We look at CPG brand operations every day. After working with founders at the $300K–$2M stage across food, supplements and beauty, we've developed four positions on what's actually broken — and why it stays broken.
Every tool you've been recommended was designed to serve every industry at once. Which means none of them serve any industry particularly well. Enterprise ERPs were built for 200-person manufacturers. Nobody built tools for a $600K supplement brand navigating co-manufacturers, wholesale accounts and compliance deadlines.
When an agency bills hourly, they make more money when the project takes longer. Fixed scope isn't just a pricing preference — it's the only model where the builder and client are actually aligned.
The horror stories come from the wrong process, not the wrong category. Scope tight. Start with the highest-leverage fix. Ship in weeks, not months. Stay after launch.
A one-time build starts aging the moment your business changes. A retainer means the software evolves with you — the team who built it never loses context.
The first conversation isn't about selling software. It's about understanding your business.
If custom software makes sense, we'll tell you. If it doesn't, we'll tell you that too.