Julia Kinner & Associates SA

𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀.

JK & Associates is a Swiss boutique consulting firm specializing in growth strategies for 𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀. We develop and implement comprehensive Business Growth Models. 

We serve both incumbents and disruptive innovators across seven industries: 
𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 (𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲), 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗰𝗮𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹, 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵, 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

JK & A helps our clients to identify, acquire and retain their most profitable customer segments. To do so, we follow the "𝗭𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵" 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 which precisely defines growth opportunities across different consumer segments and key strategic levers to address them.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀

- We are the only consulting firm with exclusive focus on B2C marketplaces, services and subscriptions.
- We follow a holistic approach that covers strategy and execution.
- We are consumer-back and design strategies that meet consumer demand.

To learn more about us and book a free introduction call, please visit juliakinnerassociates.com.

Managing Director and Growth Consultant 

I am available for consultations via GLG.

Industry Expert

Salt Mobile SA

Salt is the third largest and fastest growing telecommunications provider in Switzerland making 1b yearly revenue.

• Leading the Marketing Department with 25 employees (Budget: 25m): E-Commerce (Website and E-Shop), Product Management (Landline, Postpaid, Prepaid), Customer Value Management, Branding, and Campaign Management

• Responsible for the brand presence across all Above-The-Line (ATL) and Below-The-Line (BTL) communication channels, ensuring brand conformity in accordance with guidelines and brand values

• Developing, creating, executing, and coordinating all Point-of-Sale (POS) and trade communication activities. Defining the annual program based on the Marketing Roadmap

• Overall management of media planning and media purchasing

• Strategic development of digital marketing and creative direction in new media (website, e-shop, intranet, social media presence)

• Establishing a benchmark brand presence integrated with sales and service messages

• Rebranding

Chief Marketing Officer Member of the Management Board 

Sunrise GmbH

Sunrise is the second largest telecommunications provider in Switzerland making 3b yearly revenue.


Senior Marketing Manager Customer Value Management

Leading +20 cross-functional projects to reduce customer defection and increase CLTV creating incremental value of +2m per year.

Senior Marketing Manager, Customer Value & Churn Management

Marketing Manager Customer Value Management

Implementation of projects to improve the CLTV in telecommunication as business lead.
Requirements design.
GTM of new processes and services.

Marketing Manager, Customer Value & Churn Management

Analysing consumer sentiments and NPS and driving the roadmap for improvement. 
Was great - but I was promoted after 4 months :)

Customer Insights Specialist, Customer Value & Churn Management

ZHAW Life Sciences und Facility Management

Project management in sensory consumer research, R&D projects and lecturing.

Scientific Associate, Sensory & Consumer Testing

Scientific Assistant, Sensory & Consumer Testing

LVA GmbH

Monitoring and auditing food and pharmaceutical companies.

Quality Inspector, Food and Pharmaceuticals

Symrise AG

Developing a flavouring system for low-fat margarine that later was commercialized.

Diploma Student, Product Development Flavors

esarom gmbh

Junior Quality Manager

Growth Strategy & Execution for Digital Products & Services

JK & Associates is a specialized marketing and strategy consulting firm for growth-oriented consumer brands.
We help companies sustainably grow both their revenue and profitability.

Over the past few years, we have helped dozens of clients achieve profitable growth.
Our approach is built around three clear steps:

(1) Diagnosing growth barriers

(2) Validating hypotheses through data and market analysis

(3) Providing strategic recommendations based on customer value and market opportunities

Our consulting philosophy is consumer-centric, market-driven, and pragmatic.
Whether you are an SME, looking for a fractional CMO, need social media consulting, or want to optimize your performance marketing strategy – we deliver clarity and impact.

You can find more information on our website:
👉 www.juliakinnerassociates.com

👉 Follow me for regular insights on marketing coaching, digital strategy consulting, and international marketing advisory.

