Packaged Food & Beverage CPG Consulting Services

Retail Consulting Services for Packaged Foods Brands

Gravitas helps packaged food and beverage companies accelerate growth, improve EBITDA, and execute transformation across strategy, operations, digital, and PMO leadership.

From branded manufacturers and private label producers to private equity–backed platforms, we bring practical strategy and disciplined execution to complex growth, margin expansion, and supply chain transformation agendas.

Selected Capabilities of our Packaged Foods & Beverages Manufacturing Practice

Strategy & Corporate Development

Corporate Portfolio Strategy And Category Prioritization: Define where to play across packaged foods and beverages categories, channels, and geographies; build growth thesis and exit logic; align capital; expand share and margin.
M&A Pipeline, Diligence, And Integration Blueprint: Build proprietary pipeline; diligence revenue synergies, co-manufacturing, distribution, and Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A); structure deals; design integration blueprint; deliver synergy, accretion, and speed.
Divestiture, Carve-Out, And Separation Planning: Define perimeter; prepare standalone financials, Transition Service Agreements (TSAs), and disentanglement roadmap; shape equity story; minimize stranded costs; maximize multiple and deal speed.
International Expansion And Market Entry Strategy: Size priority markets for packaged foods and beverages; assess regulation and tariffs; choose entry mode and partners; stage capacity; accelerate revenue, share, and profitability.
Total Shareholder Return And Capital Allocation: Build Total Shareholder Return (TSR) strategy; allocate capital across acquisitions and capacity; set hurdle rates; raise Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), earnings growth, and valuation.

Operations

Line Throughput And OEE Uplift: Diagnose bottlenecks and optimize speeds, centerlines, and changeovers using Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED); lift run-rate, uptime, and capacity.
Yield, Giveaway, And Material Loss Reduction: Reduce overfill, moisture loss, scrap, and Clean-in-Place (CIP) losses using Statistical Process Control (SPC), filler calibration, and loss mapping; increase first-pass yield and margin.
Maintenance And Reliability Transformation: Implement Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), predictive maintenance, and spares optimization; increase uptime, Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), and labor productivity; reduce unplanned downtime.
Finite Scheduling And Sequence Optimization: Build finite-capacity schedules and allergen/flavor sequencing to cut changeovers and sanitation windows; increase asset utilization, on-time completion, and service level.
Operations Management System And Daily Performance Routines: Deploy tiered huddles, visual KPIs, problem-solving, and leader standard work; improve accountability, response time, and sustained throughput across plants and lines.

Supply Chain

End-To-End Network Design And Footprint Optimization: Design ambient and cold-chain plant–DC–customer network, mixing centers, and co-manufacturing flows; optimize lanes and inventory positioning; cut landed cost and lead time while improving service.
Integrated Business Planning And S&OP: Build Integrated Business Planning (IBP) aligning demand, supply, and finance; scenario plan promotions, commodity shocks, and capacity; raise forecast accuracy, OTIF, and working capital efficiency.
Demand Planning And Promo Uplift Modeling: Deploy statistical and machine learning forecasting using retailer POS, syndicated, weather, and price; model promotion uplift and cannibalization; reduce bias, increase service, and inventory turns.
Multi-Echelon Inventory Optimization And Policy Design: Set safety stocks and reorder policies across plants, DCs, and channels using MEIO; balance shelf life and service; free working capital and cut obsolescence.
Transportation And Cold-Chain Logistics Optimization: Optimize mode mix, TL/LTL, dynamic routing, backhauls, dock scheduling, and temperature monitoring; reduce freight cost, dwell, and spoilage; improve OTIF and customer satisfaction.

Procurement & Strategic Sourcing

Direct Materials Category Strategy And Sourcing: Develop ingredient, packaging, and co‑manufacturing category strategies; run RFPs; set dual‑sourcing and indexation; deliver savings, assurance of supply, and quality.
Commodity Risk Management And Hedging Strategy: Design commodity risk policy for grains, oils, sugar, cocoa, dairy; structure index‑linked contracts, futures, options; align with Finance; reduce price volatility and improve forecast accuracy.
Should-Cost Modeling And Value Engineering: Build should‑costs for ingredients, packaging, and co‑manufacturing; run value analysis with R&D and plants; optimize specs, yields, and pack formats; deliver sustainable cost reduction.
Supplier Relationship Management And Innovation Sourcing: Segment suppliers; establish scorecards, Quarterly Business Reviews, and joint innovation pipelines; launch collaborative cost reduction; improve service, quality, compliance, and speed‑to‑market.
Contracting, Compliance, And Spend Governance: Standardize master agreements, pricing clauses, rebates, and audit rights; implement buying channels and approvals; reduce maverick spend, leakage, and risk while strengthening supplier compliance.

