Jessica Stampe

Whats happening in Nutrition Bars right now is wild. Strategic / legacy food brands are getting smoked by emerging brands. Of the top 35 brands in 52W SPINS MULO nutrition bar data, independent brands accounted for a staggering 77% of category growth, while the biggest strategics—Mondelēz International, Mars, The Hershey Company, Simply Good Foods, and Ferrero Group—all posted YoY declines. 📈 Big shout out to Barebells for adding $110M of growth to the category 🤯 Top emerging brands are stealing share and reshaping the category. Vitamin Well Group (Barebells) Built Brands Ready® Clio Snacks ALOHA GoMacro IQBAR 📉 Meanwhile, legacy CPGs are shedding dollars and falling behind consumer demand for innovation, function, and flavor. The takeaway? 🔄 The bar aisle is flipping. Challenger brands aren’t just nibbling at the edges—they’re driving the entire category forward. PS: Excited to see David start showing up in the data, Peter Rahal 👀 #SnackTakeover #CPGTrends #DavidVsGoliath #IndieBrands #NutritionBars

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Beverage is the most savagely brutal category in CPG. Here’s why: 1️⃣Crowded category with minimal differentiation Walk the beverage aisle blindfolded, grab any can, and you’ll likely get some version of energy, hydration, or immunity. Cool fonts, pastel gradients, and vague functional claims aren’t enough. If your product doesn’t truly earn a reason to exist - through brand, taste, format, or tribe - it’s just another commodity with a short shelf life. You’re not just competing against other startups. You’re competing against the biggest most dominant brands on the planet like The Coca-Cola Company and Red Bull. 2️⃣ DSD-driven distribution model This isn’t a category where you can just ship DTC snd build out a loyal online following and consumer. Beverage lives and dies by DSD: high-touch, hyper-local, relationship-driven distribution. That means slotting fees, chargebacks, distributor incentives, and boots-on-the-ground execution - just to earn (and keep) a spot in the cold box. If you’re not building relationships with drivers, merchandisers, and store managers, your velocity won’t matter. Your product won’t stay on shelf. 3️⃣ Low barriers to entry. High capital to win. You can launch a beverage brand in a few weeks with a co-packer and a Canva label. That’s the trap. Because while it’s easy to start, it’s brutally expensive to scale. You need capital for inventory, cold chain logistics, market activation, and sales teams. And that’s just to get a fighting chance. Most new beverage brands don’t die because the product sucked. They die because they ran out of cash. There are some cool emerging brands I’ve seen recently. Leisure Hydration come to mind. But if I was a bright eyed CPG founder eyeing beverage as a category be prepared to invest massive time and capital to realize your vision. 📷 Erewhon beverage cooler this weekend, anything stand out to you?

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Sad day in CPG. Del Monte Foods Files for Bankruptcy After more than a century as a household name, Del Monte Foods has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing comes amid mounting financial pressure, including rising operational costs, shifting consumer preferences, and an inability to modernize fast enough to compete in today’s dynamic CPG market. So What happened? Del Monte’s core product categories (canned fruits, vegetables, and processed staples) have lost traction in an era where fresh, organic, and ready-to-eat alternatives dominate grocery shelves. Combine that with inflationary pressures on logistics and commodities, and the brand was already on the back foot. What is the real issue? A lack of agility. While newer brands flooded the market with innovation, bold flavor profiles, and direct-to-consumer strategies, it feels Del Monte struggled to evolve. I assume legacy systems, aging brand perception, and slow go-to-market cycles left them unable to capitalize on the shifts that are now defining modern food consumption. Now What’s next? Del Monte will likely seek to restructure debt and sell off non-core assets. But more importantly, this signals yet another major inflection point in the CPG space: modernize or be left behind. Brands that want to survive in today’s food landscape need to embrace innovation at every level. From product development to brand identity to supply chain to customer experience. Nostalgia won't earn loyalty unless you stay relevant. Would love to hear thoughts from others: What does this say about the future of legacy brands? Is reinvention, innovation or pivoting possible for companies with this much historical weight? ⚡

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Why Non-Alcoholic Beverages Are a Retail Growth Engine Exciting trend alert: The non-alcoholic beverage category is booming! While alcohol sales remain steady, it’s the non-alcoholic beer, wine, and mocktail options that are seeing explosive growth—and for good reason. Why are retailers so excited about non-alcoholic drinks? Higher Profit Margins: Many non-alcoholic products, especially premium mocktails and craft sodas, offer higher profit margins for retailers compared to traditional alcoholic drinks. Lower Costs: Non-alcoholic beverages often have lower ingredient and preparation costs, and require less specialized labor. Fewer Regulations: No licensing or excise taxes mean less hassle and more margin for retailers. Expanding Market: Health-conscious consumers and changing social norms are driving demand, making non-alcoholic options a smart investment for the future. Bottom line: Non-alcoholic beverages aren’t just a trend—they’re a powerful growth opportunity for retailers. As consumer preferences evolve, smart businesses are stocking up on premium, alcohol-free options to boost profits and reach a wider audience. #Retail #BeverageIndustry #Trends #NonAlcoholic #GrowthOpportunity

