From working as a national Buyer for over a decade to supporting small product-based businesses nationwide, I know that securing retail accounts—especially with medium to large retailers—can be a significant milestone for many small Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands.
In 2025, the retail landscape is evolving rapidly, making it crucial to understand the factors influencing growth in this channel. Changing consumer preferences, rising retailer expectations, and shifting economic and political conditions require small businesses to be more strategic, adaptable, and resilient than ever.
Let’s explore key retail trends and how smaller CPG brands can successfully navigate the wholesale channel.
Retail Buyers Are Looking for More Than Just a Good Product
A great product is essential, but it’s not enough. Retailers are being more selective than ever, prioritizing brands that bring a full package—strong sales history, sustainability initiatives, and a loyal customer base.
If you want to win shelf space, consider these must-haves:
Sustainability Sells: Retailers are increasingly cognizant of consumer’s demand for eco-friendly products. If your packaging is recyclable, your sourcing is ethical, or your operations are carbon-conscious, highlight it in your retail pitch.
Health and Wellness is Big Business: The demand for health-conscious products extends beyond food and beverage to categories such as beauty, personal care, home cleaning, and even pet care. Consumers are prioritizing products that promote well-being, from high-protein snacks and gut-health supplements to non-toxic skincare and eco-friendly household items. If your product aligns with this growing wellness movement, leverage that positioning to get in front of buyers and secure retail placement.
Prove Your Customer Demand: This has been the case for a long time, but now more than ever, retailers want to see that your product already has traction. A strong direct-to-consumer (DTC) or general market presence can help prove demand and give you an edge in wholesale negotiations.
Take, for example, GreenBites, a startup specializing in sustainable, high-protein snack bars. GreenBites started with a direct-to-consumer model, selling online and through local farmer’s markets, while also emphasizing its compostable packaging and ethically sourced ingredients.
When approaching retailers, they provided data on their DTC sales growth, customer loyalty, and engagement on social media. Retailers saw the brand's momentum and values aligned with their sustainability goals, ultimately leading to a successful launch in regional grocery chains.
This kind of strategic positioning can make all the difference when pitching your product to retail buyers.
What’s Holding Smaller Brands Back?
Despite opportunities, in 2025, many smaller CPG businesses are facing roadblocks when trying to sell into retail accounts. Here are a few key challenges and solutions to overcome them:
Rising Costs Are Eating Into Margins: Inflation may have slowed down, but small businesses are still battling high production and supply chain costs.
Solution: Explore local sourcing options, negotiate better rates with suppliers, and consider subscription-based pricing models to stabilize cash flow.
Supply Chain Struggles: Retailers want to avoid stock shortages, so they prefer brands with strong, reliable supply chains.
Solution: Build relationships with multiple suppliers to diversify risks, and invest in inventory management software.
Retailer Expectations Are Higher Than Ever: Now, more than ever, many big retailers expect brands to invest in marketing efforts to drive in-store traffic.
Solution: Develop an omnichannel marketing strategy that includes influencer collaborations, in-store promotions, and social media advertising to support retail sales. Additionally, use shopper data and analytics, to demonstrate how your brand can drive foot traffic and sales into their store.
Economic & Political Factors That Could Shake Things Up in 2025
Beyond retail trends, smaller CPG brands should keep an eye on larger economic and political shifts that could impact their ability to sell into stores and then proactively prepare for these changes:
Food Assistance Restrictions Could Impact Sales: Proposed legislation could limit what consumers can buy with SNAP benefits, affecting CPG brands that rely on these customers.
To mitigate risks, smaller brands should consider diversifying products to appeal to a broader audience beyond SNAP shoppers.
Tariffs & Trade Policies Could Raise Costs: If new tariffs are implemented, brands relying on imported ingredients may need to rethink their sourcing strategy to stay competitive.
Exploring local suppliers or alternative ingredient sources can help brands reduce dependency on international markets and maintain pricing stability.
