Impact Group

The consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry is enormous and saturated with brands vying for consumer attention. Standing out and remaining relevant among the crowd can be a difficult achievement. Working with a natural food broker that has a deep understanding of the nuances of the food and grocery business can help you navigate the masses while getting and keeping your products on the shelves. Competition in the fresh and natural category is even more fierce, and for those represented correctly, there is a great deal of money to be made. Fresh and natural foods accounted for a massive portion of grocery sales last year. According to Supermarket News, “Overall, fresh categories tallied in-store sales of nearly $178 billion [last year].” A food broker will represent your brand and work on its behalf to help you grow in a sustainable manner. The best food brokers and CPG marketing firms can help clients with everything from marketing and retail sales strategies to...

The competition for consumer attention and loyalty has never been fiercer. In fact, according to research released in 2017 by Hartman Group Inc. for the Food Marketing Institute, just 47% of the 2,145 grocery shoppers surveyed stated that they did most of their grocery shopping at a primary supermarket—down from 61% a decade earlier. These statistics mean that supermarkets, and the brands they stock, have to innovate and adapt to remain at the forefront of a consumer’s thoughts and needs. CPG marketing and data-driven insights are effective ways to harness a competitive advantage for your brand. By investing in data, brands can gain the upper hand with retailers and consumers. Extensive analysis of your data can drive your presence before consumers and allow you to make compelling decisions that move your business forward.  Data can give your brand insight into: How you are performing compared to your competitors Your consumers and their shopping behavi...

Nutritionally dense foods that promote a healthy body and mind, superfoods are buzz-worthy ways to add variety to your diet while nourishing your body. While their popularity may wax and wane, their benefits are more than a fad. From the health nut that will try anything to the accomplished grocery broker helping grocery stores carry them, these superfoods are in high demand.    Moringa Referred to as the next quinoa, moringa is a small tree native to India, where it has been used in the practice medicine for over 5,000 years. Rich in vitamins and nutrients, this superfood possesses all nine essential amino acids, as well as vitamin C, iron, magnesium, vitamin A, and B vitamins. It also contains antioxidants which aid in battling inflammation and has been shown in human trials to reduce cholesterol levels. This powerful nutritional profile is causing it to gain popularity rather quickly. The easiest way to work moringa into your diet is via a powder that ...

With the increased popularity of food delivery boxes and grocery pickup and delivery, getting consumers into the store and keeping them satisfied with their shopping experience is a necessity. This requires enhancing your store’s blueprint to create a connection that cannot be experienced elsewhere. Shopping locally is no longer the only or the most convenient option for a consumer. Because of this, you have to creatively encourage shoppers to come into your space and stay long enough to shop. Below you’ll find ideas that will help you do just that, for more intense scrutiny surrounding your brand and customer base, it would behoove you to investigate CPG marketing to drive ultimate growth. Customers who venture into a store are looking for something, and they either want the adventure of finding it to be magical, or as simple and easy as possible. The magical variety desire authentic interaction and a focus on experiences. They crave a sense of community, subversiv...

Expert food and CPG brokers can help brands reach unthought-of levels of success. However, even the best brokers are not magicians or miracle workers. Vendors should not expect them to do all the heavy lifting without any input or guidance. Here are some things that brands can do with a food broker to get the results that each party wants: They Set Up Clear KPIs What are the goals that you want to hit? Think about the levels you want to reach for your four Ps—products, pricing, promotion and placement—and set some reasonable targets with your broker. Without having clear KPIs, you literally cannot define what success is for your business. They Establish Clear Timelines for Reaching Their Goals Once a brand and its food broker have figured out their KPIs, they should develop a plan for actually meeting them. This means establishing timelines and coming up with specific steps, each of which should be reviewed and adjusted if necessary. They Bring Their K...

In 2016, McKinsey’s Consumer Packaged Goods Practice finished and released its latest customer and channel management survey. Just as it has done since 1978, the survey looks at the practices of numerous CPG businesses.  McKinsey’s survey assesses what companies that got higher sales (in their terminology, “winners”) did to outperform their less profitable peers (“others”). Since they came out, the survey’s findings have been borne out by further observation and analysis. Here are a few things that winners do and how CPG brokers can help their own clients do them. They Find Areas Where They Can Grow The best CPG brands find their strengths and play to them. How do they do this? They get as much data as they possibly can from retailers. This includes: • Sales by consumer segments and demographic groups • Data on coupon redemptions and loyalty card usage • Sales in different channels (major retailers, regional stores, etc.) Once they have this data, successfu...

Some vendors might think that food brokers or grocery brokers are just glorified salesmen—they sell a product to different stores or chains and nothing more. In truth, great grocery brokers do so much more than that. The best agencies serve as partners for their clients. Not only can they get products onto shelves, they can:                                Monitor store-level activity and pricing Give clients invaluable insights into their competitive landscape Make recommendations on packaging, assortment and distribution of products Assist with the creation of everything from print coupons to online marketing campaigns Here are some of the things that a first-rate grocery broker can do for a brand: They Can Make the Right Connections Grocery brokers can spend years maintaining and cultivating relationships with independent retailers and chains. This makes it easier for them to position ...