About the Client
A mid-sized, U.S.-based Food & Beverage company came to Nexus while preparing to reposition its product line across new retail channels. The brand, known for its clean-label snacks and beverages, had grown quickly in regional grocery chains but was now eyeing national expansion through club stores, direct-to-consumer (DTC), and online marketplaces. To avoid costly missteps, they needed insights directly from decision-makers in distribution, retail buying, and consumer trend tracking.
The Challenge
Shifting Consumer Preferences
The internal team had some data from past campaigns, but trends were evolving in areas of functional ingredients, clean labels, and sustainable packaging. They needed real-time market perspective to keep their positioning sharp.
Limited Insight into Retail Buyer Expectations
The client didn’t know how their product line would be perceived by buyers at club stores, specialty retail, or online channels. They were unsure whether pricing, packaging, and branding would align with what category managers and merchandisers were actually looking for.
Our Approach
Sourcing Industry-Side Experts
We identified and vetted 30+ experts, including retail buyers, former CPG sales directors, food innovation consultants, and DTC growth leaders. We focused on professionals who had recently worked with snack/beverage brands and had firsthand experience with retail listings, shopper behavior, and online sales strategies.
15+ In-Depth Interviews (IDIs)
We facilitated focused qualitative interviews with a subset of these experts, exploring topics such as packaging appeal, pricing psychology, shelf performance, online conversion rates, and ingredients buyers were actively looking for (or avoiding).
Competitor Mapping & Distribution Benchmarking
Experts also shared how similar brands had approached retail expansion, including launch missteps, ideal unit economics, and co-packing risks. Our synthesis highlighted how the client’s current pricing and brand story stacked up.
Clear Insight Delivery
We delivered transcripts, a short synthesis deck, and actionable recommendations, clearly split across in-store and digital retail strategies so that the client’s leadership and marketing teams could quickly act on insights.
Results & Impact
Within three weeks, the client had:
- Redesigned their hero product packaging based on direct buyer and merchandiser feedback.
- Avoid entering two online platforms where margins and conversion data showed limited upside.
- Shortlisted three national distributors recommended by experts familiar with similar product launches.
- Accelerated their retail pitch preparation, entering conversations with two national retailers one month earlier than planned.
The insights not only shaped product adjustments but also gave the client confidence to move into new channels with a focused, data-backed plan. Nexus is now supporting them in validating international expansion into Canada and the UK.
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