A trial & error approach is painful, slow, and expensive.
needless rework drains time, money, and enthusiasm
stuck with expensive manufacturing costs that limits ability to grow
product design that fails to delight your target consumer
needlessly overspending for development work
slow progress and rework leads frustration and burnout
Acumen CPG is uniquely positioned to help you realize your aspirations
Unlike a specialist with a singular focus, Acumen CPG see the larger interconnected picture and therefor can help you solve big problems as you navigate the journey ahead. 30 years of launching new products and brands for companies like P&G, Gillette, Hasbro and entrepreneurial startups taught us that no two development journeys will ever look the same. Personal working style, project scope, access to resources, and sense of urgency all contribute to this reality. Rather than being prescriptive or rigid, our support model is designed with flexibility at its core in order to adapt and work with your unique needs. We take industry best practices, strip away needless complexity, and make the information approachable and meaningful to the self-funded startup. We want you to view us as an unbiased ally in your corner who can give you the tools to forego the costly yet common trial & error approach. We want you to move forward with confidence and predictability knowing that somebody is out there who understands your vision, is always objective, and can provide quick yet competent answers whenever the need arrises.
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Start by Building a Solid Foundation
Through one-on-one working sessions and a purposeful structure that transcends both business and product design, we'll first seek to understand the nature of your idea or active project. We'll work to understand your objectives and capture any specific concerns or challenges you've been thinking about.
We'll construct a highly detailed custom assessment highlighting what we see as your inherent strengths and how to amplify them, areas of risk and how to resolve them, and then construct an end-to-end roadmap of the journey ahead that prioritizes near to mid-term tasks necessary to reach your objective(s).
Ongoing Support & Guidance
Equipped with clarity of how to win, visibility to the things that can hold you back, and an understanding of what to do when... you can confidently progress your project forward in a style and pace that that feels natural to you.
When you encounter an issue needing resolution, want to improve work output from contracted specialty resources, or simply could benefit from an objective experienced voice during key decision points we'll be ready and available to help... it's very empowering to know you have an ally in your corner who understand your project, is clear on your commercialization goals, and has the answers you need to keep things moving forward.
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Foundation Programs
Experience shows that having a solid project foundation is the biggest determiner of project success. Our Foundation Programs start with a detailed understanding your idea and commercialization goals. We'll identify pitfalls that could upend your project, help you develop needed structure to stay on target, and establish critical product and brand development fundamentals that get results.
Early Idea Phase
Connecting when you’re still at the early idea stage maximizes our ability to help you build a powerful comprehensive project that can win in the marketplace and avoid common early missteps most that cost needless time & money and usually result in structural problems that are hard to overcome.
Active Project with Some Progress Made
You’ve been moving forward and encountered early victories as well as a few setbacks. If you're pleased with how things are going, we'll help you stay on target as complexity grows... If you're experiencing problems we'll help you make needed changes at a time when it's cheapest and most effectively to do so.
Project has Stalled
If your project has stalled but the dream and desire remains, a fresh perspective rooted in deep experienced can make all the difference in the world. We can help you build an effective rescue mission, preserve what's working and usable, and pinpoint items needing reworked in order to regain traction and forward momentum.
You've Successfully Launched
Successfully launching your idea was a great accomplishment! With this heavy lift behind you, it’s time to turn your attention to resolve distraction and hang-over issues that are hurting your ability to scale and grow revenue. This can include fixing product performance issues, improving consumer delight, reducing costs, reimagine your development process, solving supply chain issues, and many others.
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Support & Guidance Programs
Time spend helping clients realize their product development aspirations clearly showed that independent product innovators will want to move forward in ways that best match their natural style, preferences, budget, and sense of urgency.
Just like our clients, Acumen CPG has a specific nuanced way of moving from idea to store shelf. And while our approach feels natural to us, and is rooted in more than 30-years of direct experience, expecting others to do things in the same way would be impractical and wouldn't yield best results.
Rather than being prescriptive, we find it more effective is to follow the lead of our clients and may ourselves available to provide critical information at key moments. Our Foundation Programs help build solid footing and a view of the road ahead and our Support & Guidance Programs ensure a project won't drift or stall as complexity grows and areas of uncertainty are encountered.
The structure of our Support & Guidance Program is based on direct client experience and feedback and includes both written and live video one-one-one support options that are easy to use and yields fast meaningful results.