Organization

Operating Model And Decision Rights: Define global‑regional‑local and category‑market accountabilities across Research and Development (R&D), supply chain, commercial; set forums and cadences; speed decisions, cut duplication, strengthen P&L ownership.
Spans And Layers And Organization Simplification: Redesign spans and layers, role charters, and interfaces; clarify plant versus central responsibilities; remove low‑value work; lower overhead cost, accelerate escalation, and improve decision speed.
Performance Management And Incentive Design: Build KPI trees, dashboards, and bonus plans linked to equipment uptime, yield, on‑time delivery, safety, cost, and cash; institutionalize reviews; drive accountability, plant‑level P&L results.
Workforce Planning And Talent Strategy: Model multi‑year workforce demand for plants, maintenance, Quality Assurance (QA), and R&D; design recruiting funnels, apprenticeships, and retention levers; reduce vacancies, overtime, and contractor dependence.
Global Business Services And Center Of Excellence Design: Design Global Business Services scope, location model, and service levels; build Centers of Excellence (CoE) for analytics, procurement, automation; reduce cost, improve quality and scalability.

Marketing

Brand Portfolio Strategy And Architecture: Define roles of masterbrands, sub-brands, and price tiers across categories and channels; eliminate cannibalization; focus investment; increase household penetration, premium mix, and margin.
Consumer Segmentation And Demand Spaces: Build consumer segmentation and demand-space maps by occasion, need state, and shopper mission; target priority cohorts with messaging and innovation; grow penetration, frequency, and share.
Integrated Communication Strategy And Distinctive Assets: Define brand positioning, message frameworks, and distinctive assets; orchestrate campaigns across television, social, retail media, and public relations; increase awareness, consideration, and short-term sales lift.
Media Mix Modeling And Retail Media ROI: Build marketing mix modeling across television, digital, and retail media; reallocate spend to winners; improve cost per acquisition, return on ad spend, and incremental revenue.
Packaging Architecture And Claims Optimization: Redesign pack architecture, sizes, and on-pack claims; optimize nutrition callouts and sustainability messaging; improve shelf standout, conversion, and price realization across retail and e-commerce.

Pricing

Revenue Growth Management And Price Pack Architecture: Define price pack architecture by channel, pack size, multipack, and price tiers; optimize price ladders; grow penetration, mix, and net revenue per unit.
List Price Strategy And Inflation Pass-Through: Quantify cost moves and elasticity; stage list price increases by customer and channel; build negotiation playbooks; protect volume while restoring gross margin.
Trade Terms And Price Waterfall Optimization: Redesign trade investment structure, off-invoice, rebates, and accruals; tighten eligibility and audit; raise pocket price, reduce leakage, and simplify complexity.
Promotion Strategy And Trade Spend Optimization: Use trade promotion optimization to optimize depth, frequency, and mechanics by retailer; shift to Everyday Low Price programs where warranted; boost incremental volume and ROI.
Pricing Analytics, Elasticity Modeling, And Governance: Build elasticity, cross-price, and promo response models; set price corridors and guardrails; create dashboards and controls; improve price realization and decision speed.

Sales

Key Account Strategy And Joint Business Planning: Co-develop customer growth plans, assortment, pricing, promotion calendars, and supply collaboration; deliver incremental distribution, shelf space, net sales, and retailer scorecard wins.
Route-To-Market And Distributor Management: Redesign channels and distributor coverage, territories, service models, incentives, and scorecards; increase numeric distribution, cases per outlet, fill rates, and cost-to-serve efficiency.
Retail Execution And Perfect Store Program: Define perfect store standards, display targets, planogram compliance, and audit cadence; deploy field tools and dashboards; improve on-shelf availability, share of shelf, and display compliance.
Ecommerce And Omnichannel Customer Development: Build Amazon, Walmart.com, Instacart strategies, content, ratings, availability, and retail media collaboration; boost digital shelf visibility, conversion, and omnichannel sales with retailers.
Sales Force Effectiveness And Territory Design: Optimize territory design, call planning, coverage frequency, incentives, and training; implement Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and analytics; increase hit rate, distribution, and revenue per rep.

