The Gap No One Talks About

Why the most dangerous thing in CPG isn’t failure, it’s misunderstanding.

Everyone wants to talk about velocity. Distribution. ACV. TDP. ROI. (Hopefully)

But no one wants to admit how few people actually understand what those words mean beyond the PowerPoint slide.

The biggest threat to CPG brands isn’t always external. It’s internal.

It’s the quiet accumulation of small misunderstandings that snowball into big mistakes.

Misunderstanding what success looks like.
Misunderstanding how retailers make decisions.
Misunderstanding how to read the data and how to translate it into something that actually matters.

And misunderstanding isn’t just annoying. It’s expensive.

Data ≠ Insight

We’ve built a culture obsessed with dashboards, but data doesn’t mean much if no one knows what to do with it.

You have the charts. You need the clarity.

Clarity that says:
“This number went down, and that’s not bad.”
“This looks good, but here’s why it should worry you.”
“This chart is telling a story but is it the right one?”

There’s a difference between having access to information and knowing how to use it. Right now, too many brands are mistaking volume for value and it’s costing them.

The Illusion of Momentum

Some brands look like they’re winning. Loud online. Buzzing in stores. Viral on TikTok.

But beneath the surface? Confusion. No clear shopper. No real category strategy. No one asking the hard questions until it’s too late.

I will continue to say it but getting on the shelf is hard.
Staying there is harder.
And staying without a clear understanding of your shopper, your role, and your performance? Nearly impossible.

Retailers Aren’t Guessing

Buyers aren’t in the business of hope.
They want confidence.

Confidence that your brand earns its space.
That you understand your incrementality.
That you’re not just a blip on a slide deck, but a real contributor to their growth.

Hope might open the door.
Proof keeps it open.

And proof only happens when a team understands the why behind the what.

This Is the Gap

Not a lack of talent.
Not a lack of ambition.
Not even a lack of execution, though we’ll get to that.

This is a gap of understanding.

A gap between metrics and meaning.
Between showing up and showing why you belong.
Between looking good on paper and performing on shelf.

Brands fall into this gap every day.. quietly, slowly, sometimes without realizing until the POs stop coming.

The Next Wave Closes It

The next generation of successful brands will still be bold. Still be fast. Still be creative.

But they’ll also be clear.
Clear on how their data tells a story.
Clear on what retailers actually care about.
Clear on how to speak shopper, category, and execution fluently, without needing a translator.

The ones who make it will understand the shelf, the shopper, and the stakes.
The ones who don’t will keep guessing.

Let’s close the gap.