From product idea →
retail shelves
Turning your product idea into a brand that stands out on crowded grocery shelves takes strategy. Before formulation, before naming, before packaging— comes brand strategy. That's where I come in.
Launching a CPG food or beverage brand? Start with brand strategy.
Launching a CPG food or beverage brand? Start with brand strategy.
Most early-stage founders skip this step
Early-stage founders jump straight to branding and formulation. They design packaging that doesn't speak to their target consumer. They hire a formulator before they know who they're selling to. They name the brand before checking if it can be trademarked or makes sense for the brand they're building. They pitch retailers who were never the right fit.
And then realize they need to rebrand because the name or visual identity doesn't fit who they've become. Reformulate to better speak to their target market and hit a retail price point they didn't plan for. Watch tens of thousands of dollars of work sit in storage because there's no consumer demand. Pitch retailers before they've built the demand to drive sales.
Brand strategy is what every other decision is built on. Skip it, and you'll spend more money fixing mistakes than it would have cost to get it right the first time.
Why brand strategy comes first
Every decision you'll make as a founder builds on top of your brand strategy. Here's the order it actually goes:
Brand Strategy → Brand Naming & Trademarking → Product Formulation → Co-Manufacturer Selection → Branding, Messaging, & Packaging → Photography → Website & Waitlist → Social Media & Content → Pilot run → Sampling, Tastings & Activations → First Retail Shelves!
Every step costs money and becomes more expensive to get right without strategy first.
Your formulator needs to know your launch SKUs, your ideal ingredients, your claims, your price point. Your designer needs to know your voice, your positioning, your competitive set. Your retail buyer needs to know your story, your velocity plan, your sales channel strategy.
Without brand strategy, you're guessing at every step—and paying experts to guess with you.
Book a Brand Strategy
Intro Call
booking new clients for q3 & q4
Trusted by founders launching what’s next in CPG food & beverage
Hi, I'm Kelly Bennett, a New York City–based brand strategist for emerging CPG food and beverage founders.
My clients are early-stage founders with a cool product idea—whether that's reimagining a classic pantry staple, bringing a new hero ingredient to the US market, or innovating a better-for-you food or beverage product. They're hitting a consumer trend but have a vision that goes beyond it.
They're in the earliest stages. Before product development with a formulator. Before filing a trademark. Before the brand even has a name. They're bootstrapping with intention investing their own time, money, and energy and they want every move to count.
They want to turn a product idea into a brand, work with industry experts, and build something that truly stands out.
If that's you, you're exactly who I work with.
With 16+ years working with emerging consumer brands and currently supporting 20+ CPG food and beverage brands coming to market, I bring industry insight, market knowledge, and a trusted network to help bring what's next in food and beverage to shelf.
What founders are saying…
After 4 weeks you'll walk away with a brand strategy deck
Your single source of truth for every decision pre-launch. Every founder I work with uses it as their roadmap—from formulation, to packaging, to first retail pitch.
Inside your strategy deck:
Brand → Know exactly what you're building, why it deserves shelf space, and how to talk about it before you've named it
Product → Walk into formulation knowing your launch SKUs, ideal ingredients, certifications, and front-of-pack claims
Buyer → Know who buys, where they shop, what they'll pay, and why they'll switch from what's already on shelf
Buzz → A 4-stage pre-launch playbook for content, tastings, and partnerships that builds demand before your first jar hits a shelf
First Retailers → A 36-month sales channel roadmap—from independent retailers to regional and national distribution
The results of brand strategy:
Demand for your brand before you hit shelves
Know who your first 100 customers are
Confidence that every dollar you spend is aligned
A pitch-ready story for your first retail buyers
An industry expert in your corner pre-launch
How it works...
How it works...
Week 1
Brand overview
We define what your brand is, why it exists, and why people will care.
This week builds the strategic core that guides everything that follows (1 hour)
Week 2
product & buyer insights
We shape your product, use cases, and positioning so it’s easy to say yes to by consumers and retail buyers (1 hour)
Week 3
building buzz & demand before retail
We focus on brand awareness, discoverability, and strategic partnerships and collaborations (with Nicole Krasnow Smith) to drive trial, visibility, and sell-through (1 hour)
Week 4
brand strategy review
A launch-ready roadmap and introductions to the right strategic partners to help you execute. (1 hour)
You’ll work with Industry Experts
Nicole Krasnow Smith
Nicole will consult on your retail positioning, packaging, and partnership strategy. Nicole has spent her career growing and discovering emerging brands. With experience in sales, marketing, partnerships, and scouting, she has taken her love and passion for great branding and innovative products, into directly working with brands as they prepare for retail and launch.