Finance

Driver-Based FP&A And Rolling Forecasts: Build Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) models by SKU, volume, mix, conversion cost, trade; rolling forecasts and scenarios; improve forecast accuracy, decision speed, and accountability.
Product, Customer, And Channel Profitability Analytics: Build cost-to-serve and activity-based costing; allocate trade, freight, warehousing, returns; create margin waterfalls; identify profit pools; inform pricing, mix, and customer terms.
Standard Costing, BOM, And Variance Management: Redesign Bill of Materials (BOM), routings, standards, absorption, and variance root causes; improve cost accuracy, yield visibility, and margin control across plants.
Trade Spend Accruals And Deduction Management: Strengthen accrual methodologies, claims validation, and settlement workflows; integrate with Order-to-Cash (O2C) and retailer portals; reduce leakage, write-offs, and days deductions outstanding.
Working Capital And Cash Conversion Optimization: Optimize inventory policies, obsolete write-offs, receivables, payment terms, and cash application; accelerate Order-to-Cash (O2C); free cash, reduce borrowing, and improve cash conversion cycle.

AI, Data & Analytics

Manufacturing Data Lakehouse And Historian Integration: Build governed lakehouse integrating MES, SCADA, PLC historians, ERP, QMS, and lab data; enable real-time OEE dashboards, traceability analytics, and machine learning use cases.
Predictive Maintenance And Asset Health Modeling: Use vibration, temperature, acoustics, and power signals to predict failures; prioritize interventions; cut unplanned downtime, mean time to repair, and maintenance cost.
Advanced Process Control And Yield Optimization: Build ML setpoint recommendations using inline sensors, lab results, and weather; reduce giveaway, moisture loss, and variability; increase first‑pass yield and throughput.
Computer Vision Quality And Foreign Object Detection: Deploy computer vision for label, seal, fill, and contaminant detection; integrate with reject systems and QMS; lower complaints, rework, and recall risk.
Supply Chain Digital Twin And Scenario Analytics: Create end‑to‑end digital twin of plants, lines, inventories, and logistics; simulate promotions, outages, and commodity shocks; optimize service, cost-to-serve, and working capital.

Transformation

Enterprise Transformation Office And Value Capture: Stand up Value Creation Office, wave plan across manufacturing, procurement, supply chain, pricing, trade, SG&A; track benefits to EBITDA, cash, ROIC.
Performance Improvement Diagnostic And Blueprint: Run 8–12 week diagnostic quantifying EBITDA and cash opportunities across yield, labor, network, trade, pricing; prioritize initiatives, targets, and roadmap.
Zero-Based Cost And SG&A Reset: Apply zero-based budgeting for corporate, selling, and plant support; redesign service levels and demand; reduce SG&A, indirect spend, and baseline cost.
Digital And Automation At Scale: Industrialize analytics, Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and digital workflows; embed change, training, incentives; convert pilots to sustained P&L impact across plants.
Post-Merger Integration And Synergy Capture: Manage integration across plants, suppliers, SKUs, customers, and systems; stand up synergy tracking; deliver procurement, network, trade, and SG&A synergies on schedule.

Innovation

Growth Platform And Pipeline Strategy: Define long‑term growth platforms, renovation versus innovation balance, white spaces by demand spaces and channels; prioritize pipeline; raise innovation revenue mix and hit rate.
Consumer Co‑Creation And Rapid Test‑And‑Learn: Use design sprints, concept labs, and digital experiments to iterate propositions, pack formats, and pricing; cut time‑to‑market and early‑stage attrition.
Stage‑Gate Redesign And Portfolio Governance: Rewire stage‑gate, investment thresholds, and kill criteria; embed lean evidence reviews and venture metrics; increase pipeline velocity, on‑time launches, and R&D productivity.
Open Innovation And External Ecosystem Sourcing: Build partnerships with startups, co‑manufacturers, academia, and ingredient suppliers; structure pilots and options; accelerate capability access and platform innovation at lower risk.
Innovation Business Cases And In‑Market Experimentation: Quantify demand, cannibalization, COGS, capex, and route‑to‑market; design test markets and retail media pilots; improve launch accuracy, margin, and scale‑up decisions.

