HOW TO COMPETE WITH MAJOR CPG COMPANIES ONLINE

At the NOSH Live Winter 2018 conference, Real Good Foods CEO Bryan Freeman spoke to the changing face of the food space, and how major CPG companies are taking their cues from small, natural brands– not the other way around. “If you’re a marketing brand manager of some large CPG company you’re being pushed down, because natural is coming in and redefining ‘best,’” he said. But beyond product development and branding, natural products, he added, are winning in the online space where they’re attracting larger social media followings and creating strong digital-first business models. Freeman’s advice for new brands just entering the space was to start with an online direct-to-consumer model and worry about retailers after establishing demand for the product.