Episodes

Consumers are feeling more pressure—but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped spending. In this episode of CPG Insiders, Mark Young and Justin Girouard sit down with Baringa’s Caspian Conran and Maureen Bossi to break down the state of the U.S. consumer, where spending is shifting, and what CPG brands should be watching next. One of the biggest takeaways: consumers are becoming more selective about where they spend, but they’re still willing to pay a premium when the product delivers real value. ...

Private label has changed. Store brands used to wait for successful products, create a cheaper alternative, and sit next to them on the shelf. Now? Retailers are building brands of their own—and in some cases, they may not need your brand on the shelf at all. For CPG companies, getting retail distribution isn’t enough. You need to build a brand consumers actively demand. Because if shoppers don’t care which brand they buy, the retailer has every reason to choose its own.

Getting a massive retail PO can feel like the breakthrough your CPG brand has been waiting for. But what if saying “yes” actually puts you out of business? In this episode of CPG Insiders, Dr. Mark Young and Justin are joined by CPA and fractional CFO Scotty Palmer to break down one of the biggest challenges facing growing consumer brands: managing cash while scaling. Scotty shares real-world examples of brands that looked profitable on paper but were nearly out of cash, companies trapped by e...

When is the right time to sell your CPG brand? In this episode of CPG Insiders, Mark Young and Justin Girouard break down one of the biggest—and most emotional—decisions every entrepreneur faces: when to exit. They explain why the best time to prepare for a sale is years before you plan to sell, how buyers actually value brands, and what separates a $50M exit from a $500M+ exit. You'll learn why buyers aren't purchasing your history—they're buying your future. In this episode: Why founders s...

Landing a purchase order from Walmart, Target, Walgreens, or another national retailer can transform your business overnight. But it also creates one of the biggest challenges CPG brands face: financing inventory before you get paid. In this episode of CPG Insiders, Dr. Mark Young and Justin Girouard sit down with Rohit Mathur, Co-Founder & CEO of Bridge, to discuss how modern purchase order financing is helping emerging brands scale into retail faster. You'll learn: Why retail expansion crea...

AI isn't coming—it's already here, and it's transforming how CPG brands launch products, manage compliance, and compete with industry giants. In this episode of CPG Insiders, Mark Young and Justin Girouard speak with Ronnie Coleman, founder of puntt.ai. Their chat talks about how AI is helping brands automate packaging reviews, regulatory checks, content approvals, and global compliance processes. They discuss: Why AI is leveling the playing field for challenger brands How entrepreneurs can ...

The future belongs to the curious. In this episode of CPG Insiders, Mark Young and Justin Girouard discuss why mindset, imagination, and continuous learning are becoming the most valuable skills in the age of AI. They also share the books that have had the greatest impact on their thinking around entrepreneurship, growth, leadership, influence, communication, and innovation. Topics include: The 10-80-10 AI framework Why 10X thinking changes decision-making Who Not How and scaling through p...

What separates brands that scale at retail from brands that struggle to stay on shelf? In this episode of CPG Insiders, Mark Young and Justin Girouard sit down with Scott Fuselier and Matt Jones from BCI (Buckeye Corrugated) to break down the real role packaging plays in retail growth, operational efficiency, sustainability, and customer experience. The conversation goes far beyond “just boxes.” They unpack how leading brands use retail displays, power wings, pallet programs, fulfillment solu...

Breaking into retail isn’t just hard—it’s brutally unforgiving. With only a fraction of new CPG products surviving beyond two years, what separates the winners from the rest? In this episode, Mark Young and Justin Girouard sit down with Bruce Montgomery and Tracey Priest of Road2Retail to unpack what it really takes to succeed in brick-and-mortar. They go beyond the usual advice and get into the operational realities most founders overlook—from pricing strategy and margin math to supply chain ...

Most entrepreneurs build their business for freedom—but end up creating a prison they can't leave. In this episode of CPG Insiders, Dr. Mark Young and Justin Girouard sit down with Greg Heeres, author of Passing the Baton, to unpack one of the most overlooked—and emotionally complex—parts of entrepreneurship: what happens when you step away. Whether you plan to sell, pass the business down, or simply step back, Greg explains why succession is not a financial decision—it's an emotional one. Fro...

In this special episode of CPG Insiders, the tables are turned as Justin Girouard takes the interviewer seat to ask Dr. Mark Young about his highly anticipated new book, The 27 Unbreakable Rules: Build a $100 Million+ Brick-and-Mortar CPG Brand. Mark breaks down the brutal reality of the CPG industry, where 95% of the 30,000 products launched every year fail, and explains exactly how to beat those odds. The conversation dives deep into the necessity of true belief in your product, the danger of...

A lot of founders believe scaling a CPG brand is about working harder, running more ads, or grinding through incremental growth. But what if the real path to scale is completely different? In this episode, Mark and Justin sit down with Keith and Ryan DiGregorio—founders building a breakthrough cleaning product—to talk about what happened when they got an early look at the new book "27 Unbreakable Rules." What started as a curiosity quickly turned into a blueprint for how CPG brands actually g...

