For emerging CPG brands, a first-time purchase gets a product into a shopper’s cart, but repeat purchases generate the retail velocity needed to sustain distribution – knowing how to drive each requires a different marketing playbook.
Emerging brands should tailor sampling, promotions and shopper-marketing efforts to either drive trial or loyalty, using metrics such as cost per unit moved, repeat purchase rates and new buyers to guide in-store growth strategies, industry experts said during StartupCPG’s webinar last week.
“There’s not a lot that good velocity can’t cure,” said StartupCPG Founder Daniel Scharff, noting that strong velocity can help brands land additional retailers and distribution, more shelf facings, stronger buyer relationships and investment opportunities.
Emerging brands should focus limited budgets as close to the point of purchase as possible, like in-store sampling and promotions, explained Janice Greenwald, fractional CMO for CPG brands.
“You want to spend where really people can buy you versus trying to drive traffic to the retailers,” she said, noting that startups often have greater success converting existing category shoppers than trying to create entirely new consumer behaviors.
Retail success still comes down to the traditional marketing fundamentals of product, price, placement and promotion, according to Dennis Katsnelson, VP of marketing for Ithaca Hummus. The product itself must give consumers a compelling reason to switch through quality, packaging and positioning.
“When you have only a few seconds at shelf as a consumer,” he said, brands need to ensure their products are “grabbing that attention immediately.”
Demonstrating how a brand intends to drive trial through demos, digital coupons, retail media or other shopper-marketing tactics can help reassure buyers that velocity will follow distribution.
The distinction between trial and promotion lies in the targeted consumer
While demos can be expensive, they can serve as practical tools for driving trial because they allow brands to tell their story and create a memorable first impression with the product.
However, brands should carefully evaluate where they sample and hire a knowledgeable brand ambassador who can provide shopper insights while also boosting conversion.
Katnelson said his team views sampling as a lever to move consumers from “dips to lips,” explaining that “we have such a great product, we just need to get people to try it.”
Promotions should align with specific goals, according to Joe Broderick, sales manager for Inmar Intelligence. Offers that “lower that barrier to entry to purchase” can help drive trial, while loyalty-building efforts may benefit from multi-unit promotions such as buy-one-get-one deals, Broderick said.
At the same time, retailers and marketing partners can target shoppers based on category purchases, competitor purchases, shopping behavior and geography, allowing emerging brands to reach consumers most likely to switch.
Measuring promotions beyond sales
Building consumer trust and product differentiation ultimately creates a competitive edge, but generating sales is only part of the equation. When evaluating promotions, brands often hinge success on coupon redemption rates, Broderick noted. More insightful metrics include whether a program pulls in new buyers, creates repeat purchases and boosts baselines sales after the promotion as ended, he added.
If promotions fail to deliver results, rather than increasing spend, Greenwald advised brands to revisit the fundamentals – including how product quality, packaging, messaging, pricing, merchandising, shelf placement or availability are hindering performance. She also encouraged brands to measure the cost per unit moved across demos, coupons and other marketing programs to compare performance on the same basis.
For Katsnelson, the ultimate goal is not simply driving a short-term sales spike but creating behavior that lasts.
He said, after any promotion, brands should ask: “What did that program actually do for us? Is it going to be repeatable?”
Understanding what drives both trial and repeat purchase, panelists argued, is what ultimately separates sustainable retail growth from temporary momentum.
