CPG Brand & Packaging Strategy
From founder hustle
to shelf velocity.
We partner with Better-for-You F&B founders scaling into regional and national retail. We sharpen your positioning, messaging, and on-pack hierarchy to help you stand out against legacy giants, defend your margin, and drive shelf velocity.
Preparing to earn, expand or defend your retail shelf space?
We’ll surface strategic gaps before you commit capital to plates and production runs.
Your packaging has
less than 3 seconds
on the shelf to make
the sale you used to
close in person.
You’ve built momentum through sampling, specialty retail, and trade show hustle. But as you scale into regional and national retail, your product has to sell itself without you in the room.
Your packaging becomes your only salesperson.
When retail buyers push back or velocity stalls after launch, a packaging redesign feels like the obvious fix. A slicker logo, bolder colours, more “craveable” appetite appeal.
But if the positioning is vague or the value proposition is buried, a new look won’t save you. You’re just putting a prettier label on a flawed retail strategy.
That’s how you burn $50K on a production run and still face buyer rejection—or end up on the chopping block during category reviews.
Strategy first. Always.
Before committing budget to creative, production, or rollout, we lock in three strategic decisions:
01 · Shopper
Deciding exactly who you convert in that aisle and the specific habit or product you’re replacing.
02 · Shelf
Distinguishing your brand from the competitive set so retail buyers see exactly where you sit and how you grow the category.
03 · Pack
Determining what your front-of-pack must communicate first, second, and third to move from shelf to cart.
The result is a brand and on-pack architecture that commands the shelf.
You get clear positioning that establishes your category benchmark and white space, messaging that makes sense in seconds, and a pack that gives shoppers an undeniable reason to buy.
How we work together
The Shelf Diagnostic™
I fix the communication bottlenecks killing your off-shelf velocity before you waste six figures on inventory and design.
You get:
A teardown of your 3-second front-of-pack scan, competitive shelf adjacencies, and consumer purchase drivers.
An immediate action plan detailing what to pause, stop, or fix right now.
A clear decision roadmap your leadership, marketing, and operations teams can execute from.
The Shelf-Strong Strategy™
We lock in your Shopper profile, Shelf positioning, and Pack messaging to create the exact positioning architecture needed to convince retail category buyers and win off-shelf velocity.
You get:
A comprehensive retail packaging strategy & messaging blueprint.
A finalized front-of-pack messaging hierarchy.
A clear creative brief your internal teams, agencies, or designers can execute from.
Includes up to 4 flavour/size SKUs. Additional SKUs quoted separately. Custom scoping provided for multi-line portfolios.
The Shelf-Sustaining Advisor™
I protect your retail momentum and act as your commercial filter to ensure every marketing investment, vendor contract, and brand partnership actually drives growth.
You get:
Two 45-minute advisory sessions each month.
Up to two focused reviews of brand materials, agency proposals, marketing spend, sponsorships, or partnerships.
Clear recommendations grounded in your positioning, shopper context, and business priorities.
A monthly priorities summary: what to pursue, question, or pass on.
Email and WhatsApp support for brief questions, with a next-business-day response.
Available following a diagnostic or strategy sprint. Advisory only. Larger audits, new deliverables, and execution are scoped separately.
Is this for you?
You are a BFY Food & Bev founder ready to scale into high-volume doors. You understand that strategic thinking comes before visual execution, and you’re ready to make authoritative decisions.
You have:
A proven product with repeat DTC sales or traction in specialty retail.
A new retail channel on the horizon and packaging that won’t cut through.
A buyer conversation, reset window, or pack spec changes already in motion.
Authority to make decisions, not just explore options.
Built on a foundation that lasts.
Solid packaging strategy doesn’t need to be redesigned every 18 months.
When the fundamentals are locked, your packaging holds its ground as you scale.
CASE STUDY:PYREX Colors | Sub-Brand Architecture
Built a unified packaging design system for a nationwide retail rollout that has remained unchanged on shelves for 3+ years, eliminating the need for costly redesigns.
CASE STUDY:PJ’s Craft Cream Liquor | Packaging System
Established foundational visual architecture for small-batch distribution that has sustained 8+ years of SKU expansion in a hyper-competitive category without needing a single refresh.
Why MIGHTY CPG
I’m Mike Lopez, Founder & Principal at MIGHTY CPG. Drawing on 25 years of agency, corporate, and independent practice, I bring together brand positioning, messaging architecture, and creative direction to get products off the shelf and into carts.
Over time, I’ve noticed one pattern that keeps showing up: founders jump into design, launches, and buyer pitches before their strategic foundation is set. They end up with pretty packaging that looks great on screen, but fails to convert shoppers on shelf. And if it won’t turn, category managers won’t list it.
MIGHTY CPG exists to solve that. I partner with Better-for-You Food & Beverage founders to sharpen their positioning and build packaging systems that drive retail distribution and shelf velocity.
Read more About
What clients say…
“He doesn't just deliver recommendations, he builds a strategic foundation that you can actually use to guide decisions long after the engagement ends.”
— Sonia P., Founder, Active Youth Hydration Brand
“[Mike] is one of the best I’ve ever worked with. […] He expertly delivered on a multitude of re-staging projects across Instant Brands’ portfolio of brands. He has a unique set of skills that helped us move forward on a variety of creative challenges. I so appreciate his thoughtful process.”
— Hannah R., Creative Director at Instant Brands
“His passion for progressive creativity set a refreshing tone way ahead of its time, combined with goal-oriented direction and an attitude of constant improvement.”
— Barron L., Marketing Director/ Founder, Protein Pasta Brand
Preparing to earn, expand or defend your retail shelf space?
We’ll surface strategic gaps before you commit capital to plates and production runs.