Ramping Your Brand: How to Ride the Killer CPG Growth Curve

There is ton of information out there for founders with millions of dollars to spend; this is a great book for the bootstrapping entrepreneur. LOTS of validation or thought provoking ways to view your startup.

Anyone in the premium CPG industry knows it’s extremely complex and nuanced. This book provides concrete - and research-backed - steps that brands can take to increase their chance of success. Dr. Richardson’s arguments are so convincing, I acted on a number of his suggestions before I’d even finished the book. This is a must read for anyone working to build a brand!

The problem I have is that we are already moving past many of his insights. And, he misses out on what happened before his research. Things are changing so fast with CPG. As someone in the trade for 30+ years so many things are different. What worked 25 years ago won’t work today.

The book has essential guidance for CPG brands. But it's still the case that those who can, will do. And those who cant, are stuck teaching. Having read the book, listed to all Dr. Richardson's podcasts, and attended several webinars, and paid at the rate of $250 per hour for consulting, I can tell you that there is nothing more Richardson can teach than is covered in his published work. We were cheated out of 2/3 of the consulting time we paid for and were treated with contempt. Unless your product and business plan is as simple as selling candy bars, Richardson is out of his league and has nothing more to teach than the book and publicly offered material.

This book is a must read because it's the best explanation of how to manage expectations in the specialty food industry. I say specialty because these are the types of brands James focuses on in the book, but really the information applies to any food brand. As he clearly states in the book 80% of these brands will not get over 1 million in annual revenue, Due in part to a lot of factors, but most likely mismanagement of the product life cycle. I often see many food artisans that create products for a plethora of reasons and then hand the keys to brokers, salespeople, and other shareholders that base their compensation on increased distribution and sales. What is left out here is increased distribution and PROFITABLE sales. The sentence that stood out the most for me "Pacing distribution requires an extremely data-driven, analytic, and strategic sales leader." says it all. Don't just run out to get "try and die" distribution, rather use a more methodical approach to find and hone consumers that are moderate to heavy users! This will create the sustainable velocities you need for your brand and to stay on the shelves. James does not break this down with the usual anecdotal evidence. He has obviously done his homework outside of his personal experience to not only qualify, but quantify his advice. Thanks James it was a great read!

As a premium CPG strategist specializing in both bricks/digital consumer promotions and shopper marketing for over 20 years, I have never come across a book like Ramping Your Brand. Too many times have I gone through “industry handbooks” that advance the same old same old business content. Or these “manuals” promote ideas that are not grounded in any type of validation which will help the reader gain the traction the book claims. Thankfully, we have been saved by Dr. James Richardson, who has produced a work that is substantiated not only by quantitative and qualitative fact finding but also a seasoned and keen intuitive understanding of the landscape that premium CPG entrepreneurs must navigate. And, to cap it all off, it’s eminently readable which is a rarity in “how to business” offerings! From now on, I will tell my industry friends and clients that this a book that needs to be a staple in their business arsenal.

This is an eye-opening thought-provoking body of work. I devoured it and it is full of post-it notes as I keep going back and referencing it. I can confidently state that it is the most important CPG strategy book I've read to date. Most appreciated is Dr. Richardson's candor. If you're looking for compliments on your strategy or affirmation that you're doing it right, pick another book. This is for CPG people that are interested in hard truths and in some respects, harsh realities.

This is great guide for CPG entrepreneurs to stay out of the tall grass and avoid common mistakes. This is one of the few books out there that address the early part of the s-curve from <$1MM to $10MM, which is often the most overlooked part of the many "overnight successes" that actually took 15-20 years to scale. I love his points about not chasing growth for the sake of growth or a business plan, that velocity matters far more than distribution in the early stages (really all stages) and how lays out in simple terms that a new brand with $1MM in sales can be done with just ~50K consumers in one city. Superconsumers (the most passionate, proactive and profitable consumers) and super-geos (high density markets) drive the lion share of success and guide strategy for not just the biggest brands in the world, but for the next generation of CPG brands.

Essential reading for any food / beverage entrepreneur, and probably worthwhile for anyone else operating in the space. Only wish it had been written sooner!

Fantastic read for any food/beverage founder looking to grow

As a startup CPG company (Landish Foods) we're about to make some key decisions for 2020 and onward: new product launches, messaging/positioning, sales channels, pricing, promotional strategy, etc. and the timing of this book launch could not have been better. I've been a fan of the author's newsletter for a while so I jumped on the book right away - literally within days of having to make some key decisions, some of which would be hard/very costly to reverse later. The book ties it all together. The advice is clear and specific but it's nuanced to a degree that feels completely appropriate and natural, leaving room for judgment within the confines of a clear, well researched and well communicated framework. There's no one-size-fits-all punchline typical of so many marketing/self-help books - the kind that is inspirational for about 3 days until I realize that it is not all that feasible to apply to my company/industry/stage/particular circumstances. This book is a really practical guide, specific to CPG and to each stage throughout the growth curve. Super super helpful.

Nice book. Quick and fast delivery. Nice and clean book too. Perfect packaging.

This book has helped me to think smarter about growth in cpg. It's a true gamechanger and a must read for every founder operating a consumer goods business. Every word in this book is highly relevant - also for founders in Europe. Read it. Read it twice. And then read it again.