In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Daniel Scharff is joined by Janice Greenwald, a seasoned marketing leader with over two decades of experience spanning Unilever, Sabra, and numerous natural food startups. Janice shares her expert perspective on what truly drives success in CPG marketing, introducing her expanded “C’s and P’s” framework and offering actionable insights for early-stage brands.

They cover key topics including defining a compelling value proposition, conducting consumer research on a budget, evaluating product-market fit, optimizing packaging for shelf impact, and selecting the right creative partners. Janice also shares best practices for executing high-ROI tactics like retail media, demos, and digital couponing to drive velocity.

Whether you’re launching a new brand or scaling an existing one, this episode offers clear, strategic guidance to help your product stand out in a crowded market. Listen now!

Grassroots Marketing Demos: https://calendly.com/grassrootsmarketing/grassroots-x-startupcpg-intro-call

Janice's Cs and Ps:

• Consumer – Who is your product for, and what real problem are you solving?
• Customer (Retailer) – You must show how your product will grow their category
• Category – You’re not just selling a product; you’re helping drive category incrementality
• Competition – Understand the landscape and how your brand stands out
• Product – Is it actually delivering on a relevant insight or need?
• Pricing – Must reflect your value proposition, margin goals, and consumer expectations
• Packaging – Your single best marketing tool in-store—must break through
• Placement – Should be a joint effort with sales to get the best in-store visibility at the right retailers (or channels)
• Promotion – Covers everything you’ll do to move product off the shelf

Listen in as they share about:

• Marketing for CPG Brands
• Marketing Framework: Cs & Ps
• Product-Market Fit & Repositioning
• Brand Audits and Course Correction
• Driving Velocity: Practical Tactics
• Marketing Spend and ROI-Driven Tactics
• Research & Validation
• Choosing a Design Partner

Episode Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-greenwald-marketing-consultant/ 

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.

Show Links:

• Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
• Join the Startup CPG Slack community (20K+ members and growing!)
• Follow @startupcpg
• Visit host Daniel's Linkedin 
• Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [email protected]
• Episode music by Super Fantastics