This week, I’m writing about topical news that’s taking over LinkedIn feeds - lots of people back talking Retail Media and excellent executions (really), Retail Category growth drivers challenger brands need and should apply to success. Finally, how brands needs to wake up to data and how to utilise to best inform.

Happy reading!

#1 The 4 Levers of Category Growth: What Challenger Brands Can Learn from Big CPG Players

Growing a brand isn’t just about selling more — it’s about growing the entire category in a way that benefits both your brand and the retailers you work with.

In category management and shopper marketing, big CPG brands use four key levers to drive growth. Challenger brands who master these same levers can level the playing field and build sustainable, long-term success.

Let’s break them down.

Lever 1: Increasing Category Penetration (More Shoppers)

🛒 Get more people into the category

For challenger brands, this is the biggest unlock. If more people start buying from your category, your brand has more opportunities to win.

What Big CPG Brands Do:

• Run broad awareness campaigns to drive interest in the category

• Work with retailers on off-shelf placements (e.g., front-of-store displays, secondary locations)

• Educate consumers on new use cases to bring them into the category

What Challenger Brands Can Do:

• Use social media, influencers, and TikTok virality to introduce your category to new shoppers

• Partner with retailers on cross-merchandising (e.g., pairing protein bars with coffee or oat milk with cereal)

• Offer trial-size formats to lower the barrier to entry

🚀 Example: Oatly expanded oat milk penetration by positioning it as a better alternative to dairy, increasing total category demand.

Lever 2: Increasing Purchase Frequency (More Trips/Occasions)

🛒 Get existing shoppers to buy more often

The goal here is to remind shoppers why they need your product more frequently, whether that’s through habit-building, expanded usage occasions, or convenience.

What Big CPG Brands Do:

• Drive seasonal and occasion-based marketing (e.g., Coca-Cola linking itself to summer moments)

• Offer on-the-go formats (e.g., single-serve packs to increase impulse purchases)

• Use loyalty programs and subscriptions to create habitual buying

What Challenger Brands Can Do:

• Educate consumers on new use cases (e.g., protein powder isn’t just for shakes—it’s for baking too!)
  Leverage email & SMS reminders to encourage reorders before they run out
  Introduce multi-pack options to make frequent buying easier

🚀 Example: Liquid I.V. used education-driven marketing to show how their hydration sticks aren’t just for athletes—they’re for travel, hangovers, and daily wellness, driving multiple purchases per month.

Lever 3: Increasing Basket Size (More Per Trip)

🛒 Get shoppers to buy more per trip

If someone already likes your product, make it easier for them to buy more. This is where bundling, bulk sizes, and clever merchandising come in.

What Big CPG Brands Do:

• Offer multi-buy promotions (e.g., “Buy 2, Get 1 Free” deals)

• Introduce family-size or bulk options (e.g., Costco-sized packs)

• Use strategic planogram placement to encourage bigger basket rings

What Challenger Brands Can Do:

• Offer bundles or “buy more, save more” discounts on DTC and retail shelves

• Introduce value packs (e.g., a 10-pack of protein bars instead of singles)

• Work with retailers to place products in “grab-and-go” zones

🚀 Example: Poppi, the prebiotic soda brand, launched variety packs to encourage multi-flavor purchases in one trip—driving up average order value.

Lever 4: Increasing Price per Unit (Trade Up/Premiumization)

🛒 Encourage shoppers to spend more per unit

Challenger brands often underprice themselves to compete — but premiumisation is where the margin lies. If you have a differentiated product, you shouldn’t be the cheapest option.

What Big CPG Brands Do:

• Introduce “gold standard” premium versions of existing products

• Offer exclusive, limited-edition flavors to justify higher pricing

• Use premium packaging & storytelling to elevate perceived value

What Challenger Brands Can Do:

• Offer premium SKUs (e.g., an organic or ultra-clean-label version)
  Use sustainability, functionality, or health benefits as a premium positioning angle
  Justify pricing with storytelling (e.g., “handcrafted,” “limited batch,” “single-origin ingredients”)

• 🚀 Example: Athletic Greens turned a basic greens powder into a $99/month subscription by leaning into premium benefits, exclusivity, and influencer marketing

Challenger Brands Who Get This Right Will Win

✅ Don’t just think about “selling more” - think about growing the entire category
✅ Take notes from big CPG brands - but execute with agility and digital-first tactics
✅ Use data & digital tools to track what’s working and optimise

💡 Want to apply these growth levers to your brand? I’ve helped challenger brands scale using the same strategies the big CPG players use. Let’s connect. 🚀

#2 Brands Are Failing to Use Digital Shelf Data to Win in Physical Retail - Here’s Why That’s a Costly Mistake

Most brands treat online and offline as two separate worlds—and that’s the problem.

