Bulletproof Your CPG Brand

338. Getting into retail is a big win.

But for many founders, that is where a different set of problems begins.

In this episode of Bulletproof Your CPG Brand, Dan Lohman sits down with Julia from Livemore Superfoods to talk about what happens after the retailer says yes. Julia shares how Livemore grew, what they learned the hard way about retail expansion, and why being in more stores does not automatically mean the business i...

337. A CPG brand can add distribution, grow revenue and become financially weaker at the same time.

I've watched it happen.

A profitable brand expanded into more distributor DCs and markets. Distribution increased. So did inventory, free fills, chargebacks, distributor costs and the resources required to support all those new doors.

The sales report showed growth.

The underlying business was getting weaker.

That's because getting t...

336. I found a roughly $15 million growth opportunity gap inside a brand that was already in the stores.

They did not need another retailer.

They needed the right product...

335. If you're trying to get into retail stores, a better-looking CPG pitch deck is not enough.

Retail buyers hear versions of the same founder, product, traction, growth, and market-size story every day.

The brands that stand out make the retailer's decision easier.

In this episode of Bulletproof Your CPG Brand, I explain what retail buyers actually need to understand before taking the risk on a new item — including where th...

334. Your promotion is live.

The retailer approved it. The funding is committed. Inventory shipped. The team believes everything is ready.

Then someone walks into the store.

The sale tag is there. The shelf is empty.

Or the display never got built. Inventory is sitting in the back room. The product was moved. A competitor took the space. Something changed between the plan and what the shopper actually experienced.

And here is ...

333. What makes one shopper willingly pay more while another keeps chasing the lowest price?

It is not always the product.

It is whether the product solves a problem the shopper recognizes and whether the brand communicates that value in a way the shopper and retailer can understand.

In this episode, Daniel Lohman talks with Marise May, co-founder of Cha's Organics, about the values, relationships, and operating choices behind a mi...

332.  A promotion can increase sales, make the retailer happy, and still quietly drain cash, margin, and runway. That is the part most post-event recaps miss.

In this episode, Dan Lohman explains why a promotion can look successful on paper while quietly creating margin pressure, deduction issues, forward buys, execution gaps, and weaker baseline sales later. He shares the promotion lesson he learned selling chips against a mu...

331. Most growing brands are being sold some version of an easy button.

Hire another person. Add a dashboard. Plug in AI. Automate the report, and the business will finally become easier to run.

Those tools can help. The problem begins when the business expects them to replace the commercial decision capability it never built.

Dan Lohman explains why the same recurring decisions keep returning to the founder even after the company ...

330.  Your Dashboard Can Be Accurate—and Still Mislead You

More dashboards.

More reports.

More spreadsheets.

More software.

So why do so many CPG leadership teams still struggle to make confident decisions?

In this episode, Daniel Lohman explains why more reporting doesn't automatically create more clarity.

You'll learn:

• Why accurate reports can still mislead

• The $100,000 reporting lesson that changed how Daniel thin...

329. Growth feels harder right now.

That does not necessarily mean your brand, product, mission, or founder instincts are broken. The environment around the business changed, and the margin for error got smaller.

Sales may be growing while cash still feels tight. Promotions may move volume while compressing margin. Shoppers may still love the brand but buy it less often, wait for a promotion, or make different choices at the kitche...

328.  Your sales report may be one of the last places you learn that the shopper changed.

By the time velocity slows, repeat purchase weakens, or a retailer starts asking harder questions, the shopper may have already made a different decision.

This episode uses trade shows as a practical example, but the bigger lesson is not really about trade shows. It is about turning shopper conversations, demos, email replies, community e...

327. What if your biggest growth opportunity isn't another retailer?

What if it's the customers you already have?

In this episode, Chrissy Hammer, co-founder and CEO of Sunshine Buns, shares her journey from family recipe to national retail expansion.

She shares the story behind Sunshine Buns, the lessons she's learned scaling a founder-led brand, and why the future belongs to brands that build authentic communities, create meaning...

326. Most founders believe growth solves problems.

More distribution.

More retailers.

More sales.

More opportunities.

But what if growth isn't the thing that's putting pressure on your business?

What if the real problem is complexity?

In this episode, I sit down with Mike Fata, founder of Manitoba Harvest and author of Grow, to discuss one of the most overlooked challenges facing entrepreneurial brands today.

Scaling.

Not the excit...

325. Retailers don't reward the biggest mission. They reward the clearest value.

What happens when one of the most influential founders in natural products decides to start over?

In this episode, I sit down with Seth Goldman, founder of Honest Tea and co-founder of Just Ice Tea, to discuss what it takes to build a mission-driven brand in today's retail environment.

We explore:

• Why Honest Tea's discontinuation created an unexpecte...

324. Sales are up.

Distribution is expanding.

Retailers are saying yes.

The team is working harder than ever.

So why does cash still feel tight?

In this episode, Dan Lohman explores one of the biggest blind spots facing entrepreneurial CPG brands today:

Growth is not the same as health.

The market has changed.

The shopper has changed.

And many of the assumptions founders relied on for years no longer work the same way they once did...

323. The brands that win long term are rarely the brands chasing short-term trends.

They are the brands that understand:

• changing shopper behavior

• emerging category shifts

• evolving health priorities

• and how to position products before the market fully catches up

In this episode, I sit down with Suzie Yorke to discuss:

• functional foods

• healthier chocolate

• category evolution

• founder-led innovation

• brand positioning

...

322. Most CPG founders are feeling pressure from every direction right now.

Costs are rising.
Retailers expect more.
Promotions are harder to predict.
Shoppers are becoming more cautious.
And margins are getting compressed everywhere.

The dangerous part?

Many founders react before they fully understand where the pressure is actually coming from.

And that confusion gets expensive.

In this episode, I break down the re...

321. But very few spend enough time thinking about what happens AFTER manufacturing.

And that blind spot quietly creates:

• operational friction

• retailer problems

• deduction exposure

• execution failures

• damaged customer experiences

• and hidden profit leaks

In this episode, I sit down with Caitlin to discuss why operational clarity, fulfillment, packaging, communication, and execution discipline matter far more than most foun...

320. Margins are tighter. Costs are rising. Retailers still expect performance. And most founders are working harder just to maintain momentum.

But here's the uncomfortable truth:

Most brands do not have a spend problem.

They have a clarity problem.

In this episode, I break down why so many CPG brands are quietly leaking:

• cash
• margin
• execution
• retailer trust
• visibility
• and decision quality

We discuss:

• why dashboards...