INC Magazine: The Hidden Reason So Many CPG Brands Struggle Going Direct-to-Consumer

On its face, the gap between how CPG and DTC brands operate might seem relatively manageable. After all, both are in the business of selling products using a combination of competitive pricing alongside memorable brand and product experiences. But ask any CPG that has tried to go DTC and you’ll probably hear a lot of horror stories.

The problem is that when CPGs take their offering direct-to-consumer, they aren’t just selling a snack; they are suddenly entering a whole new logistics and customer service business. Traditionally, CPG brands think in pallets and truckloads, moving mass volumes of product to a few key gatekeepers like Kroger, Target, and Walmart. But going DTC requires a more individualized approach to everything from pricing to marketing to shipping. For some, making the shift can be a nightmare. But it’s hugely worthwhile because of the data benefits.

In a traditional retail model, the retailer owns each customer relationship. The brand has no idea who is buying their cookies or why. DTC allows brands to capture first-party data, improve margins, and test new flavors with loyal insiders before a national retail launch. Unfortunately, most CPGs aren’t set up for this, with legacy systems built for stability and bulk, not the agility and granularity required to ship a single jar of almond butter to a specific apartment in Chicago.

Because of this, mistakes pile up. Websites end up looking like a PDF of a grocery store flyer—static, boring, and without the sensory triggers crucial to selling food. Other times, brands over-automate their DTC operations, leading to chatbot-fueled customer service issues and dissatisfied customers. Then there are those CPGs that offload everything to Amazon, putting a giant “Buy on Amazon” button on every page. Sure, this successfully moves product but it also sends customers to a platform where your competitor is one click away.

When these challenges aren’t navigated well, brands see a “Friction of Disappointment”—overpaying to acquire a customer who will never return. When a shopper’s first order arrives three days late or smashed, that’s a broken trust that can’t be mended. That’s why it’s crucial to carefully navigate this “Offline-Online Gap,” focusing on solving a few key problems:

The Impulse Problem

In a grocery store, a cookie can be an impulse buy in a checkout aisle. But online, you have added barriers to overcome like “shipping tax” and wait time. This “friction” kills the opportunity for impulsive purchases, forcing DTC platforms to make up for it with bundles or subscriptions that provide so much value that they give consumers the same buzz. Olipop does this brilliantly. They rarely sell single cans; instead pushing 12-packs and variety packs to make each stock-up win feel like an impulse buy to the consumer.

The Freshness Problem

Perishables are a huge consideration in the CPG space, with many products requiring various levels of refrigeration on their path to the store. This is still true with DTC, a space where brands don’t have the same presumption of freshness. So, a digital platform must work overtime to communicate cold-chain reliability and to build trust. That means everything from visual cold-chain cues (like cool color palettes on ecommerce sites) and literal icons of ice packs, to chilled shipping maps. Transit-time estimators at checkout are also effective, telling users exactly how many days their product will be in a temperature-controlled environment. Then there’s Perfect Bar, which opts for transparency with a dedicated “Our Shipping” page and badges to explain their insulated packaging and arrival guarantee.

The Curation Problem

The in-person shopping experience tends to favor a level of curation even when buying a product in bulk. This is less true online where multipacks are common and affordable, but make the shopping experience feel more like an impersonal exercise in buying a commodity rather than designing a pantry. To fix this, “Build Your Own Box” site features are useful in allowing the customer to curate like they would offline. Magic Spoon‘s “Bundle Builder” is the industry gold standard in this strategy. It allows users to pick 4 or 6 flavors, creating a personalized experience that turns a boring cereal purchase into a recurring, personalized subscription.

All of this takes understanding a critical shift in consumer psychology that’s inherent to bridging the gap between CPG and DTC. But as more brands are forced to make the leap, it’s those that rise to this challenge that will earn a new level of loyalty, demonstrating why going DTC is worth the work.