If this sounds interesting to you, feel free to reach out here or send an email to:
📩 julia@juliakinnerassociates.com

I look forward to hearing from you!
Julia
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If you are interested in topics like brand growth, marketing strategy, customer value, and digital transformation:
On my profile, you’ll find a wide range of insights on:

Marketing consulting for SMEs and professional services firms

Instagram ads consulting & performance marketing

Social media strategy and management

SEO consulting & branding

Content marketing consulting

Marketing communications for international brands

Digital marketing and social media consulting for businesses

Interim marketing management & fractional Chief Marketing Officer solutions

🫨 Segmentations are like Tinder dates: 
Nice picture, fancy text, zero value

Over the past few years, I’ve reviewed countless segmentations.
Sad truth: nearly all of them are worthless.
Nice pics, fancy texts but zero value.

Why?
Because they're often done wrong.


The problems

1. No strategic “so what”
Most segmentations randomly cluster consumers without link to the deeper strategic questions of the business. They fail to inform value proposition, portfolio choices, pricing, or channel priorities and don’t answer: 
- Who do we win with today? 
- Who do we want to win with tomorrow?
- What does it take?

2. Not actionable
Agencies hand over pretty slides, but teams ask: What the heck do we do with this? 
Most segmentations can’t guide concrete decisions because they’re built on the wrong dimensions. They aren’t tied closely enough to business levers (product, channels, pricing, communication) and therefore lack actionability regarding your value propsosition and 4P choices.

3. Not value-focused
Many segmentations are colorful “personas” with needs and lifestyles but NO mention of size of the prize. However, without sizing the opportunity, you can’t prioritize segments based on value at stake. No sizing = no way to make trade-offs or plan a growth roadmap that goes from the top to the bottom in terms of value at stake and right to win. 

4. No P2P metrics included
You have your segments, but it's unlcear what's the awareness, cosideration and purchase within those segments? Big mistake because it leaves key questions open. 

The solutions
1. Strategic “so what.”
A good segmentation informs your strategy. 
It should answer: 
- What’s the value of our targets? 
- Who should we prioritize? 
- What’s our right to win? 
- How does this shape our 4P choices?

2. Actionable
Your segmentation is a decision-making tool, not a poster. It must enable “where to play / how to win” choices i.e. tailoring your portfolio, adjusting pricing strategy, aligning channels, and refining price-point architecture.

3. Value-focused
Every segment should have a clear economic value attached. This allows you to quantify the size of the prize and prioritize resources accordingly.

4. Clear on status-quo of P2P
That's for the G.O.A.T.S: 
your segmentation allows you to understand what's the awarenss, consideration and conversion in the segments which forms a solid starting point for budget allocation.


Bottom line:
Bad segmentations are like Tinder dates: nice on paper, disappointing in reality. Great segmentations are more like finding “the one” and change the game.

If you’re ready for that upgrade, let’s connect. 
A few client spots remain for 2026.

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JK & Associates AG focuses on growth strategy and execution for consumer brands.

Julia Kinner

🚀 How Small Brands Grow – A Replicable Approach to Start & Scale Brands | Growth Strategy Consultant for Consumer Brands | Follow & Hit the 🔔 for Daily Strategy Advice

💔 CEOs, Founders: CAC is like a dating app.
The less attractive you are, the more you pay.

Do attractive people pay premiums in dating apps?
Most likely not. 
They go like hot cakes anyways.
It's similar with CAC. 
The less attractive you are, the more you pay.

However, when CAC goes up, most businesses do 3 things:

1. Better Ads
New visuals, sharper copy, fresh hooks to boost conversion.

2. Better Landing Pages
Tweaks to headlines, CTAs, trust badges.

3. Channel Mix
Cutting “expensive” channels and reallocating budget.

All three can bring some sort of short-term relief; none of them solves the root cause. (In fact, point 3 can hurt long-term growth, but that’s another story.)

👉 The real problem
High CAC isn't about mediocre visuals or a clunky landing page.
It’s about consideration and consideration is driven by relevance / how attractive you are to your audience.

In plain words:
Your CAC is high because you’re not relevant, and polishing ads or landing pages is just NOT solving the problem.

👉 The impact of increasing consideration
Increasing consideration has a huge impact on CAC.

Here’s the formula:
CAC = Awareness cost / (Consideration rate × Purchase rate)

Example:
Awareness cost per person = $1
Consideration = 10%
Purchase = 20%
CAC = $1 ÷ (0.10 × 0.20) = $50

Now increase consideration to 15% (purchase rate stays 20%):
CAC = $1 ÷ (0.15 × 0.20) = $33.33
That’s a 33% CAC reduction just by improving relevance and getting more people to care.

