I’m an entrepreneurial creative who’s spent the past 17 years building an awesome agency focused on developing brands for the Australian FMCG & US CPG markets (if you’re interested, check it out here).

The past decade has seen the greatest ever period of change for the retail landscape, with the rise of private label disrupting brands in a massive way.

Throughout this time I’ve worked directly with Retail Category Managers on their private label offerings and suppliers and manufacturers of branded products, giving me a unique perspective on what retailers are looking for, and an understanding of some of the pain points suppliers and manufacturers face when dealing with retailers.

Many of the manufactures and suppliers I deal with feel that the retailers have them by the balls, their margins are shrinking and they need to sell more product than ever before just to sustain their business, let alone grow the bloody thing.

This blog is designed to share some of the stuff I’ve learnt over the years when it comes to working with retailers, the challenges of leadership and motivating multi-national teams and keeping the creative juices flowing when faced with the commercial reality of the FMCG & CPG industries.

But be warned, I’m known for telling it the way I see it. No bullshit.

Give me a shout if you want to discuss:

Getting the inside edge when presenting new product ideas to retailers

Leadership

International expansion

Branding & pack design