Where the validated product becomes a commercial reality
Launch and scale work is the commercial endgame. The build and test work delivered a validated product. The continuous insight work will track it once it is live. This is the work in between: the pitch deck that wins the listing, the manufacturing route that delivers the volume, the volume model that sizes the opportunity, and the post-launch evaluation that informs how (and how fast) to scale.
Most launch briefs land when one of three pressures is on the team. A buyer meeting is on the diary and the pitch needs to be built around the buyer’s actual decision criteria, not against a generic template. A product is approved internally but the route to manufacture at launch volume is not yet in place. Or a launch has happened, the early signals are mixed, and the scale decision needs to be informed by something sharper than retailer sell-through alone. In every case, the question is the same: how do we turn a product that works into a commercial outcome that delivers?
What lands at the end of the work is a product that has landed in market, with the commercial case behind it. Not a pitch deck that wins applause and dies in handover. Not a volume forecast built on optimism. A launched proposition with the pitch, the supply chain, the volume model and the evaluation framework that turn a single listing into a sustained commercial trajectory.
Two toolkits. One outcome. A product that lands and scales.
Innovation tools sit inside our Innovation and Optimisation capability and are the commercial route to market: retailer pitch support, briefing pack creation, 3PM manufacturing solutions and end-to-end concept-to-launch programmes. Insight tools sit inside our Strategic Insight capability and are the validation and measurement side: volumetric forecasting that sizes the opportunity, and REVU that evaluates early in-market performance to inform the scale decision. The two run together because a clean pitch with no volume model is hard to defend, and a clean volume model with no pitch is hard to action.
Innovation tools
The commercial route to market. Used when the brief needs to win the pitch, sort the supply chain, or run the full concept-to-launch programme end to end.
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Retailer Pitch Support
Specialist pitch support for food and drink brands presenting to retailers, foodservice operators and trade buyers.
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Briefing Pack Creation
Specialist materials craft for food and drink brands pitching to retailers, foodservice operators, trade buyers and internal commercial audiences.
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3PM Manufacturing Solutions
Specialist manufacturing partner work for food and drink brands. Manufacturing partner sourcing, specification development, commercial negotiation, capacity planning and ongoing 3PM relationship management.
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Product Concept-to-Launch Programmes
Specialist integrated programme management for food and drink brands running major innovation launches from concept stage through to commercial launch and scale.
Insight tools
The validation and measurement side. Used when the brief needs to size the launch opportunity in volume terms, or to evaluate early in-market performance to inform the scale decision.
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Volumetrics
Specialist volume forecasting for food and drink brands launching new products, ranges or menus.
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REVU
Specialist post-launch optimisation for food and drink brands. Integrated post-launch evidence (sales data, consumer feedback, operational performance, market dynamics) with senior food and drink interpretation throughout.
How we run launch and scale work
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We scope around the commercial milestone
Twenty minutes on a scoping call. You tell us the milestone the work has to hit: the buyer meeting on the calendar, the gate decision on the horizon, the launch date already in the trade plan. We tell you which combination of pitch, manufacturing, volume and evaluation tools will get you to that milestone defendably, and which sequence delivers the most useful evidence in the time available.
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Build the pitch around the buyer, not the product
A pitch that explains the product is a pitch that loses the listing. The pitches that win are built around the buyer's commercial reality: their category priorities, their range gaps, their margin model, their consumer demographic. Our senior team has sat in the chair the pitch is being made to, which means the deck is built around the questions that actually decide a listing rather than around the slides that look right.
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Sort the supply chain before the pitch lands
Buyers ask. We know what the question sounds like, when it comes, and what answer it has to land on. The 3PM manufacturing work runs in parallel with pitch development so the supply chain answer is in place before the buyer asks for it. This protects the client from the most common late-stage launch failure: a pitch that wins in principle and then stalls because the manufacturing route is not yet credible.
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Model the volume. Measure the launch. Inform the scale.
A volume forecast at launch and a REVU framework after launch keep the commercial case sharp throughout the early weeks in market. Together they answer the two questions that matter most for scale: what should the launch deliver, and what is it actually delivering. The output is not a launch report; it is the evidence base for the next listing, the next pitch and the next pipeline cycle.
If your brief sounds like one of these, you are in the right place
- We have a buyer meeting in the diary and we need a pitch that will win the listing.
- Our product is approved internally but the route to manufacture at launch volume is not in place.
- We need a defendable volume forecast for the commercial case behind a launch decision.
- We have launched, the early signals are mixed, and we need to know whether to scale, hold or refine.
- We want one team to run the whole journey from validated concept to in-market launch, not five.
- We need sales materials that the buyer will actually read and forward, not delete.
If your brief is closer to “we have a concept but we have not validated the product yet,” you are probably looking at Challenge 04 (Build, Test and Refine What Wins) first. If it is closer to “the product is launched and we need ongoing visibility on how it is performing,” Challenge 06 (Stay Ahead with Continuous Insight) is the better fit.
We have sat on the other side of the buyer's desk.
Most launch and commercialisation work is run by agencies that have never been the buyer. The pitch deck looks right. The brand story is tight. The product is good. And the listing still does not land, because the deck answers the wrong questions and the case ignores the commercial reality of the room it is being presented in.
