BRAVE COMMERCE – Suave Brands Company’s Noah Knoblauch on Rebuilding Legacy CPG for a Digital-First, Private Equity-Backed Future
Podcast: BRAVE COMMERCE
Hosts: Rachel Tipograph (MikMak Founder & CEO), Sarah Hofstetter (Profitero President)
Guest: Noah Knoblauch, Head of E-Commerce & Retail Media, Suave Brands Company
Date: September 30, 2025
Episode Overview
In this episode, the hosts dive into the world of legacy CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) brands transitioning to a private equity (PE)-backed, digital-first approach. Their guest, Noah Knoblauch of Suave Brands Company, shares firsthand insights from spearheading the e-commerce transformation of Suave and Chapstick after their carve-out from large conglomerates like Unilever. The conversation covers the harsh and rewarding realities of PE ownership, practical digital growth strategies, rebuilding brands from scratch, and the integration of legacy CPG with emerging commerce trends.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Private Equity vs. Public Company Careers (03:00–10:15)
- PE vs. Public: Career Mindsets
- PE focuses on executing within a 3–5 year time frame, tied to creating value for an eventual sale. Public companies operate quarter-to-quarter, balancing short-term and long-term pressures.
- Sarah Hofstetter: “When you’re in it as an employee, the big question is what's my end game here, right?” (03:36)
- Advice for Transitioning to PE-Backed CPGs
- Noah draws from personal experience: His first move from Procter & Gamble to a smaller PE-backed company exposed him to unforeseen risks like cash flow issues and layoffs.
- Key considerations:
- Understand investors’ timelines (often 3–7 years, with a likely change of ownership).
- Always probe for realistic profitability and growth expectations.
- Assess organizational stability—ask about cash flow in smaller companies.
- Expect high performance demands and a hands-on environment with fewer resources.
- Negotiate for equity as risk mitigation.
- Noah Knoblauch Quote: “Private equity is a very different model... you have to be at the top of your game and everybody needs to create value because you’re working against time.” (09:40)
- PE Reality Check
- PE jobs are resource-lean, require working across functions, and can demand long hours. They're best for those energized by hands-on, high-impact work.
2. Rebuilding Legacy Brands for Digital Growth (12:03–15:47)
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Building from Ground Zero
- After Suave’s acquisition, the team started with virtually no employees or infrastructure. Noah was the 5th hire, facing total system and capabilities rebuild.
- Parallel experience with Chapstick: Both brands needed new digital playbooks.
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Transformation Strategy
- Profitability First
- Focused on making Amazon and e-commerce channels profitable (e.g., creating multipacks and bundles for Suave, expanding Chapstick flavor and pack sizes).
- Leveraged e-commerce distributors for efficient bundle creation.
- Assortment Optimization
- Strategic review of previous owners’ portfolio decisions revealed quick-win opportunities.
- For Chapstick, “putting media behind the right seasons to win Holiday” unlocked 40% growth. (02:36, 12:30)
- Retail Media Investment
- Used detailed keyword-product matrices for precise media allocation along the shopper journey.
- Content & Brand Optimization (Last)
- “We had to fix the house before making it look nice… now we’re going through the whole rebranding, positioning.” (01:56, 14:05)
- Profitability First
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Results
- Suave: Revenue doubled in 18 months, on track to triple within two years.
- Chapstick: 40% growth in targeted seasons with precise assortment and media.
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Key Takeaways
- PE-backed turnarounds invert big CPG priorities: infrastructure and assortment before brand and content.
- Rachel Tipograph summarizes: “You want infrastructure. So infrastructure, assortment, media. And now you’re going creative brand building. Correct versus likely the entities where these things were carved out from would have done it the complete opposite way.” (15:14)
3. The Limitations of Public CPGs & Organizational Models (15:47–18:57)
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Can this model work in a public company?
- Noah: It’s possible, if there’s an end-to-end digital leader with authority across silos (brand, sales, innovation).
- Legacy organizations are siloed, which often prevents cross-channel e-commerce optimization—especially if digital is considered “just another channel.”
- Omnichannel focus is crucial; leaders must bridge pure play e-commerce and brick-and-mortar to avoid “putting baby in a corner.” (17:28)
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Assortment & Configuration Strategies
- Product configurations must be channel-appropriate (e.g., multipacks for Amazon, unique sizes for brick & mortar).
