01
Trial that counts
Paid social, creators and sampling aimed at the shoppers most likely to buy again, with creative built for the shelf and the scroll.
Fractional CMO for food and beverage brands
Marketing leadership for food and beverage brands that need the second purchase.
I'm Monica Hacker, a fractional CMO for snack, drink and better for you food brands. Trial that turns into repeat, paid media tied to retail sell through and DTC, and one senior person accountable for the number.
Part of my CPG work. Based in New York and Miami.
$10M+in ad spend managed
6.2xreturn on ad spend
$2MARR, grown from $300K for one brand
60%lower cost to acquire a customer
“She doesn't just come in and tell you what you should be doing. She actually gets in there and does it.”
HuggiesThe pattern
Most food and beverage marketing buys the first bite and loses the second.
Food and drink are impulse buys, so getting someone to try you is the easy part. The usual setup is sampling, a few creators, Meta ads to the DTC site and trade spend at retail, each run by someone different. Nobody can say which of it moves units off the shelf, or who comes back for a second purchase.
So I start with how your product actually gets bought. Where trial happens, what turns it into a habit, and which spend shows up in sell through. Then the plan, in priority order.
What I run
How an engagement usually works.
02
Retail and DTC working together
Media planned around store launches and velocity, store locators and retail promos that drive sell through, and a DTC site that earns its keep.
03
Repeat purchase
Bundles, subscriptions and email and SMS timed to how fast people finish a pack, with reporting on repeat rate and velocity.
Who this is for
Who I tend to work best with.
A snack, beverage or better for you food brand selling DTC, on Amazon or in retail, with real media spend and a team or agency producing trial that doesn't turn into repeat. Usually the founder is still close to the product, and what's missing is someone senior who owns the number.
This sits inside my CPG work. I also go deeper on supplement brands and subscription brands.
Where to start
Start with a Food and Beverage Growth Audit.
A prioritized read on trial, retail sell through, repeat purchase and channel economics, delivered in 5 days.
What I look at first
- Trial: which channels bring shoppers who buy again
- Retail: what your spend does for velocity and sell through
- Repeat purchase: who comes back, how fast, and who doesn't
- Channel economics: DTC, Amazon and retail margins side by side
- The verdict: where growth is leaking and what to fix first
Starting at $1,500
Delivered in 5 days
What does a fractional CMO do for a food or beverage brand?
Owns growth end to end: strategy, paid media and creators, retail and DTC working together, repeat purchase, and reporting on velocity and repeat rate. With me you also get the AI system that keeps the reporting and first pass work running.
How much does a fractional CMO cost for a food or beverage brand?
From $8,500 a month, 4 month minimum, review at month 3. Paid acquisition on its own from $4,500 a month. A Growth Audit is $1,500, and it's how most engagements kick off.
Do you work with brands in retail, or only DTC?
Both. Most food and beverage brands live in retail, so the plan ties media to store launches and velocity, and uses DTC and Amazon where they add margin or data.
Do you work with drink brands?
Yes. Beverages run on the same problem as snacks: trial is cheap and repeat is the business. The work focuses on where people try you and what makes it their regular.
What I do
Four ways to work with me.
Let's turn first bites into regulars.
I take on a few new clients each quarter. If your brand is ready to grow, let's talk.
Book a call →Thirty minutes. Bring your numbers, or just bring the problem. You'll leave knowing what I'd fix first.
