Rifle Hughes, Glenn Pappalardo’s New Firm Focuses on ‘Ambitious Innovation’

Longtime industry consultants Rifle Hughes and Glenn Pappalardo have formed Integral CPG, a strategic consulting firm with a focus on “ambitious innovation” (Read: Not another line extension). The pair aims to partner with established and scaling food and beverage brands with an existing core portfolio and market traction.

The founders have a combined three decades of experience, most recently at JPG Resources, where Pappalardo oversaw operations as managing director and Hughes led the strategy and innovation practice.

Previously, Pappalardo held several leadership roles at Kellogg Company and its Kashi and RXBAR businesses, and Hughes was managing director at brand and packaging agency McLean Design over an eight-year period.

Many conventional innovation efforts fail, Hughes explained, because early in the process so much time is focused on an “incomplete definition of the ‘what’ while leaving the ‘how’ until later… at which point the realities of execution become constraints.”

Integral CPG differs from other strategic partners due to its holistic, cross-functional approach to product development, Hughes said, as well as a view that ambitious innovation is “not just a product but an expansion of the business,” Pappalardo added.

The complexity of today’s operating environment and increasing levels of competitive activity have compounded the challenges brands face in bringing new products to market, Hughes explained. By engaging a curated network of experts and providers throughout the innovation process, the founders seek to address gaps they have observed in traditional approaches, Pappalardo said.

“If you think about our methodology, we bring the whole orchestra, but you don’t need the horns blasting at full volume the entire time,” he said. “It’s moving a lot from not just function to function, but from strategic thinking to executional thinking.”