Danielle Calabrese
Danielle will consult on your sales channel strategy. With 16+ years in CPG, Danielle has scaled brands from zero to $40M, revived a legacy brand, guided 100+ brands to $100M in sales, and secured dozens of SKUs with top distributors and retailers. Danielle advises founders helping them build smarter, not harder. She is the creator of Launch Lab, a program for first time, early stage founders and the host of the It's All Happening, Women in CPG podcast.
kelly bennett
Kelly Bennett will be your brand strategist. She works with founders to turn product ideas into shelf-ready brands defining what makes them different, why consumers will buy, how they’ll sell, and build buzz long before launch. With 16+ years working alongside hundreds of emerging brands and currently supporting 20+ CPG food and beverage brands coming to market, Kelly brings industry insight, market knowledge, and a trusted network to help bring what’s next in food and beverage to shelf.
What’s Included:
Ready-to-Use Brand Strategy Deck
A 30+ page strategy deck covering five strategic pillars—Brand, Product, Buyer, Buzz, and First Retailers—with a year-one execution roadmap and recommended partners for every next step. ($5,000 value)
Four 1-on-1 Brand Strategy Sessions
Hands-on guidance, clear direction, and confident decision-making as we build your foundation together. ($1,600 value)
Retail Positioning & Partnership Session
A strategic retail lens on your brand with Nicole Krasnow Smith of Many Thanks, who works directly with emerging brands preparing for shelf, so you launch positioned to stand out. ($600 value)
Sales Channel Strategy Session
A 36-month sales roadmap and dedicated session with Danielle Calabrese, founder of It's All Happening, to map the right channels and go-to-market plan for your product. ($500 value)
Plus, beyond the deck:
Visibility & Buzz — Emerging Brands Podcast® feature opportunity, NYC event invitations, and warm intros to publicists and specialty retail buyers
Strategic Network — Access to trusted partners for trademarks, formulation, design, photography, distribution, and finance
Hands-On Advisement — Real-time feedback as you build, with an advisor who wants you to succeed
Insider Insights — Up-to-the-moment POV on what buyers, creators, and consumers are looking for
Total value: $7,700+ delivered in four weeks
Investment: starts at $4,997
Payment plan available
Built for bootstrapped founders
I designed this offer specifically for founders investing their own money to launch.
That's why every dollar you spend with me is meant to save you 5x in mistakes you won't make later—on the wrong formulator, the wrong packaging, the wrong retailer pitch, the wrong name that can't be trademarked.
A payment plan is available because I want this to be accessible to the founders who need it most. If you're serious about building a brand the right way and ready to invest in getting it right from the start, you're exactly who I built this for.
Client Hitting Shelves Next
cotto
Reimagining classic dips
Branding & Packaging by House of Wynn
NIDA
Flash-frozen aromatics
Branding & Packaging by If Only Creatives
GLOWSTATE
Ready-to-eat Chia Pudding
Branding & Packaging by House of Wynn
Nomie
New era of kids meals
Branding & Packaging by Benita Studios
afternoon toast
Roasted Barley & Ginger Tea
Branding & Packaging by JanesHaus
She’s the sauce
Sauce, with benefits
Branding & Packaging by House of Wynn
little twists
Allergy Friendly Baking Mixes
Branding & Packaging by House of Wynn
Brands to watch: Nomie, Glowstate, Little Twists, Afternoon Toast, Nida, Rabbit Hole, Dear Jean, Cruno
Brands to watch: Nomie, Glowstate, Little Twists, Afternoon Toast, Nida, Rabbit Hole, Dear Jean, Cruno
FAQ
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Brand strategy is the roadmap that turns your product idea into a brand ready for its first retail shelves. Branding is the visual expression of that strategy your logo, packaging, website. Strategy comes first; branding brings it to life.
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Before product development, trademarking, branding, packaging, content, and early retail pitching. The earlier the better—pre-launch is the most cost-effective time to get this right.
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That's perfect timing to start brand strategy. The earlier we build your foundation, the more aligned every next step will be from the formulator you hire to the retailer you pitch.
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You'll use your strategy to make every decision pre-launch, including:
Brand naming & trademarking
Product formulation & manufacturing
Branding, packaging & website
Photography & content
Sales channel strategy
Social media & waitlist building
Sampling, tastings & activations
Early retail pitches
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COGS modeling, pricing builds, and margin scenarios are not included in my scope those fall under financial strategy and operational planning.
