The 2025 Guide to CPG Emerging Brands Marketing

Every dollar counts for emerging brands – especially now.

Whether you’re a nimble independent brand or launching a new line within a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company, you find yourself walking a tightrope in a hurricane.

Inflation continues to shift consumer spending patterns. Scrutiny of ingredients and packaging intensifies. Tariffs threaten already slim margins. The C-suite and investors demand rapid growth, yet throttle marketing budgets amidst swirling uncertainty.

How do you build a brand when every move is a calculated gamble?

Balance your budget

Keep consumers engaged without bleeding capital. Too many emerging brands squander precious resources on broad, ineffective awareness campaigns. Others erode profits with unsustainable offers and incentives. You’re often battling a C-Suite resistant to data-driven strategies, entrenched in outdated metrics that prioritize reach over results.

Break free from the old playbook. Equip yourself to navigate complex budget approvals by seeking out a marketing partner that delivers the data-driven targeting, optimization, and measurement outcomes your C-suite demands.

Seize market opportunities with agility. Once your campaign budget is approved, launch swiftly. No more 45-day set-up lag times or waiting months more for results. Expect near-instantaneous speed to market.

But speed without precision is a wasted advantage. To truly maximize ROI, pair laser-focused targeting across channels with next-generation measurement and optimization tools.

Reach the right shoppers

Don’t drown in data. Pinpoint your current buyers, then strategically layer in your aspirational category shoppers.

Demand precision, not discounts. As an emerging brand, you’re likely battling for market share in a growth category. Show your board tangible results, not vanity metrics. Prove your penetration into new households and demonstrate your ability to seek and acquire buyers from the competition. This requires an analytics partner who transcends limited targeting of deal seekers or reliance on short-term incentives, so seek a strategic marketing partner who delivers purchase-based audiences that align with your strategic objectives.

Vermont Creamery proved this approach works. Transitioning from food service to retail, this emerging dairy brand needed to acquire new buyers and drive repeat purchases. They partnered with data analytics experts to develop a geo-targeted approach, reaching precise, purchase-based audiences. They served up digital banner ads and strategically deployed incentives only to those who had seen the ad, eliminating media waste. They reinvested those savings for growth, using reallocated funds to drive repeat purchases with targeted in-store coupons.

Delivering measurable impact, not just impressions. On a modest budget, Vermont Creamery acquired 26,000 new buyers and saved $6,000 through cross-channel suppression across 2.6 million households. The result? A $2.46 ROI on long-term total sales.

Connect data to dollars

Stop chasing impressions and start counting conversions. Retail media networks and undifferentiated media partners prioritize reach, not results. They tout household numbers, not sales lift.

Demand more than surface-level metrics. Implement a sequential marketing campaign that serves up brand and performance marketing along a dynamic continuum. This “if this, then that” solution crafts a compelling brand story that will ultimately prompt purchase.

With this approach you’ll stop bleeding profits on guaranteed buyers, reserving incentives for the final nudge to likely converters, maximizing your budget and minimizing waste.

Speed and flexibility are non-negotiable. Waiting months for campaign results is a tragedy. Why wait until Q3 for insights into a Q1 campaign? Instead, demand inflight optimization that will reveal where to shift resources during your campaign for peak performance in real time.

A ready-to-drink coffee brand mastered this approach, leveraging sequential marketing techniques as part of its expansion beyond a direct-to-consumer subscription model. As a low-sugar alternative in the ready-to-drink coffee category, they sought a partner to reach healthier shopper segments underserved by competitors – and activate across media channels.

They used a mix of CTV, digital ads, and in-store coupons then drove lower-cost conversion by reprioritizing their budget in real time. Only buyers received trade-up promotions to build consumption and loyalty. The results? Shoppers generated an incremental $195,000 in sales after media exposure, moving 1.1 million units and driving ongoing repurchases.

Secure action, drive results

Stop guessing, start knowing your path to profitable growth. Find the most cost-effective strategy to:

• Identify and reach your most valuable shoppers.
• Activate a sequential marketing campaign across channels.
• Measure performance in real-time.
• Optimize in-flight to save money and maximize impact.

Catalina's targeting and optimization capabilities can help you confidently deliver incremental sales and shopper growth through laser-focused precision that’s scaled to a budget that fits your needs. To discover how we can strengthen your emerging brand in 2025, contact us at results@catalina.com.