Gray Growth Strategies Returns to Heritage Full Suite of Services for Food/Bev Marketplace

40-Year-Old Consulting Company Moves from Frozen 3PL Concentration to Return to Its Complete Product Ideation to Sell-Through Capability

New York, NY -- Gray Growth Strategies LLC which for a number of years operated under the name Gray Growth Logistics to emphasize its concentration in providing 3PL consulting and deployment has returned to its original focus of providing food and beverage companies the opportunity to bring new products to market.  Gray Growth’s philosophy of always looking at the marketplace and its needs first and foremost has been a learning experience for those companies who tend to introduce products on gut instinct or look to hop on a trend without understanding market and competitive saturation or really what the market is looking for.

The company’s left turn into 3PL—primarily in the frozen sector—was a direct result of the severe underserving of that particular segment. Gray Growth CEO Richard Gray commented, “After seeing not one, not two but three or more situations in a row fall into our laps around the lack of understanding of how to transport and store frozen foods and beverages on their way to retail, or to package them properly for sell through by e-tail which was an up and coming channel, we decided to shelve all of our other services and concentrate on the 3PL market.  For years not only were we providing a great service to those brands that needed it, but it allowed other brands to develop new product entries and extensions around frozen that they previous thought would be too arduous to undertake. As a result, we had consistent business in this sector.”

As the 3PL market grew, these customers were well served… even directly by 3PL warehouses.  “We didn’t want to compete with our own partners”, says Richard.  At the same time Gray Growth saw the proliferation of new brands that were spending significant budgets to achieve distribution but did not have the market impetus and/or capital to pull their products through. Richard stated, “To us it was incomplete thinking when it came to the complete product introduction chain.  Take frozen premium dog food for example.  When I worked with the Farmer’s Dog, it was only us—we created the category.  Now there are a couple of dozen brands fighting it out, without seeking what pet owners truly want for their dogs. From market sizing, to understanding the price structure (which affects size of market), to feature and preparation set, they are not thinking completely.  Which is why you saw several brands that originally pitted themselves against kibble now market their own brand of kibble.  To truly step into the shoes of the customer that is out there, as well as the customer you want, and understand their attitudes, behaviors and needs is the cornerstone of great go-to-market strategies.  And then leveraging that knowledge into the right formulation, message, package and voice, distribution within the right channel and customer experience all follows in a consistent and meaningful way.”

Gray Growth is seeking relationships with forward thinking companies that understand this philosophy and partner in their success. “We aren’t for all companies but for the ones who have the vision, these brands will flourish under our guidance and partnership with management.

For more information about Gray Growth Strategies, logon to graygrowth.com or call direct 888-248-2404.

About Gray Growth

For over 40 years, Richard Gray has been a leading strategist in global direct-to-consumer marketing and business model development. An expert brand marketer across multi-channel environments, he achieves results quickly and within optimized budgets. 

A former entrepreneur who sold his original company that he started in his college dorm room to W.R. Grace, Richard launched Gray Growth Strategies’ predecessor, Arich Consulting in 1984, providing creative marketing solutions in environments of change and innovation. With more than a 40-year heritage in business development, strategic alliances, licensing agreements, technology, and marketing and advertising, Gray Growth Strategies identifies and capitalizes on market opportunities to improve shareholder value and optimize operational efficiencies.