You don't need a bigger team to scale your CPG brand. You need the right who. Most founders think the next move is hiring a full-time VP of Sales, a marketing team, or a supply chain lead. But at $5M, $10M, even $20M, that kind of overhead can crush your cash flow before retail ever pays you back. In this episode, we sit down with Les Hamilton, founder of CPG Integrated and former Target buyer, agency executive, and Chief Revenue Officer. He breaks down what actually happens when you get into re...

In this episode of CPG Insiders, Dr. Mark Young and Justin Girouard tackle one of the most common—and most misunderstood—questions in direct-to-consumer marketing: How do you budget for DTC when there is no fixed budget? They explain why traditional retail budgeting models break down in a modern, multi-channel DTC world and why brands must instead focus on cost per acquisition, lifetime customer value, and scalable economics rather than preset annual spend limits. Mark walks through how to cal...

Quitting a cushy job at American Airlines to sell recipe cards? Sounds crazy—until you realize it's an eight-figure business. Josh Hadley, host of the podcast Ecomm Breakthrough and founder of Hadley Designs, shares how he and his wife turned a passion for design into a scaling e-commerce brand. From moonlighting in the corporate world to leveraging Amazon arbitrage, Josh breaks down the gritty truths, painful lessons, and hidden strategies that led to explosive growth—without raising a dime in ...

Most brands fail—not because their ads are bad, but because they're not seen enough. In this episode, Mark and Justin unpack the misunderstood power of frequency and how it drives real results in CPG advertising. You'll learn how often consumers really need to see your message before they act, why "being a little bit pregnant" with your budget leads to wasted spend, and how to engineer frequency that converts—even on a tight budget. Inside: The science behind the "rule of 7" vs. the "rule of 17...

A big seasonal order might look like a win—but it can quietly crush your margins if you're not careful. In this episode, Mark and Justin break down the real mechanics of seasonal (in-and-out) retail: how timing, payment terms, inventory risk, and retailer behavior can make or break your business. They share practical insights from real CPG brands, plus hard-earned lessons on managing product life cycles across retail sectors. You'll walk away knowing exactly how to evaluate seasonal opportunitie...

What if the smartest tool in your business isn't a dashboard or a spreadsheet—but your own brain? Dr. Angus Fletcher, author of Primal Intelligence, joins Mark and Justin to dismantle the myth that data and AI are the future of innovation. From working with U.S. Army Special Operations to decoding Shakespeare and Pixar, Angus reveals the four brain processes that drive human ingenuity in chaotic environments—and how entrepreneurs can reclaim their innate edge. You'll learn: • Why human intuition...

When you've been category captain at brands like Coppertone and Dial, shelf space is handed to you. But what happens when you leave the big leagues and start from zero? In this episode, Tony Guiliano shares the raw, behind-the-scenes story of going from running household names to helping Blue Lizard, an unknown sunscreen brand, break into retail and change the game. He shares war stories, unexpected lessons, and real tactics any challenger brand can use to compete (and win) against giant brand...

How do you hire a celebrity for your CPG brand without getting burned? In this episode, Mark and Justin pull back the curtain on the celebrity endorsement game — from navigating inflated egos to structuring deals that actually make sense. Mark shares rare insight as someone who's been on both sides of the table — managing talent and negotiating for brands — and lays out the hidden traps most companies don't see coming. You'll learn: • Why "we'll give you equity" almost never works • How to avoid...

Most brand leaders say they value transparency — but few truly live it. In this episode, Mark and Justin pull back the curtain on what honesty really looks like inside a CPG business — from your marketing claims to your retailer relationships to the way you work with your agency. They explain why every shortcut built on exaggeration eventually destroys credibility — and how facing hard truths can actually accelerate your growth, deepen partnerships, and open up surprising new opportunities. You'...

TikTok might look like cat videos and dance challenges—but for CPG brands, it's a massive opportunity. In this episode, Dr. Mark Young and Justin Girouard are joined by special guest Mark Young II, Founder + CEO of Ryze Agency, to break down how brands can use TikTok effectively without wasting budget. From understanding why TikTok works on impulse buys, to navigating creative fatigue, to exploring how AI and user-generated content are reshaping the ad world—this conversation pulls back the cur...

Retail isn't dead—it's evolving. Despite the noise about Amazon taking over, brick-and-mortar still drives the majority of CPG sales, and the smartest brands are using it as their exponential growth engine. In this episode, Mark and Justin break down why e-commerce isn't replacing retail, which categories thrive in stores versus online, and how omni-channel strategies are shaping the future of CPG. You'll discover what retailers like Walmart are doing right, why "commodities" are in trouble, an...

Most business leaders are unprepared for the wave of AI that's already reshaping entire industries. In fact, only 1 in 1,000 CEOs are ready to integrate it into their companies. In this episode, Mark and Justin break down what's driving that hesitation—and why ignoring AI could cost you everything. From driverless trucks to AI-powered marketing to "Virtual Mark," they explore the real risks and game-changing opportunities that CPG leaders can't afford to miss. What you'll hear in this episode: ...