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poppi is now the #1 soda on Amazon. OLIPOP PBC just hit $200M in revenue. Meanwhile, legacy beverage brands are spending billions… just to stay relevant. What do these $2 gut-friendly, influencer-fueled drinks tell us? The consumer isn't just trying new brands. They’re abandoning the old ones. Poppi didn’t outspend Coca-Cola. Olipop didn’t out-innovate PepsiCo’s R&D team. But they did outmaneuver them where it matters: → Real-time consumer feedback → Community-driven branding → Rapid formulation sprints → Distribution moves that feel like culture, not commerce This is the new era of brand trust, where 15-second TikToks outperform 15-year brand equity strategies. So here’s the question for Big Food: Are you hiring leaders who’ve built brands with the consumer, not just for them? Because most CPG hiring still prioritizes category tenure over creator fluency. Still favors brand managers over true community architects. Still underweights digital-native growth stories, especially at the GM level. But the brands winning in 2025 aren’t just food and beverage companies. They’re trust companies. And that requires different muscles. Who’s doing it right? What legacy brands are actually adapting their hiring to match this shift? #FMCG #ChallengerBrands #CPGLeadership #Poppi #Olipop #TalentStrategy #ConsumerTrust #ExecutiveSearch #LaurenStiebing

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Chicago-based Kraft Heinz made an excellent choice in appointing one of the most experienced and successful global CPG leaders, Steve Cahillane, as its new CEO. Cahillane previously served as CEO of Chicago-based Kellanova and brings deep industry expertise and proven leadership to the role. In 2026, Kraft Heinz plans to split into two companies, temporarily named "Global Taste Elevation" and "North American Grocery". Global Taste Elevation, led then by Cahillane, will include the faster-growing sauces, spreads, and seasonings portfolio, featuring iconic brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia, and Kraft Mac & Cheese. North American Grocery will house legacy brands including Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles, and Lunchables. The objective of this strategic separation is to increase speed to market, reduce complexity, and strengthen proximity to customers. Cahillane is a longtime Chicago resident and advocate for the city, having graduated from Northwestern University. In his first remarks following the announcement, he reaffirmed Kraft Heinz’s commitment to Chicago. Congratulations, Steve! Please read here the Chicago Tribune coverage by Robert Channick here: https://lnkd.in/gUvbH7hc

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I recently sat down with Seth Matlins for ‘The CEO’s Guide to Marketing’ podcast from @Forbes.   It was a wide-ranging conversation, here are some of my highlights:   * How a “big idea” must be rooted in some form of enduring human truth. But for ideas to endure, they also need to evolve.   * Why managing a huge portfolio of brands and deciding how, where and when to invest is both a science and an art, as well as the lessons and inspiration that having a portfolio can bring.   * The importance of setting brands which operate in the same category apart from each other – it’s imperative you’re clear on the different purposes they serve for consumers and innovation plays a critical role in achieving this.   * How shifting perceptions and breaking out of a singular occasion to drive more growth for a brand often requires a total change of mindset internally – the role of marketing is to help people see the opportunity.   * The journey we have been on at Diageo to reorganise our Marketing teams to enable greater efficiency and effectiveness – adapting to new ways of working can be challenging but we’re maximising creative and reducing costs as a result of our new Conscious Create Teams.   https://lnkd.in/emD7vaRT   I’d love for you to listen wherever you get your podcasts: Apple: https://lnkd.in/e-UZaens Spotify: https://lnkd.in/ecE_w367   #Diageo #Forbes

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Ghost expands its food portfolio with a new line of protein bars developed in partnership with General Mills. A year-and-a-half after bringing cereal to market, the lifestyle CPG brand is again partnering with General Mills to launch the protein bars this month 🍫. The launch marks Ghost’s latest extension beyond supplements and cereal as it deepens its presence in the food set 💪. The collaboration reflects a broader trend of digitally native brands teaming with legacy manufacturers to scale new food offerings. https://lnkd.in/grMgqz9R #CPG #FoodInnovation #ProteinBars #BrandPartnerships #GeneralMills #SportsNutrition

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CPG founders: BE THE BRAND. Authenticity wins! This was a great (and funny) question from an audience member during my panel at the ECRM/retailmediaIQ Founders' Innovation Day that brought up a good point. The audience member was told by an agency that he was "too old, too white and too male" to represent the brand. So he asked panelists Obi Linton of Nicobi Foods, LLC and Hector Saldívar of Tia Lupita®Foods what their thoughts were about it, as they are each the faces of their successful brands. They actually recommended that he lean into it, and be the "old white male" with an amazing product, and embrace his authenticity despite what the agency says. This was an amazing discussion that also included Fire Department Coffee's Luke Schneider, and you can watch it in full on YouTube or listen to it on our podcast at the links in the comments! #branding #socialmedia #brand #cpg #ecrmrangeme Sarah Davidson Jeffrey Friedman Teresa N. Wayne Bennett Kurt R. Ted Peterson Scot Meyer Jeffrey Woldt Thorvardur Palsson de Shong Chloe Hoban Dan Mack TRACEY PRIEST Bruce Montgomery

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We recently helped a PE-backed brand in functional foods appoint their first US President. The shortlist was full of proven CPG execs—but the board didn’t go with the most obvious choice. They chose the one who’d failed before. Why? Because he knew how to course-correct a DTC model, had scars from launching in retail, and understood how to hire a team while the wheels were already turning. In PE-backed environments, pedigree helps—but pattern recognition matters more.

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