Now accepting founding member applications — invite-only · free to join · limited spots

The operator community for growth-stage CPG

Where brand builders talk straight.

CPG Exchange is a curated Slack community for founders and operators at growth-stage CPG brands — the people navigating retail pushes, line expansions, and the gap between where they are and where the big players are.

Apply for founding member access →

Free · Invite only · Limited spots

CPG Exchange · founding members
Channels
# intros
# sales
# marketing
# finance
# operations
# asks
# intros
S
Sarah K. Head of Marketing · 9:14am
Hey everyone — just joined. Running marketing at a $15M better-for-you snack brand. Currently prepping for our first Whole Foods sell-in. Excited to be here.
M
Marcus T. Founder · 9:22am
Welcome Sarah! We just came out of a Sprouts review — happy to share what worked if it helps your Whole Foods prep.
K
Karen H. CPG Exchange · 9:31am
Great to have you Sarah. Jump into #sales when you're ready — there's a good thread on WFM category incrementality framing that's directly relevant to where you are.
✦ Founding members · Now forming · Invite only ✦
Who this is for

Built for the operators doing the work — not the ones talking about it.

🏗️
The founder-led brand
You're running marketing, sales, and product while trying to build the systems that let you stop doing all three.
$5M – $30M revenue
📈
The growth-stage operator
You have a small team and enterprise-level expectations. The blank page problem is costing you real time every week.
$20M – $75M revenue
⚡
The fractional leader
You're serving multiple brands simultaneously. Tools and frameworks that travel across engagements are worth real money.
Multi-brand operator
🏦
The PE-backed team
You need to move at portfolio company speed without a full agency stack. Commercial-grade documents, fast.
Post-acquisition operator
The community

A room where the real conversations happen.

Not a LinkedIn comment section. Not a conference hallway. A curated Slack community where CPG operators share what's actually working — and what isn't.

#
intros
Who you are, what you're building, where you're at. The first stop for every new member.
#
sales
Retail push strategies, buyer meeting prep, broker relationships, sell-in windows, and distribution wins.
#
marketing
Briefs, campaigns, agency relationships, creative feedback, brand strategy, and what's actually working.
#
finance
Margins, trade spend, fundraising, unit economics, and the numbers conversations most communities avoid.
#
operations
Co-mans, supply chain, packaging, lead times, and the operational complexity that never shows up in pitch decks.
#
news
What's happening in the category — retailer moves, market shifts, competitor launches, and trend signals worth paying attention to.
#
asks
The most important channel. Real questions, honest answers, no spin. If you need help, this is where you ask.
#
vendor-hub
Vetted agencies, brokers, co-mans, and service providers recommended by members who've actually worked with them.
Founding member access

Be in the room first.

Founding members shape the culture, the conversations, and the direction of CPG Exchange. This is a curated community — we review every application to make sure the room stays valuable.

  • Early access to the community before public launch — be in the room first
  • Direct access to Karen for questions and strategic feedback
  • Input on channels, topics, and who else gets invited
  • A founding member cohort call — one live session with the first group
  • Permanent founding member recognition in the community
Apply for founding member access →

Free to join · Invite only · Limited spots

Why this exists

The community I wished existed at every brand I've led.

I've spent 20+ years building brands from the inside — Starbucks, Bulletproof, Oobli, The Good Patch, and several other brands I've built and supported. From concept to global scale, across categories, channels, and company sizes.

The hardest part was never the strategy. It was finding people who'd been in the same room — who understood the retail window pressure, the agency brief that came back wrong, the line extension that almost didn't make it to shelf. People who could give you a straight answer without selling you something.

CPG Exchange is that room. Built for operators who are actually doing the work.

20+
Years building CPG brands from the inside
100+
Products launched across brands
$20M+
Raised across brands as founder and operator
Concept → Global
From early-stage startups to Starbucks scale
🔒 Your information is never shared with other brands or third parties
🛡️ Plain-English privacy — no legal boilerplate
✉️ Questions? karen@cpg.exchange
Ready?

Find your people.

A curated community for operators who are actually doing the work. Apply for founding member access and help shape it from the ground up.

Apply for founding member access → Working on a sell-in deck? Let us help.