Michael Ugino

Most DTC founders are stuck playing small. They don’t realize retail isn’t just a channel. It’s a multiplier. You can grind for months in DTC… Or land one retail buyer and 10x your output in a single PO. I’ve seen it firsthand. After launching 150+ products across 7 brands, here’s what I know: → DTC is your test lab. → Retail is how you scale. If you’re serious about building something durable Get shelf-ready. Build trust with buyers. And stop treating retail like it’s Shopify 2.0. Because in retail, you’re not just another brand. You’re a partner. And partners deliver. — Save this if you’re ready to stop playing small. DM me if you want help building your retail playbook.

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Target’s Q2 earnings weren’t just retail headlines — they were signals for anyone building a CPG brand right now. Here are the 4 shifts founders and operators should be watching 👇 1️⃣ Digital growth only works if it ladders back to stores Target’s digital comps were +4.3%, with same-day delivery +25%. ➡️ Buyers are rewarding omnichannel velocity. If your brand performs online, tie that proof back to store performance in the pitch. 2️⃣ “Newness” is the growth unlock Rick Gomez called out trading cards up 70% YTD, tracking toward $1B this year. ➡️ Even mature categories can explode when you inject cultural relevance + style. For emerging brands, this is a blueprint for breaking through. 3️⃣ Retailers are resetting category authority Incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke: “We must reestablish our merchandising authority in a way that is distinctly Target.” ➡️ Translation: buyers will lean harder into differentiated assortments. Brands that bring unique design, quality, or cultural edge have an opening. 4️⃣ Partnerships + sourcing strategies are in flux Target/Ulta will end in 2026. Tariffs forced “countless revisions to product and inventory plans”. ➡️ Shelf space will shift. And supply chain agility is now table stakes. If you can show resilience and category innovation, you’ll stand out. 💭 The signal: Retailers like Target are doubling down on velocity, cultural heat, and operational flexibility. 👉 Founders — sharpen your buyer story so it reflects these priorities heading into fall reset conversations. Having this level of acumen in hand can make your discussions with buyers sharper, faster, and more credible. 🔗 Link to the full Target earnings recap is in the comments for those who want the deeper dive. #cpg #venturecapital #consumergoods #dtc #retail #grocery #wellness  #sprouts  #foodandbeverage #retail #grocery #foodandbeverage #consumer #venturecapital #privateequity

Gas stations figured out bundling long before DTC brands. Walk inside to pay and what do you see? → “2 for $3” energy drinks → “Buy a snack, get $0.10 off gas” → “Add a car wash for $5” It’s all engineered to lift AOV in 15 seconds. DTC brands? → “Add to cart” → “Checkout” No journey. No moment. Just exit. Lesson? Your bundle doesn’t need to be clever. It just needs to: • Be visible • Feel obvious • Reward momentum Gas stations do this better than most Shopify stores.

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Greg Brown, SVP of DUDE Wipes, broke down something most DTC brands are still figuring out: how to grow without bloating your headcount. DUDE Wipes is staying lean by leaning into AI and automation, not as a buzzword, but as actual infrastructure that lets them scale and handle inevitable fire drills without adding more bodies to the org. Greg’s take is that every operator needs to level up on what AI actually means for their day-to-day. Not the hype! But the practical stuff that keeps you nimble when things get chaotic. Full convo on Commerce is Chaos here: https://lnkd.in/gbS_tnck