I highly recommend Danielle Calabrese of It's All Happening, plus The Good Food CFO's affordable software tool that helps founders model COGS, pricing, and margins.
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Think about the cost of not having a strategy. From your brand designer and co-packer to your social media manager and potential investors—they'll all want to know your brand strategy.
Without it, you risk:
Spending $20K on packaging that doesn't fit your shelf positioning
Reformulating because your launch SKU doesn't hit your retail price point
Rebranding within a year because your name or visual identity doesn't fit who you've become
Pitching the wrong retailers and burning early relationships
A clear strategy upfront saves you from costly mistakes and gets you to shelf faster.
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I offer a payment plan option designed for emerging brands. Please note that all sales are final.
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Ready-to-Use Brand Strategy Deck
A first-time founder–friendly strategy deck that becomes your roadmap for launch. Every decision aligned. Every next step clear ($5,000 value)Four 1-on-1 Brand Strategy Sessions
Hands-on guidance, clear direction, and confident decision-making as we build your foundation together ($1,600 value)Retail Positioning & Partnership Session
A strategic retail lens on your brand with Nicole Krasnow Smith, who works directly with emerging brands preparing for shelf, so you launch positioned to stand out ($600 value)Sales Channel Strategy Session
A 36-month sales roadmap and dedicated session with Danielle Calabrese, founder of It’s All Happening, to map the right channels and go-to-market plan for your product ($500 value)
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I schedule client meetings Tuesday through Thursday, 10am–3pm EST. If you need a different time, just ask—I’m happy to work with your schedule whenever possible.
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Brand → What you’re building, what makes it different, and why it deserves shelf space
Key points:
Brand Concept
Brand Story
Brand Positioning
Competitors & Adjacent Brands
Brand Differentiators
Brand Challenges
Brand Values
Brand Voice & Personality
Visual inspiration
Consumer Problem & Solution
Brand Voice, feeling & emotion
Brand name strategy
Overall brand goal & vision
Product → What you’re selling and how it stands out in crowded grocery stores
Key points:
Launch SKUS
Product category
Future SKU ideas
Ideal certifications
Ideal claims
Ideal ingredients
Buyer → Who it’s for, how they shop, and why they will choose your brand
Key points:
Target customer segments
Lifestyle
Behaviors
What they care about
Value prop
Selling points
Key consumer messaging
Use cases
Purchase drivers
Buzz → How you build demand before launch from content, activations & tastings
Key points:
Building-in-Public Content
Product Education Content
Community Tastings, Activations & Sampling
Brand partnership concepts
First retailers → Sales channels, how to pitch early retailers & build sales traction in your first year
Key points:
Sales channel strategy for first year in business
How to build buzz for early retailers
Early retail pitching advice
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You’ll only need to set aside four 1-hour meetings. The rest of the work happens behind the scenes, as I dive into crafting your strategy for you.
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Week 1 — Brand Overview
Identify brand differentiators (1 hour meeting)
Week 2 — Product & Buyer Insights
Define target customer avatars (1 hour meeting)Week 3 — Buzz & Early Retail
Plan how to cut through the noise and build buzz (1 hour meeting)Week 4 — Brand Strategy Review
Receive brand strategy deck and your actionable next steps (1 hour meeting) -
Here's what I look for in a founder I can really help grow:
Committed to figuring it out — You don't need all the answers, but you do need a vision and the willingness to figure it out.
Bootstrapping with intention — You're investing your own time, money, and energy and want every move to count.
Good energy and entrepreneurial spirit — You bring curiosity, optimism, and scrappiness to the table.
Open to direction and feedback — You trust the process, take feedback seriously, and act quickly.
Engaged in the industry — You care about food and beverage, follow what's happening, and want to contribute to the category.
Willing to show up — You understand the value of visibility—through storytelling, networking, and content.
Values strategic partnerships — You know no one builds a brand alone.
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Beyond the deck, you’ll also get:
Visibility & Buzz – Emerging Brands Podcast® feature, NYC event opportunities, and warm intros to publicists and specialty retail buyers
Messaging Momentum – Foundational messaging you can actually use across packaging, social, decks, and outreach
Strategic Network – Access to trusted partners for trademarks, formulation, design, photography, distribution, finance, and more
Hands-On Advisement – Real-time feedback as you build with an advisor who wants you to succeed
Insider Insights – Up-to-the-moment POV on what buyers, creators, and consumers are looking for