Consumer Spending & Rising Debt Levels: As consumer debt continues to climb and disposable income tightens, shoppers are becoming more price-sensitive. This can lead to a shift towards value brands or private label products, making it more difficult for small CPG businesses to compete on price.
Brands should consider offering budget-friendly product lines, promotional bundling, or loyalty programs to maintain consumer engagement and retention.
Unemployment Rates and Labor Costs: As of early 2025, the U.S. labor market remains tight, with low unemployment rates contributing to increased labor costs. This environment leads to higher wages, which can strain the operational budgets of smaller CPG companies, especially those with limited financial resources. Wholesale can be an expensive channel to enter and grow into. I always mention that a small business needs to know its numbers and have a margin that allows for adequate profits and wiggle room.
To manage these rising costs, businesses may need to invest in automation, streamline operations, or adjust pricing strategies to maintain profitability.
Immigration Policies and Workforce Availability: Recent immigration policy changes have intensified enforcement, leading to labor shortages in industries heavily reliant on immigrant workers, such as manufacturing and distribution—sectors critical to CPG operations. The increased fear of deportation has resulted in higher absenteeism and a shrinking labor pool, making it challenging for small businesses to maintain production levels and meet retail demands. Additionally, the administrative burden and costs associated with ensuring compliance with new immigration regulations can be substantial. (wsj.com)
Consider diversifying labor strategies while automating and streamlining operations.
By staying ahead of these economic and political shifts, smaller CPG brands can develop contingency plans that keep their businesses agile and resilient for the retail market.
How Smaller CPG Brands Can Stand Out and Succeed in 2025's Retail Environment
The challenges are real, but so are the opportunities. Here’s a recap of how smaller businesses can position themselves for success in the retail market:
✅ Strengthen Your DTC Sales Before Approaching Retailers – Proving consumer demand through your website, online sales, and local markets can make a huge difference when pitching to retailers.
✅ Invest in Sustainability & Transparency – Even small changes (like eco-friendly packaging or ethical ingredient sourcing) can make your brand more attractive to retailers.
✅ Build a Strong Supply Chain – Retailers need consistent inventory. If you can’t meet demand, they’ll move on to another supplier.
✅ Create an Omnichannel Strategy – Today’s retailers expect brands to sell in multiple channels, so having a strong e-commerce, social media, and in-store presence can give you a competitive advantage.
✅ Know Your Numbers & Be Retail Ready – Understand your pricing, margins, and logistics. Be prepared to talk numbers confidently when negotiating with retailers.
✅ Stay Abreast of Shifting Economic + Political Factors – Keep your finger on the pulse of policies that impact critical elements of your brand in the retail industry such as labor, tariffs, taxes, and consumer spending.
By following considering these insights, smaller CPG brands can improve their chances of not just landing retail accounts, but sustaining and growing within them.
Getting into retail accounts in 2025 isn’t just about having a great product—it’s about proving that your brand is market-ready, financially viable, and aligned with both retailer and consumer trends. While there are plenty of challenges, small CPG brands that focus on sustainability, healthy trends, supply chain reliability, and market traction will be best positioned to win in wholesale. Stay informed, stay agile, and keep pushing forward!
37 Oaks is an education company that prepares small businesses for growth through e-commerce, wholesale, storefront, and pop-up markets. We offer over 50+ courses, coaching, content, curriculums, cohorts, community, and services. If you need to build your commerce, retail, and distribution knowledge for your business, visit our site to see all the ways we can support you.
Check out these 37 Oaks University resources that can help you navigate this wholesale process.
Free 37 Oaks University Bob + Weave Episodes: Wholesale topics
90-Day Books + Numbers Bootcamp: In 90 days, organize, understand, and develop a tracking process for your business financials.
Warehousing + Storage Service: Flexible + affordable storage space for small businesses.
37 Oaks Growth Lab: Membership program designed to shift product-based businesses into online and retail growth through Courses, Coaching, Content, Community + Services.
Join the 37 Oaks Community for FREE to access many of these resources.
37 Oaks, Founder/CEO
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