249. The Trade Spend Traps: The Biggest Mistakes Brands Make After Getting Into Retail

2025-12-15

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You made it onto the shelf. Great. But now the real spending begins.Trade spend is one of the biggest drivers of success in retail — and one of the fastest ways for emerging brands to lose money, stall velocity, or get discontinued. In this deep-dive conversation, I and Yuval Selik unpack the most common and most expensive trade spend mistakes founders make, and how to avoid them.We cover:Why most founders underestimate the true cost of staying on the shelfThe promo structures that q...

You made it onto the shelf. Great. But now the real spending begins.

Trade spend is one of the biggest drivers of success in retail — and one of the fastest ways for emerging brands to lose money, stall velocity, or get discontinued. In this deep-dive conversation, I and Yuval Selik unpack the most common and most expensive trade spend mistakes founders make, and how to avoid them.

We cover:

Why most founders underestimate the true cost of staying on the shelf
The promo structures that quietly destroy margin
How to avoid “set it and forget it” promotions that never perform
What deductions actually mean — and how to stop paying for things you don’t owe
How to know when a promotion is working vs. when you’re just lighting money on fire
The cashflow impact that no one warns new brands about

If you’re selling in retail — or about to — Yuval will help you build a smarter, more profitable trade spend system from day one.

Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.

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