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Ozempic is changing the grocery aisle...and now it’s coming for protein bars on Amazon. Amazon’s fastest-growing bar brand? Not RXBAR. Not Quest. It’s David, and it just exploded to $2M/month with +12.8% market share growth in the past year. (Coming from 0%!!!) In SmartScout’s latest analysis of Amazon’s top protein bar brands, David shot up with +12.8% market share growth, now tied for #2 in the entire category. As more Americans shift toward appetite suppression and portion control, the snack landscape is undergoing a quiet transformation. Instead of dense 20g protein bombs, we’re seeing a surge in lighter, fewer-ingredient, lower-calorie bars that feel more like a snack than a meal. Here’s the full leaderboard by monthly revenue: 🥇 Aloha – $3.2M (20.1%, +3.0%) 🥈 David – $2.0M (12.8%, +12.8%) 🥉 RXBAR – $2.0M (12.8%, -1.1%) 4️⃣ IQBAR – $1.9M (11.8%, +1.3%) 5️⃣ KIND – $1.0M (6.7%, -9.6%) 6️⃣ Quest Nutrition – $871K (5.6%, -1.9%) 7️⃣ think! – $733K (4.7%, -1.5%) 8️⃣ Epic – $381K (2.4%, -0.6%) 9️⃣ Mezcla – $349K (2.2%, +1.5%) 🔟 Perfect Bar – $361K (2.3%, +0.5%) 📈 Three key trends jump out: David is the breakout star – riding the Ozempic wave but with a founder that is very familiar with the protein bar space. The highest density of protein possible, this keeps nutrition inside of bodies that are losing lots of weight. It certainly helps that the founder Peter Rahal has done this before. KIND is slipping fast – a -9.6% drop shows how fragile brand equity can be without freshness or digital investment. Premium underdogs are rising – IQBAR, Mezcla, and Aloha are all gaining share with differentiated messaging and cleaner ingredient profiles. The protein bar market isn’t just crowded—it’s saturated. But the winners are proving there's still room to grow… if you get the brand, timing, and distribution just right. Many Amazon shoppers are captured from other channels. Retail, DTC, Social all come to Amazon after learning about it elsewhere. Is it possible to win and grow in this category with an Amazon only focus? How far can David go? Probably further since they just raised $75m. After eating a few myself, I think I'll go back to Built Bars.

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I just made a significant investment in Surge Supply Co. and specifically in Lukas Ambrose. At first I was attracted to the quality of the compostable cups and the brand position to enable quick service retail and restaurants introduce branded compostable products. Second, Lukas has the hustle and grit to win. He brought me Husky themed straws to our first meeting - painful for an Oregon grad. Third the company identified a need to make ordering and managing supply chains for these products simpler and tech forward - the status quo is spreadsheets and email. But then I saw this video today about how Starbucks cups are actually plastic cups. There’s a huge movement to remove plastics from consumables and I believe this could be the biggest tailwind for Surge Supply - quality consumables that are guaranteed to be free of plastics to keep microplastics out of your body. https://lnkd.in/gpv9QtPc

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💡 Growing pains in merchandising tech Every few years, a new wave of startups enters the merchandising space. They move fast, speak loud, and bring fresh energy to a field that needs it. They raise a ton of money and use that as proof that they’re going to change the world of retail. That’s good (I love competition, it makes us all better)... until the growing pains begin. I know, because we went through most of them. Here’s what usually happens behind the scenes: 1️⃣ Overpromising early: To win the first few logos, they stretch the product story beyond what’s real. 2️⃣ POCs everywhere: Proofs of concept become a substitute for a repeatable product. The goal isn’t customer value — it’s fundraising traction. Even when both sides know they won’t convert. (What a waste of time, really...) 3️⃣ Lack of focus: Every new opportunity leads to a new “module” or “vertical.” Start in fashion, then add accessories, footwear, furniture, homeware, gifts... even food. A mile wide, an inch deep. 4️⃣ Scalability issues: What worked for 3 clients breaks at 10. It scales with 50 stores, but not with 250 — or 1,000. Processes, data models, and teams simply can’t keep up. 5️⃣ Customer fatigue: What looked agile from the outside turns chaotic from the inside. Teams burn out, and customers notice. None of this is unique to merchandising tech — it’s the normal startup journey. What matters is how (and whether) you grow out of it. At some point, every company has to choose: 👉 Keep chasing hype and headlines, or 👉 Do the hard, sometimes quiet work of maturing — building the foundations, scalability, and trust that last. We’ve been through that evolution ourselves. It was painful, but today we know who we are, where we add the most value, and how we help fashion retailers win. And looking back, it’s clear: The real competitive edge isn’t moving fast — it’s staying strong where you add the most value.

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