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What do retailers actually want from challenger brands — and what gets you ignored instantly?

In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Chris Otto, who spent nearly 20 years at Co-op in buying roles and leading buying teams across frozen, impulse and grocery.

We get into:

• what “challenger” really means from a retailer perspective
• why challenger brands matter to retailers (innovation, energy, relevance, younger shoppers)
• what gets a buyer’s attention vs the red flags that get you filed away
• how busy buyers really are (new supplier volume + existing supplier workload)
• what successful challengers do operationally and commercially once listed
• how to think beyond the first 6–12 weeks and build incrementally over time

If you’re pitching retail — or trying to stay listed — this is essential listening.

Link:
www.makinmighty.com

If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it.

You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty

And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes.

Thanks for listening. See you next time

makinmighty@gmail.com

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AI is everywhere in sales right now — and most of what people are doing either turns into spam, or it’s so complicated nobody uses it.

In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Craig — founder of Cheesies and a commercial operator/consultant turned AI practitioner — about how challenger brands can use AI to sell more without losing their human edge.

We cover:

• why sales is one of the safer career paths in an AI world (and what will actually change)
• the biggest misuse Craig sees: generic inputs leading to generic output
• a practical “start here” setup (Claude Pro, global instructions, connectors, and better prompting)
• how to keep AI outreach human, on-brand, and believable
• what Craig learned building Cheesies: focus on a single audience and spot early traction signals
• what he’d do differently if starting a brand today with AI agents from day one
• Craig’s new venture, The Expedition, helping FMCG leaders integrate AI properly

Link:
www.makinmighty.com

If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it.

You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty

And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes.

Thanks for listening. See you next time

makinmighty@gmail.com

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Getting listed is exciting. Staying listed is the hard bit.

In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Ja and Jag, founders of Superfoodio, about what really drives rate of sale once you’re on shelf.

They share practical, founder-level tactics on:

• why availability is the first battle (and how brands get caught out)
• early retail mistakes you only learn the hard way (including a barcode issue that nearly got them pulled)
• what they do first in a new retailer to drive volume
• activations that actually shift units (not just look good online)
• building store colleagues into brand champions when you can’t be everywhere
• how packaging becomes your salesperson when you’re not in store
• why improving 1% at a time through data and feedback loops keeps momentum going

If you’re a challenger brand trying to win once you’re in retail, this is gold.

Link:
www.makinmighty.com

If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it.

You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty

And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes.

Thanks for listening. See you next time

makinmighty@gmail.com