Nuts.com Advent Calendar at World Market

The Challenge: After an in-house CPG snack line was discontinued, the company's Alternative channel sales team needed to quickly pivot to maintain momentum with major retail accounts and cover a budget gap.

The Insight: In discussions with World Market, a core Alternative account, the team discovered buyer demand for seasonal gourmet gifting products in the snacking category.

The Action: Leveraging our existing strength in direct-to-consumer gifting, I collaborated with the team to home in on our premium Advent Calendar format as the ideal candidate for a first-ever brick-and-mortar gifting test. After a successful pitch, I led the commercialization process, overseeing work across a broad cross-functional team to transform an in-house gift into a retail compliant product ready for merchandising at World Market stores nationwide.

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The Result: The Advent Calendar test contributed $220K in top line revenue to a tight budget year. Launched at World Market on time, the item catapulted to the fourth best selling item in the advent category out of 58 products after only five weeks in store, putting Nuts.com in the ring with household names like Bonne Maman, Tony's Chocolonely, Walker's Shortbread, and Twinings Tea. The buyer showed a strong interest in an expanded partnership for the next holiday season.

Responsibilities: Innovation Strategy & Commercialization Leadership