Now More than Ever: CPGMatters Embarks on its Next Era

IN AN ICONIC television advertisement from 1979, entrepreneur Victor Kiam peered out from America’s TV sets to declare his love for the Remington Micro Screen brand electric shaver.

“I liked it so much, I bought the company,” Kiam declared, in a series of television ads he wrote and starred in himself. For a while he was one of the most recognizable people in America, an owner/influencer if you will.

For those of you who are nostalgic or curious, here’s a link to that 1979 commercial. 

For the late Mr. Kiam, the Remington advertising gambit worked out rather well. He prospered financially enough to buy the New England Patriots football team in 1988 for $85 million.

His tag line has been on my mind quite a bit lately, since I made the decision a few months ago to acquire CPGMatters and carry on as its Storyteller-in-Chief.

While it happened quickly, it was not a sudden decision. 

I have enjoyed a long and gratifying history with this periodical. Over the past 22 years I’ve contributed dozens of articles as a reporter and commentator. I was quoted in dozens more.

Some deeper background: Founding editor John Karolefski and I share a professional friendship that began when we were colleagues at Supermarket News and Brand Marketing magazines in the 1990s. It was there that the core editorial concept for CPGMatters took root in John’s mind, I believe. He and I took separate career paths for a while but never lost contact.

When John and his wife and business partner Linda informed me late last year of their intent to put the e-zine on the market, our conversations led us to the only natural outcome. I liked it so much that I bought the company.

Or more precisely, I launched a new, tech-forward publishing company, CPG Planet Inc., to acquire its brands, its loyal subscriber base and its editorial mission. 

Our brand commitment and strategy

It is now our new company’s responsibility to keep delivering on the editorial promise established over more than two decades. We will not veer from that mission.

CPGMatters covers how brands go to market with and through their retail distribution partners.

Our readership is comprised of brand marketing decision-makers, retailers and solution providers across the many disciplines practiced in the retail/consumer goods industry. If you’re reading these words, you already know how vast and intricate our business has become.

Technology has certainly moved front and center in coverage the CPG industry. We won’t shy away from reporting and explaining those developments, but we believe there are vast subject matter areas that today are underserved by the trade media.

Expect to discover articles about products, people, packaging, pricing, promotion and placement on the shelves. We’ll interview senior executives and probe their insights. We’ll dig into formulation and design. Into retail media, trade relations and in-store implementation. And yes, we’ll report on the influence of AI on every one of those disciplines. 

All of this will be presented in our re-imagined web platform, designed to be more user-friendly and comfortable to read. Our roadmap calls for new functionality to be added monthly.

The team that made it happen

Yes, I bought the company, but none of this could happen without the exertions of a group of talented and experienced professionals. 

You may recognize the bylines of super-experienced freelance business journalists, Carol Radice and Kim Zimmermann. Two of the best to ever cover the grocery arena, this month they covered the impact of the K-shaped consumer economy on brands and the protein-added product movement, respectively. You may look forward to more of their sharp reporting in April.

Our crisp new logo and text design specs were developed by Jodi Miller, publication designer extraordinaire, who has worked with me repeatedly as a freelancer over the years. She will continue to help us to refine the look and feel of our editorial products.

A special shout out to co-founder and chief technical officer of CPG Planet Inc., the mighty Scott Wolpow, who has led the massive and intricate development process that created the website you are viewing right now, with vision, calm and unerring attention to detail.

Finally, I wish to thank John and Linda Karolefski for their collaborative spirit and sleeves-rolled-up help in smoothing the transition of this fine publishing property. May your retirement years be long and joyful.

Stewardship of CPGMatters is a privilege and a responsibility. Our readers have a right to expect accurate reporting on meaningful subject matter that helps you learn, understand, and make better informed business decisions. Our sponsors deserve an editorial context that frames your messages and brings interested decision-makers to the conversation, issue after issue.

I bought the company! My enthusiasm for what lies ahead is off the charts.