Sustainability

Net Zero Roadmap And SBTi Alignment: Baseline Scopes 1–3; build abatement curve across energy, logistics, packaging, agriculture; set Science Based Targets initiative pathway; phase investments; deliver auditable emissions reductions and payback.
Energy Efficiency And Thermal Decarbonization Program: Engineer energy efficiency, heat recovery, boiler optimization, electrification, renewable thermal, and power purchase agreements; cut kWh, steam, gas; lower energy cost and Scope 1–2 emissions.
Sustainable Packaging And EPR Strategy: Redesign packaging for recyclability, recycled content, and lightweighting; run Life Cycle Assessment; build Extended Producer Responsibility strategy; cut plastic, material use, and compliance cost.
Regenerative Agriculture And Scope 3 Supplier Engagement: Design regenerative agriculture programs for priority crops and suppliers; establish deforestation‑free traceability, incentives, and measurement; reduce Scope 3 emissions, biodiversity impact, and supply risk.
Water Stewardship And Wastewater Optimization: Map water risk; optimize Clean‑in‑Place, reuse, and cooling; design wastewater treatment and discharge compliance roadmap; reduce water use, effluent load, sewer fees, and drought exposure.

Information Technology

ERP Modernization And S/4HANA Transformation: Migrate to SAP S/4HANA or Microsoft Dynamics; harmonize order-to-cash, plan-to-produce, procure-to-pay, and finance; retire legacy; improve reliability, close speed, and compliance.
Manufacturing Systems And OT-IT Convergence: Standardize MES, SCADA, and edge gateways; segment industrial networks; integrate historians and ERP; boost uptime, data fidelity, traceability, and cyber resilience.
Warehouse And Transportation Systems Modernization: Select and implement WMS and TMS; integrate ERP, EDI, and carrier platforms; improve pick productivity, dock turns, route plans, OTIF, and freight cost.
Enterprise Integration And Master Data Management: Implement APIs, iPaaS, event streaming, and MDM; govern item, BOM, customer, and vendor masters; reduce errors, accelerate new product setup, and enable traceability.
Cybersecurity And Ransomware Resilience For OT And IT: Build zero‑trust identity, patching, backup, disaster recovery, and OT security; segment PLC networks; deploy monitoring; improve recovery time, regulatory compliance, and insurance readiness.

Capital Projects

Front-End Loading And Investment Case: Align capacity strategy; evaluate greenfield food factory, brownfield retrofit, and co-manufacturing; develop site shortlist, scope, Class IV–III estimates, schedule, risks, and NPV for gate approval.
Process And Utilities Design For Hygienic Manufacturing: Engineer process flow, hygienic zoning, Clean‑in‑Place (CIP), pasteurization, ammonia refrigeration, steam, compressed air, and water; optimize layout, sanitation, energy, and capacity for future expansion.
Packaging Line Design And Automation: Specify fillers, cappers, labelers, packers, palletizers for canning and bottling; design changeover reduction; deliver speeds, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), labor productivity, and flexibility.
Owner’s Engineer And EPCM Oversight: Act as owner’s engineer; procure and manage Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management partners; control scope, safety, quality, and change orders; reduce installed cost and delays.
Commissioning And Vertical Start-Up: Execute commissioning, sanitation validation, factory and site acceptance testing, and operator training; achieve target quality and throughput quickly; accelerate time to stable OEE.