- Creative partnerships can fill gaps in the playbook for less dominant channels.
4. Measuring E-Commerce Incrementality & Retail Media Impact (18:57–21:57)
- Proving E-Commerce Drives Growth
- No easy attribution exists; requires tracking both non-attributed sales and organic rank over time.
- Noah leverages tools like Profitero to monitor organic sales and rank, optimizing the “flywheel” for both trial and sustained growth.
- Lower-funnel retail media (especially at Walmart) is critical for innovation trial and justifying store distribution.
- “The incrementality needs to be measured in true business opportunity through organic sales or long-term growth, especially in the CPG world where you can capitalize on an LTV.” (21:50)
5. Social Commerce, TikTok Shop, and the Blurring of Marketing & Sales (21:57–25:57)
- Social/Video Commerce Explosion
- Video commerce in the US/EU is $300B today, projected to reach $1.8T by 2030.
- TikTok will be only part of the landscape—YouTube & Meta even bigger.
- Content scale and AI integration are the new keys to success.
- Remarkable case: AI-driven UGC live streams generated $100K+ in a test period.
- Even if sales attribution is difficult now, the brand-building and reach CPMs are superior to many legacy digital channels.
- Legacy CPG’s Role:
- Noah: “It’s a must reach. If you’re not omnipresent in the algorithm, you’re going to get your cake eaten by brands like Native and Dr. Squatch…”
- Rachel: “You tag the word commerce onto social, you tag the word shop onto TikTok, and they want to look at it through a sales lens when truly it’s actually a marketing brand building channel.” (25:25)
6. The Value of Failing Fast and Learning (25:32–25:57)
- Noah shares a TikTok Shop “fail”—not as failure, but as a critical learning experience: “If you’re not ready to fail, you’re just going to fall behind and that’s going to be the failure.”
7. The "Bravest" Moment — Personal Story (26:06–27:24)
- Noah’s most courageous career move: As an intern in the Netherlands, he boldly approached P&G’s general manager to advocate for a US job, overcoming HR confusion about his international status. This leap directly enabled his US career.
- “Sometimes you just have to take your courage and really believe in yourself… and be brave.” (27:24)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Noah Knoblauch, on Private Equity:
- "Private equity is all about profitability and trying to drive value… you have to be at the top of your game and everybody needs to create value because you’re working against time." (09:40)
- Noah, on Building from Scratch:
- "My goal was to focus on making a business that’s profitable at first to make sure that Amazon makes money and we make money. So that way once it’s profitable we can scale it so profitable and scalable." (12:30)
- Rachel Tipograph, on Sequence of Growth:
- "You want infrastructure. So infrastructure, assortment, media. And now you’re going creative brand building. Correct versus... the entities where these things were carved out from would have done it the complete opposite way." (15:14)
- Noah, on Social Commerce:
- "Even if it’s not a profitable channel from a sales standpoint, it’s going to have a much more productive CPM than some of your traditional media… you need to find a way to win in this channel." (22:22)
- Noah, on Failing and Learning:
- "If you’re not ready to fail, you’re just going to fall behind and that’s going to be the failure." (25:49)
- Noah, on Bravery:
- "Sometimes you just have to take your courage and really believe in yourself and believe in what you want to do and be brave." (27:24)
Segment Timestamps
| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | PE vs Public: Career Mindsets & Realities | 03:00–10:15 | | PE-backed Turnarounds: Suave & Chapstick Case Study | 12:03–15:47 | | Public Co. Limitations & Omnichannel Structure | 15:47–18:57 | | Measuring E-com Incrementality & Retail Media | 18:57–21:57 | | Social Commerce, TikTok Shop & New CPG Playbooks | 21:57–25:57 | | Culture of Failing Fast | 25:32–25:57 | | Noah’s Bravest Moment | 26:06–27:24 |
Conclusion & Takeaways
Noah Knoblauch reveals the gritty yet energizing reality of rebuilding legacy brands after PE carve-outs, sharing actionable lessons for digital-first CPG transformation. Success hinges on infrastructure and product fundamentals ahead of brand creativity, omnichannel agility, and adaptive measurement of impact. He affirms that legacy brands must brave emerging commerce frontiers, take risks, and continuously learn to remain competitive—offering proof that “the grass isn’t greener, it’s just different.”
For more PE-backed transformation stories, check out the hosts’ episode with Blue Triton (now Primo) CMO Cary.