Hardware Podcasts

#253 - Private Label Arrangements: What CPG Brands Should Know Before Signing the Deal | Hillary Hughes, Foster Garvey

The Startup CPG Podcast · 16 Jun 2026 · 23m · Episode 322

What this episode covers

Hillary Hughes, who leads the Consumer Brands Industry Group at Foster Garvey, explains the legal and operational complexities of private label arrangements for CPG brands. She details how to structure contracts to manage risks like margin compression, cannibalization, and supply chain failures, emphasizing the need for obligations to flow up to co-manufacturers. Key strategies include using channel, geography, and pack size differentiation to protect branded products, negotiating pricing flexibility for commodity spikes, and securing robust termination rights to preserve business agility.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Foster Garvey, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Aldi, Vital Farms
Products
365

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