👉 How to increase consideration
Consideration grows when your offer is relevant and sits at the intersection of:
 (a) What consumers desire
 (b) White space in the market
That’s where your value proposition should live.
If your CAC is high, there's good chance you're not yet there.

If you're searching for a structured way to create a value proposition that customers actually care about, I recommend reading "How Small Brands Grow – A Replicable Approach to Start and Scale Brands". The publication condenses 13 major learnings based on the analysis of 1T sellout in the US of the most successful brands of the past 20 years. 

To get your copy comment "oh yes" below.

🚀 How Small Brands Grow – A Replicable Approach to Start & Scale Brands | Growth Strategy & Execution for B2C / D2C / C2C Start-Ups & Scale-Ups | Follow & Hit the 🔔 for Daily Strategy Advice

👉 CEOs, CMOs: From Segmentation to Strategy
Part 1/3 - Leverage your customer base

I launched my last "Segmentation Challenge" a couple of months ago. 
It's a way to help my network implement value-based segmentation.
Why? Because I believe it's THE best way to g(r)o(w).

How does it work?
If you have an ongoing segmentation problem, you can reach out and I can help you with my best practice to sort things out for 30 minutes. 
First come, first serve.
Five spots available. 

On a personal note: 
I think most acquisition and value problems are linked to segmentation,
but that's a different story. It is an invaluable tool :)

So how do we go about segmentation?

Let's start with part 1: 
Rule Nr. 1: Know Your Base, or Lose the Race!

One of the reasons segmentations fail is that businesses don't understand their current customer base granularly enough. They start out of the blue and ignore that there's A LOT to learn from current consumers:

- Who are the most interesting consumer segments?
- Who you currently win/lose with?
- Potential reasons for that?
- Strategic implications.

In short, it's a solid foundation to understanding and segmenting the entire consumer universe in a structured and meaningful way because it’s all about defining the right hypotheses. 

💡 Analogy: 
Imagine trying to complete a 1,000-piece puzzle without the picture on the box. Tricky right?
Your current customer base IS that picture on the box.
It helps you put the pieces together more effortlessly.
-> Study it carefully.

KEY LEARNING
If you want to segment in a structured way, start by understanding your customer base granularly:
✅ De-averaged value
✅ Drivers, barriers, triggers
✅ Usage & attitudes
✅ Jobs to be done
✅ Points of market entry


The Hardest Parts?
(1) You must talk to customers.
Listen & understand.
Refine hypotheses.

(2) Take some time to analyze internal data.

(3) Challenge internal biases.
Most businesses stick to the illusion that they know their customers.
It might be time to unlearn a couple of things too. 


I will post part 2 and 3 in the next days.
If you don't want to miss it -> hit the bell in my profile.

---

You fancy joining my "Segmentation Challenge"?
Let me know in the comments or send me a DM.

---

I'm Julia Kinner.
My consulting firm JK & Associates AG focusses on growth strategy and execution for challenger brands.

🐣 CEOs, CMOs: Don’t be that blind chicken.
Segment, and fly.

This is Part 2 of my Segmentation Challenge mini-series.
In Part 1, we discussed why understanding your current customer base is the essential first step to structured growth.

Today: step 2, quantifying and segmenting the broader market.


The Problem
No reasonable person would blindfold themselves before driving, yet too many businesses do the equivalent when skipping segmentation.

The result?
They don’t see which segments hold the most value.
They can’t tell what barriers stand in the way.
They guess instead of knowing where to play and how to win.

Skipping segmentation doesn’t just create blind spots.
It makes a solid growth strategy impossible because:

1. You don’t know where the value is
Without sizing and valuing segments, you can’t see which customers, channels, or price tiers are worth focusing on.

2. You can’t define where to play
Strategy always starts with choices: 
Without segmentation, you’re effectively saying “everywhere” which is the same as nowhere.

3. You can’t tailor how to win
Each segment has different needs, triggers, and barriers.
If you don’t know them, your 4P execution (product, price, promotion, place) becomes generic and generic doesn’t win.

