Building CPG food & beverage brands from idea to hitting retail shelves next

It starts with brand strategy.

Shop clients @ Pop Up Grocer, Meadow Lane, Foxtrot, Butterfield Market, Happier Grocery, Fairway

Trusted by the next generation of food & beverage founders

Hi, I'm Kelly Bennett, a New York City based brand strategist building CPG food & beverage brands from idea to hitting retail shelves.

You're here because you have a cool product idea. Maybe you're reimagining a classic pantry staple, bringing a new hero ingredient to the US market, or innovating a better-for-you food or beverage product. You're hitting a consumer trend, but you have a vision that goes beyond it.

Currently you're in the earliest stages. You're testing recipes in your kitchen, you're brainstorming a brand, learning on the job about the CPG industry, thinking of a million things you'll need to do to make your brand market ready, and you're also bootstrapping, working full time, and living life. You don't feel like a "founder" yet because you just have an idea, but you want a real strategy to turn that idea into a brand that hits retail shelves. One you're super proud to put your name on.

And you want to work with industry experts, and do this the right way.

You're exactly who I work with, and the type of emerging founder I love working with.

After 20 years of experience building emerging brands (I started young ; ), I found my niche in building emerging CPG food and beverage brands. I'm now working with some of the hottest emerging CPG food and beverage brands hitting retail shelves next (like Cotto and She's the Sauce… humble client brag!), interviewing hundreds of brands on Emerging Brands Podcast® who are now hitting retail shelves like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Target, and (newly) angel investing in emerging CPG brands and the operations scaling their retail footprint.

Now, I'll take you from idea to a brand ready to hit retail shelves next. Building a brand that stands out on shelf, knowing exactly who it's for, defining the product and flavors you're developing, getting the attention of your target consumers, building buzz and demand before hitting shelves, pitching your early retailers with confidence, and mapping a sales channel strategy to get you to your first retail shelves.

You'll be working with me and the hand-selected industry experts I bring onto every client project. Seriously the best in the biz working on your brand strategy.

What clients are saying:

She's the Sauce

'Before She’s the Sauce was even a concept, I met with Kelly, and from day one, she helped me shape this brand into something truly unique. Her strategic mind helped me uncover what made my sauces different, find the key selling points that would resonate, and has helped create the kind of buzz that every founder dreams of...’
Nicole Glabman, Founder
Cotto

‘I started working with Kelly when I only had a product concept and was testing early recipes in my kitchen, and building my brand strategy with her completely changed how I approached every decision that followed. She helped me dial in my positioning, messaging, and target consumer, and guided me toward a brand name that truly reflects what I’m building after my original name couldn’t be trademarked. Beyond the work itself, Kelly is an incredible supporter and connector, always generous with her time, her network, and her energy, and genuinely someone you want in your corner’.
Kendall Kransdorf, Founder
Nomie

A few months into starting Nomie, I needed someone to help me cut through the noise and see the full picture. Kelly's brand strategy gave Nomie a real foundation that set the direction for brand design, social strategy, and product messaging and positioning. What I didn't expect was how much she'd continue to show up long after our work together wrapped, and I'm so grateful for that.
Roopa Annadatha, Founder
Frankly Good Coffee

‘...Pop Up Grocer slid into our dms and before I knew it we had launched inside one of the most respected entities for up and coming CPG brands - we were on the shelves, standing out among the other coffees that surrounded us. This is just the beginning of our growth and retail journey - grateful I was smart enough to hire Kelly when we did!’
Stefanie Frank, Co-founder

Join emerging CPG food & beverage brands hitting retail shelves next

You're here because you have a food or beverage idea that you wish was on the market. Maybe you're reimagining a classic pantry staple, bringing a new hero ingredient to the US market, or innovating a better-for-you food or beverage product. You're hitting a consumer trend, but you have a vision that goes beyond it.

Currently you're in the earliest stages. You're testing recipes in your kitchen, you're brainstorming a brand, learning on the job about the CPG industry, thinking of a million things you'll need to do to make your brand market-ready, and you're also bootstrapping, working full time, and living life. You don't feel like a "founder" yet because you just have an idea, but you want a real strategy to turn that idea into a brand that hits retail shelves. One you're super proud to put your name on.

And you want to work with industry experts and do this the right way.

‘‘I started working with Kelly when I only had a product concept and was testing early recipes in my kitchen, and building my brand strategy with her completely changed how I approached every decision that followed…” Kendall Kransdorf, Founder, Cotto