Quality Management Systems

Quality System Design And Maturity Uplift: Design ISO 9001 and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) aligned QMS governance, policies, procedures, audits, and KPIs; raise audit scores, reduce deviations, and complaint rates.
CAPA And Deviation Management Redesign: Redesign deviations, root cause, 8D, and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) workflows; standardize priorities and analytics; cut recurrence, closure time, and nonconformance backlogs.
Supplier Quality Management And Incoming Controls: Build supplier qualification, audits, scorecards, Certificates of Analysis verification, and sampling plans; reduce defects, rejections, and claims while improving assurance of supply.
QMS Digitalization And eQMS Selection: Select and implement electronic Quality Management System (eQMS) for documents, training, deviations, CAPA, and change control; integrate ERP, MES, and Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).
Statistical Process Control And Quality Analytics: Deploy Statistical Process Control, control plans, process capability, and real-time dashboards; reduce variability, giveaway, and defects; increase first-pass quality and customer satisfaction.

Food Safety & Regulatory Affairs

FSMA Preventive Controls And HACCP Program Design: Design hazard analysis, PCQI-led preventive controls, allergen cross-contact controls, validation, verification, and records; align to FSMA and HACCP; reduce FDA 483s, recalls, and audit findings.
Environmental Monitoring And Sanitation Validation: Build risk-based zoning, swab maps, Listeria/Salmonella programs, ATP verification, and trend analytics; validate Clean-in-Place and sanitation; cut positives, holds, and sanitation-related downtime.
Traceability, FSMA 204, And Recall Readiness: Map critical tracking events and key data elements; enable two-hour tracebacks, lot coding, and mock recalls; strengthen crisis governance; reduce recall scope, time, and exposure.
Labeling, Claims, And Standards Of Identity Compliance: Review Nutrition Facts, ingredient statements, allergens, and country-of-origin; substantiate claims; align with FDA, USDA, EU, CFIA rules; reduce relabeling, warning letters, and retailer chargebacks.
Supplier Verification And FSVP Compliance: Build risk-based supplier approval, Foreign Supplier Verification Program controls, audits, COA verification, and sampling; prevent supplier-caused incidents; meet Importer of Record obligations and FSMA requirements.

R&D & Formulation

Recipe Reformulation And Cost Optimization: Redesign formulations for cost and supply resilience using value engineering, alternate ingredients, and yield improvement; protect sensory and claims; deliver margin, availability, and quality.
Nutrition, Clean Label, And Regulatory Reformulation: Engineer recipes to reduce sugar, sodium, and fat; meet HFSS and Nutri‑Score targets; remove artificial additives for clean label; maintain functionality and shelf stability.
Sensory Science, Shelf Life, And Stability By Design: Design sensory targets, conduct descriptive analysis, and model shelf life and stability; optimize formulations, preservatives, and packaging interactions; reduce complaints, waste, and returns.
Scale-Up And Commercialization Readiness: Translate bench formulations to pilot and plant; define critical process parameters, yields, and tolerances; run trials and capability studies; accelerate vertical start‑up and first‑pass quality.
Product Lifecycle Management And Specification Governance: Design Product Lifecycle Management processes, data models, and stage gates; govern recipes, specifications, allergens, and claims; speed new product setup, change control, and regulatory traceability.

FAQs

What does a packaged food consulting firm do?

A packaged food consulting firm helps brands improve strategy, innovation, manufacturing, supply chain, retail execution, and business performance. Gravitas supports packaged food and beverage leadership teams with both advisory and execution focused consulting services.

Does Gravitas work with packaged food brands?

Yes. Gravitas works with food, beverage, and consumer packaged goods clients on growth strategy, retail and e-commerce execution, supply chain improvement, and operational transformation.

Can Gravitas help both branded and private label food businesses?

Yes. Gravitas supports branded manufacturers, private label suppliers, and omnichannel food businesses with strategy, governance, and transformation support.

What types of packaged food consulting projects does Gravitas support?

Common projects include growth strategy, demand and supply planning, PMO setup, DTC and retail transformation, co-manufacturing optimization, and operating model design.

Why choose Gravitas for packaged consulting?

Clients choose Gravitas for practical strategy, senior level support, structured execution, and a strong focus on measurable business outcomes.

Other Services

Apparel & Athletic Wear Practice

Transforming apparel and athletic wear brands by optimizing merchandising, product drops, inventory, and omnichannel experiences, improving full-price sell-through, speed-to-market, and margin.