Three things make the launch and scale work different here. First, specialism. Food and drink is the only sector we serve, which means the categories, the channels, the operators and the trading rhythm are already in the team. Second, operating bias. Our senior people have worked client-side as buyers, NPD leads, category managers and operations leads. The pitch is built by someone who has received pitches, the manufacturing route is shortlisted by someone who has run a supply chain, and the volume forecast is defended by someone who has had to defend one to a board. Third, the connected toolkit. The pitch, the supply chain, the volume model and the post-launch evaluation are run by the same team, so the launch is one continuous piece of work rather than four handovers between four different agencies.
We are not a creative agency that adds a pitch deck to a brand campaign. We are not a supply chain consultancy that recommends a manufacturer without a commercial case. We are the team that runs the full launch as one connected programme, with senior food and drink specialists who have already been on the other side of the conversation.
Product launched. What comes next?
Launch and scale closes with a product that has landed in market and the early evaluation that tells you what it is doing. Most clients move into one of three places from here, depending on what the launch is delivering and what the broader programme calls for next.
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Stay Ahead with Continuous Insight
The launch has happened. The REVU framework has read the early weeks. The natural next step is moving from launch evaluation into always-on tracking. Closeness communities, tracking programmes, syndicated studies, benchmarking and meal tracking. The work that turns a one-off launch into the foundation of a continuous learning loop, so the next launch starts from a stronger position than this one did.
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Build, Test and Refine What Wins
Sometimes a launch brief lands before the product has been properly validated. When that is the case, the strongest move is to step back into build and test work, validate the product in the conditions it will actually live in, and come into the launch phase with a proposition that has earned its commercial case.
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Unlock Growth Opportunities
A successful launch is rarely the end of a programme. It is usually the beginning of the next one. Once the launch is live and performing, most clients move back into opportunity work to identify where the next platform, the next territory or the next pipeline cycle should go.
Built for every channel in food and drink
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FMCG and branded manufacturers -
Grocery, retail and own label -
Food service -
QSR and high street -
Hospitality
Launches that earned their listing
Three projects across different channels and different launch shapes.
FAQs
What does retailer pitch support actually include?
It depends on where the gap is. At one end of the scale, it is end-to-end pitch development: the deck, the commercial case, the volume forecast, the supply chain narrative and the leave-behind. At the other end, it is targeted support against an internal pitch that is almost ready but needs sharpening. Most engagements sit somewhere in between, scoped around the specific buyer relationship and the commercial moment in front of you.
Do you manufacture the products yourselves?
No. We are not a manufacturer. The 3PM manufacturing solution is a supply chain advisory service that scopes, shortlists and vets manufacturing partners on your behalf. We help you find the right manufacturing route; we do not deliver the manufacturing ourselves. White-label delivery is available where the recommendation needs to land without our brand attached.
How accurate are volumetric forecasts?
Volumetric forecasting is a model, not a prophecy. The accuracy depends on the quality of the inputs (trial and repeat behaviour, channel context, promotional support, distribution assumptions) and on how realistic the assumptions are. Our work is built on real consumer simulation rather than top-down assumption, which makes it defensible in a buyer meeting or a board pack. We will tell you on the scoping call what range of accuracy we can credibly stand behind for your specific brief.
When should I use REVU?
REVU is built for the early weeks of a launch when retailer sell-through data is thin, ambiguous or lagging, and a sharper read is needed to inform the scale decision. The framework captures what is actually happening in the consumer-facing moment of the launch (shopping, choosing, paying, talking) so the marketing mix, distribution plan and product proposition can be adjusted in close to real time rather than after the launch window has closed.
What is the difference between pitch support and briefing pack creation?
Pitch support is the full development of a specific pitch for a specific buyer meeting, including the commercial case and the volume model. Briefing pack creation is the asset library that sits behind one or more pitches: sell sheets, leave-behind decks, category-specific materials and the sales collateral that gets sent ahead of and following the meeting. Many launches use both. Pitch support is event-driven. Briefing pack creation is asset-driven.
Can you run a full concept-to-launch programme end to end?
Yes. Product Concept-to-Launch Programmes are the wrapper service for clients who want the journey from validated concept to in-market launch run as one continuous piece of work under a single senior lead. Includes gate management, retailer pitch development, supply chain support and launch coordination. Scoped against the commercial milestone the launch has to hit.
Do you work with new brands or only established ones?
Both. Challenger brands and scale-ups are one of our active channel categories, and the launch toolkit is well-suited to the realities of bringing a new brand into a category for the first time. Established brands typically use the toolkit for range refreshes, new platforms and category extensions. The work is scoped around the maturity of the proposition and the buyer relationship rather than the size of the brand.
How long does a launch and scale programme take?
A standalone retailer pitch programme typically runs four to eight weeks. A full 3PM manufacturing solution runs eight to sixteen weeks depending on the complexity of the supply chain and the geographic reach. A concept-to-launch wrapper programme typically runs six to nine months from validated concept to in-market launch. REVU runs for the first eight to twelve weeks after launch as a continuous read. We will give you a realistic timeline at proposal stage tied to the commercial milestone you are working back from.
Got a launch you need to land?
Tell us the milestone the work has to hit. The buyer meeting, the gate decision, the launch date already in the plan. We will tell you which combination of pitch, supply chain, volume and evaluation tools will get you there defendably, what the timeline looks like, what it will cost, and who will run it. Twenty minutes on a scoping call with a senior commercialisation specialist.