
Hosted by Dr. James F. Richardson · EN
Who is it For? Founders of CPG start-ups. What is It? Zero B.S. perspective on running your start-up well, understanding the biases of industry stakeholders and getting the industry to work for you, not the other way around. When? Every month. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com If you want to take my founder's Quiz to see if you are ready for exponential growth, please visit : www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com/founder_resources and sign up for my e-mail list to download it. Transcripts and an entire episode library are on my podcast site. https://www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com/podcast

Send us Fan MailMarketers obsess with platform metrics, because these are the numbers they can tactically control the most. However, buried in every CPG product’s design are hidden sensory variables that work with or work against the efficiency of marketing. Let me explain in this episode.Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.comPlease send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

Send us Fan MailMegatrends are ones that grow for decades in a steady linear fashion regardless of hype cycles that occur within that time span. They often start decades before the industry leaders pile on. In this episode, I call the not-surprising next trend, the one that has been building for decades quietly as Americans become more educated about the hidden problem in the traditional foodways of most Americans of European, African, and Latin descent. And Gen Z is leading the charge. Have a listen and see if you agree!Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.comPlease send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

Send us Fan MailThe survival rate of brands at $1 is brutal enough. And at $10M, even more hit a wall or die. But the real problem that survivors face as they scale into eigth figures is stagnation. The grand delusion is that adding more and more retail accounts will keep the brand growing. But this is an illusion whose fragility exposes itself once deceleration begins and doesn’t reverse with new accounts. Growing past $100M and deep into the nine figures is NOT a sales game. It is a marketer’s game. But most brands need to change one thing. Have a listen and take notes. This is not material in my book.Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.comPlease send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

Send us Fan MailThe majority of early-stage brands chase investors way too late and with a mindset of moderate-to-extreme desperation. Investors can smell it, and you attract the worst actors, who, themselves, do not have the track record to develop a deal flow pipeline properly. As investors get pickier than ever, you need to court them for longer than ever in advance. And just as carefully as you courted a spouse.Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.comPlease send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

Send us Fan MailThese four tips derive straight from my best-selling business book, referred to by many as “The CPG Bible” for founders new to the industry - Ramping Your Brand. It’s about discipline. The discipline to work on the business and on yourself. Check it Out!Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.comPlease send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

Brands crossing the $100M line, roughly speaking, face a privileged danger : deceleration. It happens very quickly once you hit max ACV or even ¾ of your category’s max ACV. If you didn’t prepare for this, you will have to act fast. It’s very hard to an emerging brand to get past $500M and stay growing like KIND. The solution is to aim for the opposite - acceleration, even when it seems least likely to happen.Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.comPlease send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

In the last episode I described the content studio revolution inside high growth brands and how it is upending traditional assumptions about how to use promotional agencies, especially social media agencies. Have a listen!Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.comPlease send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

The agency-brand partnership axis is evolving really fast as the cost of creating video content plummets with AI. Brands got in earlier on distributing social content from their own desks in the 2010s, but now they can create and distribute at scale with decent quality and much faster than any contract agency. Listen to my take. Read more in my recent piece at the Food Institute. Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.comPlease send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

It’s possible to have strategic premium pricing and a profitable business model. But this is NOT easy. Few founders spend enough time getting their business model right before they hit the gas. This episode explains why there is such a sharp fork in the pricing road and why it matters.Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com

This is the second installment in my series on founder archetypes. While I’m glad to see MBAs and finance-trained folks launching CPG brands, they do have a huge problem taking some of the most critical risks necessary to achieving fast growth. Have a listen!Your Host: Dr. James F. Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions, LLC www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com Please send feedback on this or other episodes to: admin@premiumgrowthsolutions.com