When you’re launching a CPG brand, you’re not just building a product — you’re building a system that needs to survive the realities of the CPG industry. I got a chance to sit down with Dr James Richardson and ask him the key things emerging brands need in order to grow. He’s seen what works, what crashes, and — most importantly — what can be fixed early.

In a recent interview with Foodbevy, Dr. Richardson shared hard-hitting insights on how founders can avoid the most common traps, know when to scale, and build brands that actually resonate with consumers. Whether you’re prepping for your first production run or wondering why your velocities have plateaued, his advice offers a sharp and sometimes sobering look at what it takes to win.

1. How to Set Up Your CPG Brand for Success from Day One

Jordan – Foodbevy: What should emerging CPG Brands do to set themselves up for success?

Dr. Richardson: Two things are more critical than ever when ordering any product from a co-man (or the pilot equipment to make it yourself).

1) It’s critical to identify the optimal routes to market to reach your most predisposed audience up front and then calculate all the costs to get product to consumers via that path. All the costs. Working with channel specialists is essential to knowing how much seed money to raise. In 2025, founders should not be stumbling into a negative cash flow situation for months and months because they did not forecast channel costs or raise enough money to survive them.

2) Sample a prototype with potential audiences, including draft attribute-outcome symbolism in the form of a package graphic poster (or mockup). Even an informal demo table ‘focus group’ can be invaluable in iterating BEFORE you spend six figures on an initial product run that is way off the mark. Iterating as early as possible is essential because shelf access is far more constrained than before the pandemic.

2. When to Shift from Velocity Growth to Door Expansion

Jordan – Foodbevy: How do you know when to switch from a velocity mindset to a velocity + door expansion mindset?

Dr. Richardson: This is as much an intuitive judgment call as a metrics-driven one. As a rule of thumb, I argue that it’s fine to expand doors (generally by adding ideal stores/divisions in additional accounts) when your annual unit velocities for the same UPCs at the same accounts are growing at least 25% on an annualized basis for at least 18 months since launch.

This high hurdle is only relevant for those who want to scale Skate Ramp brands. If your ambitions are lower, stable unit velocities for 18 quads are enough to justify expansion. The challenge in all of this is the patience required. You must be disciplined to skip door expansion during one sales cycle while you work on velocities (including by adding smart UPCs like additional pack sizes). Most founders simply cannot say “no” to buyers who offer more doors, even when it is premature. Many founders also get caught up in the false positives of surging launch velocities that take months to settle down to a baseline. Rolling annualized velocity measures is the only way to ‘see the future’ faster, but few founders understand this scanner math.

3. The 5 Most Common (and Fatal) Mistakes CPG Founders Make

Jordan – Foodbevy: What are the biggest traps that CPG founders run into?

Dr. Richardson: I can come up with five right away.

1) Adding too many UPCs in barely related or unrelated categories. This is commonly known as a platform strategy, and my research has shown that it is a proven way to decelerate your business, even if it eventually does scale.

2) Launching with the idea that VC money is widely available, as in the 2010s.

3) Not planning your initial route-to-market cash needs up front and raising seed money to cover them.

4) Believing your original products are perfect. This is extremely unlikely for the average founder, who is new to the industry they compete in.

5) Not interacting early with fans to see what you really have created and how to market it better. These are the most common and fatal mistakes.

4. What Product-Market Fit Actually Looks Like in CPG

Jordan – Foodbevy: What are the signs of achieving product market fit?

Dr. Richardson: Honestly, when your unpromoted velocities are growing 50% or higher annually. This is a definitive sign that you have something special and an everyday reality for the Skate Ramp brands I’ve studied. Using the right metrics, you can establish this with about 18-24 quads of scanner data. Many do not understand, without access to many scanner case studies, that once you have around 30-50% ACV in your category AND have a strong brand, it’s possible to grow for years on pure velocity growth without adding hardly any distribution points. 

While traditional sales-driven companies feel that growth is impossible because ACV is “maxed out”, velocity growth based on adding households is still possible IF you have built a brand-obsessed marketing culture alongside your sales & ops.

5. What to Do When Your Product Isn’t Gaining Traction

Jordan – Foodbevy: How should you look at pivoting if you realize your products are not achieving the velocities you need to succeed?

Dr. Richardson: Pivoting to velocity growth can come in many forms. The classic form of pivoting is for brands operating in 2-3 merchandising categories. In this case, they pivot from a poor-performing set of UPCs to a newer set that is doing better. Then, they carefully shed the poorly performing, original UPCs over time. If you are highly focused on one category with only a few UPCs, pivoting gets more intense. It’s important to look hard at the products themselves.

Can you radically improve the sensory experience or skip sideways into an adjacent, faster-growing format in the same general category? If so, pivoting involves launching new UPCs as a new bet. However, it could be an issue with primary product symbolism. Is your product symbolism connecting to a mass-market outcome with something new at the national level? Or is it a me-too follower? Pivoting may require reformulation in this case. Finally, if you do not believe it is your product, as was the case with Dr. Squatch Soap, could you find an underserved audience in the category and develop highly creative outreach to get them interested in your offering?

Wrap Up

Launching and scaling a CPG brand is harder than it’s ever been. Shelf space is tighter, funding is more competitive, and consumer expectations are sky-high. But as Dr. Richardson points out, with smart forecasting, disciplined iteration, and a deep understanding of your velocity metrics, you can build a brand that grows long before you go national.

To dive deeper into his growth framework, check out Dr. Richardson’s consultancy at Premium Growth Solutions and his best-selling book Ramping Your Brand.

About Dr. Richardson

Dr. Richardson is the author of Ramping Your Brand and the founder of Premium Growth Solutions, a strategic planning consultancy for emerging consumer packaged goods brands. As a professionally trained cultural anthropologist turned business strategist, he has helped over 150 CPG brands with their strategic planning, including: Dude Wipes, Once Upon a Farm, Dr. Squatch Soap, Trü Frü, Earth Breeze, Dr. Bronner’s, Happy Egg, Made Good and many others. 

He also hosts his own business podcast —Startup Confidential —on YouTube, Apple, Spotify and most major podcast platforms. And he writes a Substack publication on contemporary social issues — Homo Imaginari — **every week. He lives in sunny Tucson, AZ with his family and dogs.  His thoughts have appeared in Inc Magazine, Business Insider, Food Business News, and numerous business podcasts.

• Premium Growth Solutions Website – https://www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com/
• Riding the Ramp The Book – https://www.amazon.com/Ramping-Your-Brand-Killer-Growth/dp/1733444645