Art, Watches, Collectibles Practice

Modernizing art, watch, and collectibles auctions and marketplaces by expanding consignor supply, authentication, white‑glove logistics, pricing for profitable growth.

Auto Parts Retail Practice

Enabling auto parts retailers to optimize PRO/DIFM delivery, fitment accuracy, omnichannel inventory, and pricing, increasing first-call fill, speed, and margins.

Bridal & Wedding Practice

Enabling bridal and wedding retailers to optimize appointments, special orders, alterations, and supply chains, boosting conversion, on‑time delivery, and profitability.

Consumer Services (Gyms, Salons, Barbershops, Car Washes, Pet-care Chains) Practice

Transforming gyms, salons, barbershops, car washes, and pet-care chains by optimizing memberships, scheduling, throughput, pricing, loyalty, and franchise economics.

Convenience Stores & Fuel Retail Practice

Transforming convenience and fuel retailers by optimizing networks, EV charging, foodservice, pricing, loyalty, and supply chains to drive traffic, margins.

E-commerce Marketplaces & Pure Plays Practice

Accelerating e-commerce marketplaces and pure plays by optimizing growth levers, liquidity, fulfillment, retail media, and trust‑and‑safety for profitable GMV.

Eyewear and Optical Retail Practice

Transforming optical retail chains by optimizing appointments, omnichannel, lab turnaround, lens upgrades, and vision plan realization to increase margins.

Funeral & Cemeteries Practice

Transforming funeral homes and cemeteries by optimizing preneed sales, digital arrangements, cremation capacity, memorialization, and operations for profitable growth.

Furniture & Home Furnishings Practice

Transforming furniture and home furnishings retailers by optimizing assortment, design services, supply chain, last‑mile delivery, omnichannel pricing, and profitability.

Grocery Retail Practice

Transforming grocery retailers via fresh availability, labor productivity, omnichannel fulfillment, KVI pricing, loyalty, and retail media to boost profitable growth.

Home Appliances Practice

Transforming home appliance brands by optimizing manufacturing, supply chain, connected products, retail execution, aftermarket service, and pricing for profitable growth.

Home Improvement and DIY Retail Practice

Transforming home improvement and DIY retailers by optimizing Pro ecosystems, assortments, seasonal resets, omnichannel fulfillment, installation services, pricing, and profitability.

Home Services (Landscaping, Lawn Care, Pest Control) Practice

Optimizing landscaping, lawn care, and pest control operations—route density, scheduling, pricing, technician productivity—to increase recurring revenue, retention, and margins.

Household, Personal Care & Beauty (CPG) Practice

Accelerating beauty and household CPG growth by optimizing brand portfolios, route-to-market, manufacturing, retail media, pricing, and compliant, sustainable innovation.

Luxury Goods & Jewelry Practice

Elevating luxury goods and jewelry brands by optimizing maisons, boutiques, clienteling, allocation, pricing, and secure supply to grow full‑price profitability.

Mass Retail Practice

Transforming mass retailers by optimizing on‑shelf availability, omnichannel fulfillment, retail media, pricing, and store operations to drive profitable growth.

Packaged Foods & Beverages Manufacturing Practice

Transforming packaged foods and beverage manufacturers by optimizing OEE, yield, network, RGM pricing, launches, and FSMA-compliant, low‑carbon supply chains.

Restaurants & Foodservice Practice

Transforming restaurants and foodservice chains by optimizing kitchen throughput, drive‑thru speed, digital ordering, menu pricing, procurement, and food safety.

Specialty Retail Practice

Transforming specialty retailers by optimizing assortments, RFID inventory accuracy, floor set execution, omnichannel fulfillment, dynamic pricing, and loyalty for profitable growth.

Sporting Goods & Outdoor Brands Practice

Accelerating sporting goods and outdoor brands by optimizing product creation, supply chains, omnichannel growth, pricing, and recommerce for profitable growth.

Toys & Baby Products Practice

Accelerating toy and baby brands by optimizing seasonal launches, China‑plus‑one supply, product safety compliance, omnichannel growth, licensing economics, profitability.

Wine, Beer & Spirits Practice

Accelerating wine, beer, and spirits growth through premiumization, RTD innovation, packaging OEE, route‑to‑market, trade spend, distributor performance.