Broker Database

Broker

DATABASE

Startup CPG, the national community for emerging food and beverage entrepreneurs, has released a crowdsourced list of top CPG brokers specifically for food and beverage brands, with sortable data on their coverage areas, specialties, and contact info. This first-of-a-kind resource is brought to you with the help of our partners at Spacestation CPG, one of the leading brokers for early-stage brands with especially strong relationships in the natural channel (the founders’ backgrounds are former Harmon’s buyers!)

Corey Jensen the Co-Founder at Spacestation CPG, believes the database is a “huge value add. CPG brands now have a onestop shop to find and research brokers, and it gives them the info to make an informed decision with confidence! This is clutch.”

Do you know a great broker that you’d like to see added to our list? To provide additional submissions to the database, please click here.

What is a CPG Broker?

CPG brokers are the intermediaries between brands and retailers. They often have relationships with retail buyers to get you meetings, stay on top of the category review calendars, and help you pitch, negotiate, plan promos, and chase down chargebacks with retail partners.

WHAT SHOULD YOU ASK A POTENTIAL CPG BROKER? • Make sure your hearts and interests are aligned

Your brand has a voice, a story. Nobody else can narrate it better than you. So, before you set out on a hunt to get the best brokers for you, check their area of specialty, and see how passionate they are about your product.

• Ask for stats, not promises:

Ask whether they’ve worked with your direct competitors or similar-stage businesses, and ask for stats or references. What are their goals for your brand?

• Understand their business:

Understand how they are resourced - who are the members of their team, and what do they focus on? What will the first 90 days look like? Who are the retailers with whom they have the strongest relationships?

How much do they charge? There are varying models that can be straight commission (e.g., 5%), or for smaller brands, you may face a retainer of a few thousand dollars (or even up to 15k) per month. Make sure to explore your alternatives (including hiring your own team or planning to do that down the road.)

CPG Brokers: What not to expect:

Hiring a CPG broker doesn’t simply mean that your sales are going to skyrocket overnight. It’s more like organic growth, and it should be because you want sustainable progress. They do have relationships, but they still rely on your presence and partnerships when selling your brand to retailers.

How to access the database?

The list is available for free, along with Startup CPG's other resource lists on the official website. To access, sign up for our email list at startupcpg.com, and you'll receive a welcome email within 24 hours with a link to our rich resource folder. We highly encourage you to also join the Startup CPG Slack, to be a part of a community of 10K food and beverage entrepreneurs eager to connect and share resources.

STARTUP CPG ALLEY RALLY AT EXPO WEST

THURSDAY MARCH 9th 7:00-10:00pm

An Expo West party to network, discover new CPG brands and bowl. Come celebrate the Startup CPG community of emerging brands!

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

n 41 lanes of blacklight bowling n 3 hours Open bar n 10 backpack brands n Pool tables n Nachos. So many nachos. n NielsenIQ station (brands can get data to make decisions & help their sales efforts!)

WE ARE BACK! In 2022, Startup CPG threw the bowling party of the century (or so we heard). This year, we’re returning to Expo West with yet another Alley Rally – but even bigger.

Last year, we welcomed 800 Startup CPGers to our first party in Anaheim (watch the Alley Rally ‘22 video here). With the capacity to host 1,200 people, we rented Anaheim Bowlero one more time – only a 10 minute walk from the conference – for a fun-filled soiree & networking event.

GET YOUR TICKET!

FEATURED GUESTS

(more to be confirmed!)

l Monica Watrous, Food Business

News l Douglas Yu, Springdale Ventures /

Forbes.com contributor l Adam Franks, 7 Eleven l Mike Dovbish, Nutrition Capital

Network l Cessna Mac, Amberstone Ventures l Bjorn Oste, Good Idea, Oatly co-founder l Brandie Miller, Misfits Market l Lauren Mamuszka, Hungryroot l Kathryn Flouton, Good Eggs l Trei Campbell, Good Eggs l Ben Hartman, Good Eggs l Scott Owen, Good Eggs l Jake Karls, Mid Day Squares l Steve Gaither, 1o8 l Alex Wolf, AF Ventures l Jill Ettinger, Ethos l Corey Jensen, Spacestation CPG l Kimball Wilson, Spacestation

CPG l Brian Nicholson, Sonoma Brands l Brett Kadesh, Touchdown VC