Retail Voodoo

08/13/2026

What can CPG brands learn from insurance advertising?

More than you might think.

Progressive has Flo. GEICO has the Gecko. Allstate has Mayhem. Liberty Mutual has LiMu Emu. Farmers has the Hall of Claims.

These aren't just ads. They're long-term brand assets built to create something every brand wants: trust, recognition, and preference.

Consumers don't buy insurance because they love insurance. They buy confidence that someone will be there when they need them.

The same is true across food, beverage, wellness, and consumer products.

While many brands focus on product features and claims, the strongest brands build emotional connections that make them memorable and meaningful.

In a world where AI can summarize every ingredient list, benefit, and product claim in seconds, distinctive brand assets matter more than ever.

The brands that win aren't always the ones with the most features.

They're the ones consumers recognize, remember, and trust.

That's why we believe great brand strategy isn't just about what a product does. It's about creating ownable stories, assets, and experiences that build preference long before a shopper reaches the shelf.

Inspired by a recent article from Diana Fryc, Partner & Chief Growth Officer at Voodoo Brands, exploring what CPG brands can learn from the evolution of insurance advertising.

08/04/2026

Everyone knows the signals now.

The minimalist packaging. The "better-for-you" claims. The earthy colors. The carefully curated authenticity.

Walk through almost any grocery store and you'll see it.
Brands have spent years learning the signals customers respond to.

Then AI showed up and made those signals cheap, fast, and accessible to everyone.

So what happens when everyone can look credible?

That's the question David Lemley explores in this week's Substack after a chance conversation in a Seattle grocery store and an unexpected trip to the Seattle Art Fair.

His conclusion? When signals become cheap, judgment becomes priceless.

A thought-provoking read for founders, marketers, brand leaders, and anyone trying to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Read the full article and let us know:

What brand do you think stands out because it has genuine conviction, not just great marketing?

https://voodoobrands.substack.com/p/when-everyone-knows-the-signals

07/27/2026

What do World Cup jerseys have to do with packaging design?

More than you might think.

In his latest article, Voodoo Brands Creative Director Jay Hilburn explores an unexpected source of design inspiration: World Cup kits.

When you look beyond the sport, these jerseys become a fascinating study in brand building. They have to communicate culture, heritage, pride, performance, and identity—all within a single design system.

Jay's biggest observation?

As the world becomes more connected, the strongest brands aren't becoming more generic. They're becoming more authentic.

The best World Cup kits don't try to appeal to everyone. They embrace where they come from. They celebrate culture, history, and local identity. And consumers are responding.

We see the same dynamic happening in CPG.

The brands winning today aren't simply following trends. They're finding ways to express who they are with greater clarity, confidence, and authenticity.

At Voodoo Brands, we believe great design isn't about making something look different. It's about making something mean something.

That's the power of a strong design system. It creates consistency without sacrificing character. It helps brands evolve without losing themselves.

Jay's article is a timely reminder that the future doesn't belong to brands that look like everyone else.

It belongs to brands that know exactly who they are.

Read the full article in the link below: "What World Cup Kits Reveal About Global Design Language and the Future of FMCG Branding"

Image Rights: Adidas News: Kit Release - 5 November 2025

07/21/2026

What if the most valuable asset on your balance sheet isn't your product… but the way people recognize it?

The recent Van Leeuwen ruling wasn't just a trademark case.
It was a reminder that brands don't win because consumers remember what they said.

They win because consumers remember what they see.

Think about:
⚡ Liquid Death's tall black cans
🥛 Oatly's irreverent typography
🐟 Fishwife's collectible illustrated tins
🫒 Graza's bright green squeeze bottles

The strongest brands don't just occupy shelf space.
They occupy cognitive space.

As AI makes content, design, and marketing more abundant than ever, something unexpected is happening:

Distinctiveness is becoming more valuable.

Not because consumers have more attention.

Because they have less.

The brands that thrive in the next decade won't necessarily spend the most on advertising. They'll build the strongest memory systems—the colors, shapes, symbols, and packaging assets that consumers recognize before they even read the logo.

That's not design.

That's competitive advantage.

In our latest Substack, we explore why the future brand wars won't be fought through impressions and media budgets.

They'll be fought in memory.

👇 Read the full article in the comments.

07/14/2026

Protein isn't dead. But the way most brands talk about it might be.

For years, "high protein" was enough.

It helped products stand out.

It justified premium pricing.

It gave consumers a clear reason to choose.

Today? Not so much.

Consumers haven't stopped caring about protein. They've simply started expecting it.

And that's what happens when a differentiator becomes table stakes.

We're seeing it across CPG:
> Protein
> Probiotics
> Hydration
> Adaptogens
> Clean ingredients

They're all important. They're just harder to build a brand around on their own.

The brands creating meaningful growth aren't winning by adding another gram, another claim, or another SKU.

They're winning by solving a bigger problem.

Instead of asking:
"How do we sell more protein?"

They're asking:
"How do we make this part of someone's day easier, better, simpler, or more enjoyable?"

That's a very different conversation.

And it's where the next wave of category leaders will emerge.

Because consumers don't buy ingredients.
- They buy outcomes.
- They buy habits.
- They buy routines.
- They buy solutions that fit naturally into their lives.

