gift pack % Discount $ Discount Buy One Get One Free Gift with PurchaseExecution: Email list (existing customers) Meta Ads (acquire new customers) Giveaway (acquire new customers) PR Gift Guides (acquire new customers)Start planning now!Jordan

 😋 This Week in #CPG

A roundup of CPG news that happened last week brought to you by Amber Caro

🛒 Retail Rollouts➡ Sea Monsters can now be found at Erewhon! (John Lee) 🙌➡ Twrl Milk Tea is now available at Wegmans Food Markets! (Olivia Chen)➡ Cibáre Foods can now be found at several new California retailers including Sunshine Foods, SURF Market, New Earth Market, Bayside Market, and Molsberry Market. (John Aliotti, Maddy Aliotti)➡ Crafty Counter's WunderEggs are now available at Central Market! (Hema Reddy)➡ Ronda's Fine Foods' Spicy Romesco is hitting the shelves at Erewhon! (Ronda Brittian)➡ Agua Bonita is now available at 10 Costco Wholesale locations in Southern California! (Kayla Castañeda)➡ GoNanas Banana Bread is now available available at 300 Target locations nationwide! 🎯 (Morgan Lerner)➡ Ruby Jewel Ice Cream Sandwiches is now at Costco in the Southeast! (Jean Lizotte)➡ Blind Tiger Spirit-Free Cocktails has officially launched in all Giant Food locations! Congratulations! (Rebecca A. Styn, Ph.D.)🚀 Product Launches➡ SANS Meal Bar launched its 2nd plant-based flavor: Peanut Butter Banana Chip (Nathan Gordon)➡ Scott's Protein Balls launched their newest seasonal flavor: Pumpkin Spice! 😍 (Lori Levine, Scott Levine, CPA)Who did we miss? E-mail Me

JOYFUL CO. REDESIGN

    LAUNCH GOALS   

This week I've been working on our Joyful Co Launch strategy and I've been working to narrow down my goals. Here are the main things I'm thinking about testing: 

Value Proposition / Hook Testing

• Identify which hooks and call to actions resonate best. Through Meta Ads.

Audience

• Identify the demographics most interested in Joyful Co boxes. Through Meta Ads.

Content Creation

• Leverage customers and influencers to create unboxing videos and reviews that I can use on our website and social channels.

Product Reviews

• Generate initial product reviews from the launch cohort.

What else should I be testing?

WEEKLY UPDATES

  ASK AN EXPERT:    CO-MANFACTURING  

Do you have questions on finding, working with, and managing co-manufacturers? I’ve invited in the team at JPG Resources to answer your questions on how to build a successful co-manufacturing relationship.

The team will be on hand to answer your questions live.Register Now

   SWIFT INSIGHTS FOR SALES     AND OPERATION ALIGNMENT   

Aligning sales and operations is pivotal for a brand's success, dictating its growth or stagnation. Optimal inventory-to-cash balance can act as a tremendous accelerator.Pantry.ai helps brands skip countless spreadsheet iterations to quickly understand key business drivers across sales and operations to provide highly accurate forecasting. 

Join the waitlist now.

  5 BENEFITS OF HAVING AMAZON      FBA BOOKKEEPING FOR     YOUR BUSINESS  

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) has revolutionized the ecommerce industry by providing a means of fulfillment for small and medium-sized businesses selling on the platform. With the host of benefits that come with FBA—from packing products to storing them in Amazon fulfillment centers, product delivery, and 24/7 customer service—it’s no surprise that more entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this program.

However, managing bookkeeping for Amazon FBA can be a daunting task for FBA sellers as the program constantly evolves. Still, Amazon bookkeeping has several benefits that encourage you to dive into the complexity of the task. Let's take a look at the five benefits here.

1: Track Costs and Other Expenses Through Amazon Seller Central2: Stay on Top of Your Assets and Income3: Compliance With Sales and Income Tax4: Analyze Different Kinds of Reports5: Business Presentation Generation for Your Amazon Business

Read Full Article

  BALA X WELLIOUS    SMOOTHIE COLLAB  

In the dynamic world of brand collaborations, innovation knows no bounds. A groundbreaking approach to cross-promotion recently took center stage as two distinct brands, Bala and Wellious orchestrated a remarkable partnership. This article delves into the journey of leveraging the digital realm to create a buzz that echoed far beyond the traditional realms of collaboration.Read Full Article

STARTUP TO SCALE PODCAST

135. 

Building a Beverage Brand with Bawi

Building a beverage brand comes with its unique challenges. I sit down with Victor and Jordan, co-founders of Bawi to learn how they’ve navigated their journey. Bawi takes a modern twist on agua frescas by creating a health-conscious and bubbly version of the classic Mexican beverage.

Learn how they started in farmers markets to now launching in Sprouts.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

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Maverick allows you to create individually personalized videos (with a customer's name) welcoming them to your community.