hey! i’m Kelly. brand strategist
launching cpg food & beverage brands
behind the scenes
my story
Hey! I’m kelly bennett, New York City based brand strategist and advisor launching cpg food & beverage brands. i work early-stage founders (like you) to differentiate your brand & products in the marketplace to stand out on retail shelves, speak directly to your target audience & drive consumer demand (even before you launching!), and Create buzz for your brand with consumers, media & retailers.
I’ve advised 1000+ early-stage founders, built award-winning emerging brands, had clients featured in Adweek, LA Times, CNN, and Forbes, and became an industry expert with 15 years of experience.
As your brand strategist, thought partner, and advisor; you'll stop figuring things out yourself and have a roadmap with industry must-haves to launch your brand right. because let’s be honest… YOU’RE THE BEST AT WHAT YOU DO, I’M THE BEST AT WHAT I DO, and TOGETHER, WE’LL LAUNCH THE BEST DAMN BRAND!
my career has been anything but traditional
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial side. Being an entrepreneur is literally in my blood (both my parents are, too!). But- I quickly learned I had to do things differently than everyone else.
Traditional education was suuuper challenging for me. I struggled with reading (turns out I’m dyslexic and have reading comprehension disabilities). I felt like I could never be my authentic self (surprise, I’m gay!). The cherry on top? I got rejected from more colleges than I could remember (my high school guidance counselor told me to not even apply) when i wanted to study business.
Honestly? It sucked. I felt like I was constantly struggling to stop spinning my wheels and move forward.
created my own path
After a lot of trial and error and way too many ‘wtf am I doing?’ moments to count, I combined my passion for curating experiences, storytelling, and impact into my dream job: a brand strategist for emerging brands. I realized that being “weird” and different in my industry helped me build incredible brands with founders who felt the exact same way. You also have what it takes to build your brand and small business.
cool moments of my career
some cool moments of my career include building award-winning brands and helped 1000+ emerging brands for the past 14 years. I’ve worked with emerging brands in industries from food & beverage, consumer packaged goods, home & lifestyle, design & media, to personal brands for founders. Helping them define their brand story, brand differentiators, messaging, positioning, to crafting comprehensive marketing, content, product, and brand strategies
I’ve landed many sought-after opportunities, including speaking at a Facebook Small Business Conference, receiving a write-up in the Huffington Post, featured on television, magazines, and speaking.
i’m sharing everything i know with you!
2009
Graduated college with 5 degrees studying marketing, international business, and psychology
I spent six years in college and took as many business courses as I could! I learned about brands like Whole Foods and Tom’s of Maine that were doing business differently. I recognized a major shift in consumerism- people wanted to shop with brands that aligned with their values!
2009
discovered social media for building brands
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t into social media back in the day. But when I realized it was a free tool to connect consumers to brands, I thought that was the coolest thing. After meeting a marketing director of an international hotel at a cocktail party, she asked me ‘Do you think brands will need social media?’ (those were the conversations back then). I said ‘1000%’ and then she hired me to setup the brand on Twitter
2010
BUILT MY CLIENT’S FIRST LIFESTYLE BRAND USING SOCIAL MEDIA
I cold called a lifestyle magazine in New York City and offered to build their social media for free. They connected me with the largest health & wellness publication in the United States at the time and launched my first business.
2011
launched an award-winning lifestyle blog
While creating lifestyle brands for others, I decided it was time to build my own! It was featured In the Huffington Post, on television, and media
2015
BECAME A PARTNER AND THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT A VEGAN LIFESTYLE RESTAURANT
Our restaurant received features in CNN, Upworthy, Forbes, and LA Times! It became so successful that we opened two locations.
2017
facebook called me TO PRESENT AT their small business CONFERENCE
2017
CO-FOUNDED A workshop series & meetup for local CREATIVE small business owners
2020
Quit my 9-5 as a marketing director of a city block
I quit my 9-5 as a marketing director of a city block (I was literally living there in an Airstream!) to build my dream business. I’d spent a decade helping other businesses, and knew it was time for me to go all in on mine.
2021
WORKED WITH 100+ founders (and soon-to-be founders) and launched an incubator
I took the leap to come back home to New York and finding the cutest apartment in the East Village (seriously my dream apartment).
2022
launched a PODCAST, curated a shop to find products made by emerging brands from the INCUBATOR, and wrote a book
2023
created brand strategies and built podcast
2024
currently writing this chapter…
am i the right brand strategist for you?!
Swipe Right if…
You’re in the early years of your small business and want to grow
You feel stuck and need help refining your brand, products, and marketing
You want to work with a brand strategist but not ready to hire someone full-time
You want accountability and a damn plan
You want to feel confident as a small business owner
Swipe Left if…
You’d rather a magical ‘hack’ to build your brand (spoiler alert… that doesn’t exist)
You don’t have the rights to the brand (sorry not sorry—no MLMs)
You don’t have the proper licensing to be in business
You’re not willing to get creative & try new things
You’re telling yourself old stories about why you suck in business and not willing to be open to new ideas
case study
food brand
vegenation
case study
beverage brand FEMALE c0-FOUNDED
Frankly Good coffee
case study
food brand FEMALE FOUNDED
dripspoon
media bio
Kelly Bennett (she/they) is a New York City based brand strategist and advisor launching CPG food & beverage brands. She works with early-stage founders to differentiate brands and products in the marketplace, speak directly to their target audience, drive consumer demand (even before launching), and create buzz with consumers, media & retailers.
Kelly has built award-winning emerging brands, clients featured in Adweek, LA Times, CNN, and Forbes, advised 1000+ early-stage founders, and became an industry expert with 15 years of experience. She has spoken at CreativeMornings, African Food Changemakers, Hot Bread Kitchen, NY NOW and Food Biz Wiz. Kelly hosts ‘Emerging Brand Podcast’ interviewing founders building the coolest emerging brands.
My team of independent small business owners I work with
Jane Doe
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Jane Doe
Job Title
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Jane Doe
Job Title
I'm baby plaid sartorial tattooed live-edge try-hard beard humblebrag pok pok typewriter hammock. Kogi kale chips taxidermy cliche helvetica. I'm baby plaid sartorial tattooed live-edge try-hard beard humblebrag pok pok typewriter hammock. Kogi kale chips taxidermy cliche helvetica