The biggest opportunities rarely come from optimizing what's already working.

They come from recognizing when the game has changed.
What category do you think is next to move from differentiator to expectation?

We'd love to hear your take.

07/07/2026

What Is America's Greatest Competitive Advantage?

It's not our technology.

It's not our capital.

It's not even our size.

It's our ability to take ideas from everywhere and turn them into something entirely new.

Walk through a grocery store and you'll see it everywhere.

A Mexican-American family recipe becomes a category-defining snack brand.

Traditional Sichuan flavors become a pantry staple.

Greek yogurt reshapes breakfast habits.

Vietnamese coffee finds a mainstream audience.

Ancient fermentation traditions become a billion-dollar wellness category.

The products may come from different cultures, but the innovation happens here—where diverse perspectives, experiences, and entrepreneurial ambition collide.

That's what makes the consumer products industry so fascinating.

Every shelf is proof that great ideas can come from anywhere, and that the best innovation often happens when people bring different traditions, customs, and ways of thinking together.

The American story has never been about where you started.
It's about what you build.

As brand builders, founders, and innovators, we're fortunate to work in an industry that celebrates curiosity, rewards creativity, and constantly introduces us to perspectives outside our own.

That's something worth celebrating.

WHAT brand introduced you to a flavor, ingredient, tradition, or cultural experience that has now become part of your everyday life?

Happy 250th Birthday from all of us at Voodoo Brands.



Siete Family Foods AlaffiaSheaMoisture Chobani Four Sigmatic
More about this topic in the link below...

06/19/2026

The “good brand” advantage is gone.
For years, CPG brands could grow on:
> good ingredients
> good values
> good intentions

Even when the product itself was just… good enough.
That model is breaking.

Here’s the shift most teams feel—but don’t say out loud:

Consumers aren’t asking,
“Is this a brand I believe in?”

They’re asking:
“Does this outperform what I already buy?”

Because the real gate hasn’t changed.
It’s just less forgiving now:
→ Taste
→ Function
→ Price vs. value
→ Repeat purchase

These aren’t differentiators anymore.
They’re baseline expectations.

Everything else?
Table stakes.

Bain has been pointing to this tightening for years:
The gap between what consumers say they value and what they actually buy is getting wider.

And in that gap—performance wins.

Here’s where most brands break:

Not because they’re wrong.

Because they’re:
slightly off
slightly compromised
slightly underwhelming

That middle ground?
It’s where growth stalls.

The brands gaining share right now follow a different order:

Build products that win on their own:
> Make switching obvious
> Earn repeat behavior
> Then layer story and values

Not the other way around.

If your product can’t drive switch + repeat on performance alone:
No amount of branding...
No amount of content...
No amount of spend.....is going to fix it upstream.

Average dies.
Good blends in.
Performance compounds.

👉 Full breakdown
https://voodoobrands.substack.com/p/brands-win-on-product-first-values

06/10/2026

Leadership transitions don’t break brands.
They expose the ones that were never finished.

New leader. New strategy reset. New priorities.

And suddenly, everything’s up for debate:
Positioning shifts. Innovation drifts. The story fragments in market.

That’s not transformation.
That’s strategic instability showing up in real time.

The strongest CPG brands don’t rely on leadership continuity to stay coherent.

They build systems that carry the strategy forward—no matter who’s in the role.

Because when the core is clear and the system is aligned,
transitions don’t slow you down.

They sharpen your advantage.

If you're leading through—or preparing for—a transition, this matters more than you think.

Read the full piece: Leadership Transitions Don’t Break Brands. Unfinished Strategies Do.

https://voodoobrands.substack.com/p/leadership-transitions-dont-break

Unfinished Strategies Do

05/26/2026

What happens when you remove the guardrails?
You get the most honest signal in food.

The Sweets & Snacks Expo is still the happiest show on earth, but this year it also revealed something more important:
Where indulgence, culture, and innovation are actually headed.

In this recap, Diana Fryc breaks down:
• Why joy and spectacle still outperform “perfect” positioning
• How sweet + spicy and global flavors keep rewriting the rules
• Why BFY and functional snacks were quieter this year (and why that’s strategic)
• What brand theater, oversized use cases, and unapologetic fun tell us about growth

This isn’t a show recap.
It’s a filter.
If you’re building a brand and wondering what signals to follow, and which ones to ignore—this one’s worth your time.

👇 Read the full POV
👉 Sweets & Snacks Expo Recap: Still the Happiest Show on Earth: https://voodoobrands.substack.com/p/sweets-and-snacks-expo-recap-still

At Voodoo Brands, we don’t chase trends.
We help brands understand why they exist, when they matter, and how they scale.

Fun isn’t fluff.
Culture converts.
And joy? That’s strategy.

05/13/2026

Most margin problems aren’t pricing problems.
They’re value clarity problems.

In CPG, margin usually drains through three leaks:
*Value isn’t clear enough at shelf
*Teams can’t defend the premium consistently
*“Growth” adds revenue but dilutes economics

Promotions don’t solve those.
They cover them.

Here’s how to spot the leaks fast—and rebuild the value equation so price holds without constant discounting: https://voodoobrands.substack.com/p/the-three-leaks-that-drain-margin