Our Practice Group is sensitive and aware of the navigational challenges in this industry. Having a great product or an appealing price is no longer enough to ensure ongoing success. Knowing a small group of loyal customers can drive a disproportionate share of sales. Brands live and die on their ability to build and sustain the relationship with their target customers. Companies focused on branded consumer products face a myriad of challenges in maintaining that relationship from two perspectives: technology and infrastructure. Technology challenges include: digital transformation, social media, marketing with strong ROI. Infrastructure challenges include the pace of innovation and scalable, cost-effective supply chain management.

Food and Beverage companies present some of the more complex finance, control, reporting and accounting challenges. You face the normal barriers to profitability and success: cost control, administration efficiency, and sales. In addition, the simplest consumer products company blends ingredients, process, packaging, labor and transportation to enable revenue recognition. When manufacturing is in-house, the company must also deal with recipes and assemblies while controlling climate, infestation, and process control, all to be performed with inventories managed to prevent spoilage, over-invested capital and violations of important and increasingly stringent government and customer safety regulations. We successfully work to produce dramatic increases in top line revenues and profitability. We provide our clients solid solutions based on our experience working through these processes so we can substantially increase profitability and allow increased gross income.

Whether you are an early stage or mature company, you can benefit from working with our seasoned professionals with a deep appreciation for your industry and the best ways to produce financial returns, sustainability and management solutions for any challenge you face.

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WHO WE SERVE

For Food and Beverage, we work with:

Specialty Food & Beverage Producers

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Successfully getting and more importantly expanding shelf space are a constant challenge that must be accounted for in your financial planning, reporting systems and chart of accounts. We have the expertise and experience to develop end-to-end systems fully integrated into your overall financial plan.

Restaurant Groups

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Successfully managing a restaurant is challenging but pales in comparison to the financial issues faced by restaurant groups. Staffing challenges with the associated payroll and benefit administration, accounting for credit card fees, integrating point-of-sale systems into the primary accounting system, and portion control are all present. We have in-house recruiting as well as interim and part-time senior financial expertise who know how to help.

National Brand Manufacturing Companies

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How do you stay current? Organic, diet, gluten free, e-commerce competitors, sugar free, fat free; your brand is under constant attack. Are your financial plan and systems helping win the fight? We can make sure they are, from inventory process to work-in-process controls.

We work with consumer products companies in all stages: early stage branded consumer product companies, established small and mid-sized businesses and those which are rapidly growing.

CAPABILITIES

We provide a cafeteria style array of offerings. While all assignments customarily commence with the new client assessment, the client and our experts determine together which services are best to provide. Examples include:

  • Assessment and improvements to accounting, budgeting, forecasting processes and systems
  • Review and development of management reporting packages for internal and external use (e,g,lenders, investors, bankers)
  • Developing the financial story for use with lenders, bankers, investors, boards
  • Analytical review and development of business plans and multi-year strategic plans
  • Develop key performance indicators and dashboards and systems to track them
  • Develop financial models for evaluating projects for use internally and with the board
  • Product pricing and competitive analyses
  • Accounting program and systems upgrade customized for your industry
  • Banking relationships setup and assistance for food manufacturing, distribution and restaurants
  • Financial business and product planning
  • Facilitating business strategic planning sessions
  • Cash management systems including credit card management and security, point of sale terminal integration to financial systems and inventory management, control and replenishment
  • Manufacturing and distribution capital equipment upgrade budgeting
  • Distribution Systems
  • Import and export guidance specific to country food safety regulations
  • Long term financial modeling of your industry, including multi-year forecasts and plans
  • Operational guidance on: manufacture-to-order systems,material and ingredient sourcing systems,packaging procurement systems,purchasing systems and controls,real time reporting systems,real time work-in-process systems, and templates forsizing,costing andpricing

SUCCESSFUL CLIENT ENGAGEMENTS

Our goal is to build long-lasting relationships with clients who are pleased with our work. Here are examples of our work.

  • Working with a local boutique coffer producer successfully placed and negotiated shelf space with Safeway Stores leading to increased profitability.
  • Provided grocery placement for local cake and cookie companies.
  • Lead strategic sales and financial planning for several name brands, including TCHO Chocolates.
  • Restructured a fifty-year-old chocolate company to re-establish sales at $6MM within three years, including modernizing financial systems.

PRACTICE LEADER