592 Lauren Chew: Founder & CEO of Love + Chew

Retail Challenges

Navigating the retail landscape presents significant challenges for Lauren Chew and her company, Love + Chew. She highlights the increasing costs of doing business, such as broker fees and marketing expenses, which impact profit margins 1. Lauren strategically avoids using brokers for every customer to save costs, while also focusing on product placement in the nutrition bar aisle to stand out 2. She shares, "I really underestimated the amount of cash this type of business really consumes and needs to support it," emphasizing the financial demands of working with national distributors 3.

   

Packaging Evolution

Packaging plays a crucial role in Love + Chew’s brand strategy, with Lauren having revamped it multiple times to better align with market demands. She advises new brands to keep packaging flexible, using printed stickers instead of committing to costly printed films 4. Lauren reflects on the evolution of her brand's packaging, saying, "We changed our packaging probably five times," highlighting the importance of adaptability in the competitive consumer packaged goods sector.