How Does Your Brand Stack Up? Download our FREE eCommerce Hidden Profit Audit Template here: https://www.futurereadycfo.com/hidden-profit-audit-free-template
For over a decade, today's guest worked inside Procter & Gamble and Reckitt, learning how the biggest names in consumer goods build products that hold their margin at scale. He now runs his own consulting business, helping founders de-risk product development before a single unit gets made.
In this episode, Somil Shah, founder and CEO of Shah CPG Consulting, walks through a live role play with Nate, who plays a founder about to launch a new skincare line. Somil breaks down where gross margin is really won or lost, long before a contract manufacturer is ever briefed, and why the decisions founders skip early are the ones that come back to bite them.
Why your margin is mostly decided before you speak to a single manufacturer
The difference between product margin and landed margin, and why tariffs make that gap dangerous
What "clean" actually costs, and how to decide where to draw the line without wrecking your cost structure
Why adding more SKUs is often the wrong move for a growing brand
What makes a contract manufacturer walk away from a founder, and what makes them go all in
Somil Shah is the founder and CEO of Shah CPG Consulting.
Website: https://shahcpgconsulting.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/somilshah/
If you're building a CPG or e-commerce brand and want help getting your margins right before you launch, reach out to Somil directly through the links above.
I hope you enjoyed this episode!
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– Nate and the Profits on Purpose podcast team
Connect with Nathan Littlewood on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlittlewood/
Visit the Future Ready CFO website here: https://www.futurereadycfo.com/
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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/profits-on-purpose/id1826982087
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Welcome to the Profits on Purpose podcast, where we explore the journeys of purpose-led founders and the financial strategies that help them survive and thrive. Host Nate Littlewood sits down with eCommerce and CPG founders to unpack the real-life tension between a brand's mission and the practical realities of generating profit.