The digital shelf isn’t just an eCommerce battleground. It’s a real-time data engine that provides deep insights into consumer behavior, demand trends, and competitor positioning. Yet, too many brands fail to use this data to optimize their physical retail strategy—and they’re losing sales because of it.

Here’s what’s going wrong—and how brands can fix it.

The Missed Opportunity: Digital Shelf Data as a Retail Roadmap

Think about it:

• Your Amazon product pages show which SKUs sell the most by region

• Your search analytics reveal what customers are looking for (and not finding)

• Your product reviews highlight real-time feedback on what’s working and what’s not

• Your conversion rates tell you which product formats, pricing, and messaging are resonating

This isn’t just eCommerce data - it’s strategic intelligence that should be shaping physical store distribution, assortment, and retail marketing plans.

Yet, many brands fail to bridge the gap, leaving money on the table in brick-and-mortar.

3 Ways Brands Are Ignoring Digital Shelf Data (And Paying the Price)

1️⃣ They Don’t Use Online Demand to Guide Retail Distribution

What’s Happening:
Many brands expand into retail based on outdated sales data, distributor recommendations, or gut feel instead of real-time consumer interest.

💡 What They Should Do Instead:

• Use search trends & sales data from Amazon, Walmart.com, and DTC to identify where demand is highest before rolling out new retail locations

• Leverage geo-specific online sales data to prioritize store expansion in high-demand areas

• Test new products online first before committing to large-scale retail distribution

2️⃣ They Ignore Online Pricing & Competition When Setting In-Store Pricing

🚨 What’s Happening:
Retail pricing is often set independently from online, leading to:
❌ Price mismatches that confuse consumers
❌ Lost sales when online pricing is significantly lower
❌ Poor competitiveness when rivals undercut them online

💡 What They Should Do Instead:

• Use digital shelf pricing data to align in-store pricing with online competitors

• Track promotional trends on Amazon, Walmart, and Target to anticipate price shifts in retail

• Leverage dynamic pricing models where possible to stay competitive across channels

3️⃣ They Overlook Online Reviews & Content Trends for In-Store Merchandising

🚨 What’s Happening:
Brands often ignore digital shelf insights—like product reviews, search queries, and content engagement—when planning in-store marketing, displays, and promotions.

💡 What They Should Do Instead:

• Use online reviews & FAQs to adjust packaging, messaging, and claims in retail

• Track top-searched features & benefits online to shape in-store signage and education

• Monitor TikTok & Instagram trends to inform seasonal merchandising strategies

The Solution: Make Digital Shelf Data a Retail Strategy Tool

Brands that integrate digital shelf insights into physical retail planning will:
✅ Stock the right products in the right locations
✅ Align pricing & promotions across channels
✅ Use online feedback to optimize in-store messaging
✅ Predict demand more accurately and avoid stockouts or slow-moving inventory

📢 Stop treating digital and physical retail as separate entities. Use digital shelf data as your retail roadmap, and your brand will outperform competitors stuck in an outdated, siloed approach.

#3 Retail Media’s In-Store Disconnect: When Messaging Misses the Moment

❌ The disconnect is real.

Retail media is exploding, but there’s a fundamental problem — what consumers see in-store often has no connection to what they experience online or at the point of purchase.

Take Evian’s “Mountain-Made Minerals” campaign. Sounds premium, aspirational—until you look at the shelf and see it floating above Corona and Coors. The message? Lost. The impact? Minimal.

This is where CPG brands are getting it wrong.

What CPG Brands Are Missing

Digital shelf needs to reinforce the physical shelf
If what you’re saying online isn’t backed up in-store, you’re leaving sales on the table. Your TikTok ad, your Amazon page, your in-store sign - should all tell the same story.

Content without commerce is just decoration
Great creative is useless if it doesn’t guide the shopper to action. Messaging that floats above the category or competes with irrelevant products? That’s just background noise.

Omnichannel isn’t multiple channels - it’s one connected experience
Smart brands treat online and offline as one seamless ecosystem. What you see on a retailer’s app should match what you see in the aisle - visually, contextually, and functionally.

Retail Media Isn’t Just Another Placement—It’s Part of the System

Brands still see retail media as just another ad buy. But it’s more than that. It’s a decision driver - if it’s placed and executed correctly.

✔️ Winning brands fuse retail intelligence with digital precision
✔️ They leverage shopper data to position content at key decision points
✔️ They make sure that online engagement translates into in-store sales

Because the key isn’t just distribution.

It’s showing up meaningfully where it matters most.

So next time you launch a campaign, ask yourself:

• Is the creative aligned with the in-store moment?

• Is the media placement actually driving purchase?

• Does the message make sense in the shopper’s journey?

If not - you’re just decorating the aisle, not selling in it.

Free Tools to Help your Brand

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