FMCG Marketing Strategy Consultancy
A great FMCG marketing strategy is the difference between spending money and investing it. We help food and drink brands build a marketing strategy that sets clear guardrails for growth: who to target, what to stand for, how you're different, and how you'll measure success before a penny goes into execution.
Many brands don't have a marketing strategy. They have a set of tactics, and they wonder why results are inconsistent. We fix that. Big Black Door is a marketing strategy consultancy that gives FMCG founders, CEOs and marketing leaders the clarity to make sharper decisions and grow faster.
What is an FMCG marketing strategy?
An FMCG marketing strategy is the set of choices that decides where your brand will play, how it will win, and how you'll know it's working. It defines your target audience, your positioning, your organising idea and your measures of success. It’s the upstream thinking that makes every downstream pound of media, packaging and promotion work harder.
It is not a campaign, a logo, or a "digital-first" plan. Those are tactics. Strategy is the thinking that makes the tactics add up. For food and drink brands competing for shelf space and shopper attention, that clarity is what protects your budget and earns your listings.
Signs you don't have a marketing strategy
You probably need a marketing strategy if:
Your marketing feels like a series of one-off campaigns that never quite add up.
You can't describe your target audience beyond a label like "millennials."
You can't say in one sentence how your brand is different from the competitor next to it on shelf.
You're investing in channels because they're popular, not because they're right.
You can't get your strategy onto a single page.
If any of those land, that's the gap we close.
How we build your marketing strategy
We work in three clear phases: Assess, Strategise, Execute so you always know where you are and what comes next.
1. Assess. We start by getting a clear understanding of your business, market, product, target audience and competitors. No assumptions. Robust research when appropriate, segmentation and category analysis.
2. Strategise. We prioritise where you'll play and, just as importantly, where you won't. We develop a brand positioning and an organising idea that unlocks growth, then distil it onto a single page.
3. Execute. We turn strategy into action: the right tactics, the right channels, clear KPIs, and the measurement to keep you on track.
The output is a sharp, practical, one-page marketing strategy your whole team can rally behind. Not a 60-slide deck that gathers dust.
What’s included?
Our marketing strategy work draws on the full toolkit, tailored to where you need the most help:
Brand positioning: establishing what makes your brand unique and the rational and emotional benefits you offer, simplified into a winning position.
Audience strategy & consumer segmentation: segmenting by attitudes and consumption occasions to find where you have a right to win.
Market research & analysis: turning information into insight, and insight into action.
Organising idea: the single thought all your marketing revolves around.
Communications planning: the right messages, in the right channels, at the right time.
Measurement framework: clear objectives and the metrics that prove it's working.
Need something more specific? Explore our related services: pricing strategy, strategic growth planning, and launch planning.
Why food & drink brands work with Big Black Door
Client-side experience, not agency spin. Decades of senior FMCG marketing experience on brands you know — applied to yours.
Proven results. Our strategy work helped drive a 72% increase in rate of sale for Spoon Cereals.
Clarity, not jargon. Down-to-earth, actionable strategy — simplified onto one page.
Senior attention. You work directly with the experience you're paying for, not a junior team.
"Gareth has brought marketing specialisation and mentorship into our small business, something that has been vital as we work to scale."
Annie Morris, Co-founder, Spoon Cereals
"Wow, what an incredible experience that was. You guys were SO speedy and have given us some really amazing insights."
Amelia Christie-Miller, Founder, Bold Bean Co
Frequently Asked Questions
-
It depends on scope: a focused positioning project is very different from a full strategy build. The best starting point is a free 30-minute clarity call, where we'll scope what you actually need and give you a straight answer.
-
Most engagements run a few weeks rather than months. We can move quickly because we've done this many times. Our Assess, Strategise, Execute process keeps things focused.
-
It's our specialism, and it's where the majority of our experience lies. But the same principles apply broadly, and we’ve worked in B2B, shopping centres, charities and transportation on similar marketing strategy projects.
-
The strategy defines where you'll play and how you'll win. The plan is how you'll deliver it: the channels, activity and timings. We can help with both, but the strategy comes first.
-
Yes. Many of our clients use us as senior marketing leadership on tap, bringing strategic direction without the cost of a full-time hire.
Ready to turn tactics
into strategy?
Book a free 30-minute clarity call and we'll pressure-test your current thinking and show you where the growth is.