Brands We've Taken to Shelf

The Challenge

Flourish had a strong formulation and compelling brand story, but no retail experience, no broker relationships, and no compliance documentation. The founders had been told by a distributor that they weren't 'retail ready' — without any guidance on what that actually meant.

Our Approach

We conducted a full retail readiness audit and identified four critical gaps: label claims that wouldn't pass Whole Foods review, missing third-party certifications, a price point that left no room for promotional support, and a sell sheet that led with ingredients instead of consumer benefits. We closed every gap over a 90-day engagement, then made direct introductions to the right buyers.

The Challenge

Mycelium Co. was entering the market at a moment when functional mushroom products were generating consumer interest but significant buyer skepticism. Category managers at natural retailers didn't have a framework for evaluating the segment, and several had been burned by short-lived trend products. Mycelium needed to sell the category before they could sell the brand.

Our Approach

We developed a category education strategy — a buyer-facing research brief that positioned functional mushrooms as a durable wellness segment with clinical backing, not a passing trend. We paired this with a channel sequencing plan that targeted independent natural retailers first to build velocity data, then used that data to approach regional chains.

The Challenge

Meridian had been in conversations with a Costco buyer for seven months with no resolution. Their item had strong consumer reviews and competitive pricing, but the pitch had stalled over packaging format, pallet configuration, and promotional commitment questions the founding team didn't know how to answer.

Our Approach

We joined the engagement mid-process, reviewed the full buyer correspondence, and identified three specific objections that had never been directly addressed. We restructured the packaging to meet Costco's floor-ready requirements, built a promotional calendar with concrete trade spend commitments, and prepared Meridian's CEO for a direct follow-up call with the buyer.