Standing Out Among 60,000 SKUs: How to Build a Brand That Wins in Today’s Market
In today’s cluttered CPG landscape, most brands don’t suffer from a lack of competition—they suffer from a lack of clarity. With over 60,000 SKUs on an average retail shelf, the challenge isn’t just getting noticed—it’s getting remembered, requested, and re-bought.
At Agency Squid, we’ve helped build and scale some of the most recognizable names in beverage alcohol and beyond—including White Claw, Silver Oak, FitVine Wine, Cayman Jack Margarita, Harken Wine, Atomic Dog, and Costa Farms. Whether it’s crafting a household name or reigniting a challenger brand, our focus is simple: creativity that converts, strategy that scales, and campaigns that consumers can’t ignore.
We Build Brands That Break Through the Noise
Great marketing today isn’t just about grabbing attention—it’s about earning it. That means building brands that resonate with real consumer needs, market context, and cultural relevance.
Here’s how we do it:
Strategic Brand Development
Every brand wants to grow, but not every brand has a clear POV. At Squid, we start with upstream strategy: audience-first, insight-led, and culturally tuned. From naming and visual identity to competitive whitespace analysis and GTM planning, we turn foundational strategy into actionable brand roadmaps.
We helped:
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Silver Oak transition from a legacy wine to an iconic American luxury lifestyle brand with a clear mission, values, and campaign playbook.
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Atomic Dog rebuild its cider portfolio from the ground up, responding to changing consumer behavior with data-driven positioning and brand innovation.
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FitVine Wine reframe its identity to stand out in the saturated “better-for-you” space with bold, unapologetic creative rooted in consumer truth.
Creative That Converts
We don’t believe in just “pretty.” We believe in work that performs. Whether it’s packaging that wins shelf battles, video that stops the scroll, or OOH that sparks conversation, our creative works hard—because your brand deserves more than vanity metrics.
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Harken Wine tapped into seasonal buying moments with the irreverent and viral “Good Character Knows the Way” campaign.
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Mighty Pop launched as the first functional soda with pre, pro, and post-biotics—breaking into a growing category with color-forward packaging and an “It Takes Guts to Be Mighty” platform that merged science with swagger.
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White Claw became the cultural juggernaut it is today through bold creative strategy, precise segmentation, and earned media virality. (Yes, we helped invent the hard seltzer category before it was cool.)
White Claw Hard Seltzer
We helped launch the White Claw brand in 2016—before hard seltzer was even a category. Our early insight into consumer wellness trends, digital behaviors, and packaging psychology helped turn a functional drink into a cultural juggernaut. White Claw became not just a product, but a verb.
FitVine Wine
We took FitVine from a CrossFit-friendly niche to a nationally recognized clean wine brand with mass-market appeal. The brand’s trajectory—culminating in its acquisition by one of the country’s largest wine companies—was powered by targeted positioning, creative segmentation, and omnichannel rollout.
SixSip Hard Refreshers
When it came to launching a next-gen RTD built for younger Millennials and Gen Z, we partnered with SixSip to create a bold, surreal, flavor-first world that could live natively on TikTok, Instagram, and everywhere in between. From 2D/3D animated worlds to personality-driven flavor archetypes, we designed a campaign system that earned attention, not borrowed it. The result? Rapid growth, viral brand engagement, and a foundation built for scale—digitally and at retail.
Silver Oak
Silver Oak didn’t need help being known—it needed help being understood by a new generation of luxury consumers. We worked with their executive team to develop a long-term brand platform that connects heritage, hospitality, and high design into one cohesive, modernized vision. Through luxury playbooks, digital activations, email strategy, and packaging partnerships (like their Paravel luggage collab), we helped Silver Oak not only maintain legacy, but build cultural momentum.
Summit Brewing
One of the Midwest’s most iconic breweries needed a reintroduction to a younger, modern audience. With Summit Brewing, we tapped into social truths and regional pride to develop “Beer for Here,” a campaign that married tradition with dry humor, resulting in massive upticks in brand relevance, local pride, and on-premise pull-through. Whether launching new partnerships like the St. Paul Saints collab or revamping identity systems for flagship SKUs, our work kept Summit as cold and relevant as the Minnesota air.
Why It Works
There’s no one-size-fits-all playbook. But there is a pattern: the brands that win are the ones that stand for something, adapt fast, and invest in creative that delivers business results.
Agency Squid works across CPG categories with clients who believe their brand can do more than blend in. We work with people who want to:
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Launch something new with purpose and clarity
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Reinvent tired categories with creative courage
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Build brands that matter to real people
We combine research, strategy, creative, and production under one roof. That means faster work, smarter outcomes, and fewer compromises.
Let’s Build Your Next Breakthrough
Whether you’re a legacy brand looking to stay relevant or a new player aiming to break through, we’d love to help you stand out among the 60,000.
Start a conversation with Squid. Let’s make something that wins.
