Snack bar brand MCTCo found themselves in the “product attributes” trap — listing your benefits, rather than building a brand. They touted one specific ingredient at the heart of the keto diet breakout (MCT Oil) that set them apart. The brand built a loyal base of health-conscious workout warriors. But a narrow audience made it difficult to grow and scale beyond its niche. That’s when founder Joe Christensen enlisted the help of SKU partner Ugly Wolf, an award-winning strategic brand design agency, to begin the transformation from MCTCo to NuSkool — opening a world of new possibilities and se ..read more

When SKU is selecting brands for a Track, we look for innovative brands led by passionate founders We kicked it out of the park with the Spring ’24 Track. Each of these brands was inspired by founders fueled by their desire to fill an unmet need in the market. They include a line of lightweight, packable meals created by an adventurer, a pet wellness brand developed by a veterinarian and a beauty brand born from the founder’s  personal struggle with psoriasis. The SKU Spring ‘24  cohort includes Curation Beverage Co, Heather’s Choice, I Love Micheladas, Kelsi’s Kitchen, Ohh Foods, S ..read more

As we kick off 2024, we’re all looking for the trends that areere most likely to impact them. What are the product trends likely to dominate different categories – from pet to beauty to F&B? And what types of brands are going to be most attractive to investors? We turned to some experts in our SKUniverse to provide their insights. Pet Trends: Carol Frank, Managing Director, BirdsEye Advisory Group Last year, SKU ran its first track dedicated to brands in the pet industry – an industry projected to swell to over $500 billion by 2030, according to a report from Bloomberg Intelligence. SKU ..read more

Managing trade promotions is vital for CPG brands like yours. But are your discounts, coupons, and promos really paying off? We asked SKU partner Vividly for the best ways to make every marketing dollar count. What is Trade Spend Effectiveness? Trade spend ROI measures how well your promotions deliver returns. Effective campaigns boost sales AND brand awareness.  To succeed, you need to: Understand your audience: what motivates them?  Pick the right promo mix: discount depth, promotion types, timing…optimize! Analyze performance: spot trends and continuously improve! Now let’s un ..read more

Raeka Morar didn’t set out to create a groundbreaking skincare brand. What began as a hobby making skincare products took a more meaningful turn after her grandmother passed. Remembering her grandmother’s South Asian remedies, Raeka started to incorporate them into her lotions. A friend convinced Raeka to sell her skincare products at a local Austin market. She sold out of hte 50 tins that she brought and realized she might be onto something big. The timing couldn’t have been better. There was a growing interest in South Asian ingredients, and she was perfectly positioned to convert her hobby ..read more

Buff Greebe, SKU Executive Director SKU has hired veteran consumer-product leader and SKU mentor Buff Greebe as Executive Director of the nation’s leading CPG accelerator. “Buff brings a fresh perspective, strategic vision, and a wealth of experience to an organization,” says SKU Board Member Rick Ressler. “As a SKU mentor for previous tracks, Buff understands the unique value that SKU brings to both the startups participating in SKU as well as the CPG leaders who work with them.” Greebe is a seasoned executive with more than 35 years of experience in the CPG and consumer healthcare (CH) indus ..read more

Becoming a dog owner has become a conscious lifestyle choice that thrusts you into a whole new ball game. Pet parents now include their fur babies in every facet of their lives, from dining to travel. Shannon Ross with her dog. Springer Pets founder Shannon Ross saw this seismic shift and wanted to fill the enormous white space in the industry for on-the-go pet parents. Through Springer water bottles, she has made it possible for pet parents to effortlessly keep their dogs hydrated wherever they go. Springer has done for travel dog bottles what Yeti has done for coolers. Springer’s origin sto ..read more

Many SKU brands and mentors will be converging Sept. 20-23 in Philadelphia for Expo East ’23 – the East Coast’s leading natural, organic and healthy products event. Emerging and innovative brands will showcase their ideas to retailer and foodservice buyers looking to discover, better understand and help guide what’s next in CPG disruption. Attendees will emerge from the Innovation Experience armed with a greater understanding of new technologies, business models and philosophies that can support the health of people and planet. “Leading-edge innovations are disrupting nearly every aspect of t ..read more

Earlier this month, more than 18K pet professionals from more than 84 countries converged on Las Vegas for SuperZoo ’23. SuperZoo, North America’s premier pet retail trade show, showcases the latest trends in the $100 billion pet industry in every category. At this year’s sold-out show, the energy was sky high, said SKU mentor and industry veteran Julie Nelson. “It felt so much more alive than the past few post-COVID shows.” The show, produced by the World Pet Association, is the ideal venue for emerging pet brands to get in front of over 10K key decision makers. Nana Pfeifer, Homescape Pets ..read more

The core method of keeping your financial data up to date is proper bookkeeping. Without accurate and up-to-date financial data, you are not able to make informed business decisions. It is essential for understanding for every aspect of your business, from monitoring your cash flow to calculating your cost of goods sold. But when you’re busy getting your brand up and running, bookkeeping can be frustrating and time consuming. Knowing what you can and should take on yourself, and when you should outsource those responsibilities will establish the groundwork for a healthy business as ..read more