4. You confuse tactics for strategy
Companies that skip segmentation often fall into “tactification”: doing many things (campaigns, discounts, launches) without impact, because they’re not anchored in the value dynamics of the market.


The Solution
Segment the market. 
Done right, it lets you:

- Size and value each segment correctly
- Uncover barriers, drivers, triggers, and 4P preferences of each segment that define your 4P execution
- Understand segment specifc usage & attitudes
- Identify POME (points of market entry)
- Map segment-specific path-to-purchase metrics that enable you to take appropriate actions.

This is the difference between building on bedrock and rolling the dice.

The Hard Parts
(1) Defining segments that are actionable and statistically significant

(2) Going deeper than demographics i.e. behaviors, barriers, motivations.

(3) Staying open: your “pet segment” may not be the one that drives value

What’s Next?
This isn’t the final step. 
Next comes strategic choices: deciding where to play and how to win.
Stay tuned for part nr. 3.

Bottom line:
Don’t run your business like a blind chicken.
Segment, and fly.

🤓 Retention is like couples therapy.
Expensive, time-consuming, and doesn’t save the wrong relationship.

I spent five years in retention.
We tried everything: discounts, loyalty points, campaigns.
Guess what?
Churn barely moved.


The Problem
You spend part of your time and money on keeping customers you shouldn’t have acquired in the first place.
Why?
If customer needs don’t match your offer, no retention program helps.


The Solution
A sharper acquisition strategy.
Acquire customers who are a fit for what you offer.

Here’s how:

- Segment
Identify “high-fit” consumer segments.

- Target
Be deliberate in who you go after.

- Position
Align your value proposition and 4Ps with your target.

---
If you want a full framework to grow your brand, I recommend “How Small Brands Grow – A Replicable Approach to Start & Scale Brands.”
It condenses the learnings from the 10 most successful CPG brands of the last 20 years into a clear, actionable framework.

If you want the full 80-slide deck comment "oh yes" below.

⚫ Small Brand CEOs: 
How to Escape the Budget-Cut-Abyss & Avoid a Downward Spiral

Marketing budgets are shrinking. 
According to Gartner, they’ve fallen from 10.5% of company revenue in 2019 to 7.7% in 2025.

On paper, a 10-point cut looks manageable. 
In reality, it equals a +13% drop in reach, meaning 

- fewer customers reached
- fewer acquired
- less revenue, and ultimately… more cuts

That’s a downward spiral 😱 

If you can’t avoid cuts, or magically increase effectiveness and efficiency overnight, there’s only one way forward: 

A Sharp Marketing Strategy

That means focusing on the most profitable consumer segments, refining your value proposition, and aligning product, pricing, channel, and communication.

If you must cut budgets, strategy isn’t optional. 
It’s long-term survival.

Read the full article below.
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“If you gaze into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” Friedrich Nietzsche We are in what I call the Era of Less. Less budget. Less patience. Les

Open article: The Downward Spiral of Budget Cuts & How to Escape It by Julia Kinner • 4 min read

The Downward Spiral of Budget Cuts & How to Escape It

🧐 CEOs / Founders: KIND(a) impressive
One bar. One story. One billion growth.

You all know kind.
It's more than a snack bar. 
It’s a case study in how small brands grow,
and there's a lot to learn.

To go from zero to $1B, Kind continuously refined its Brand Growth Model (BGM), enabling sustained growth.

Let's break it down:


1. Start-Up Phase

Strong brand story: 
Based on frustration (tasty, healthy snacks didn’t exist) and personal heritage. A snack that’s both tasty and healthy, built on a bigger mission of kindness and transparency.

Retail focus: 
Started in premium, natural food outlets like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

Aggressive sampling: 
From day one, KIND spent ~$10m/year to get products into hands. Sharing was built into the brand DNA.


2. Scale-Up Phase

On-shelf execution: 
Visibility -> eye-level, multiple facings, wide blocks. 

Nationwide expansion: 
Rolled into Starbucks, Walmart, and major US chains, then parts of Canada.

Brand programs: 
Campaigns tied to kindness made the message bigger than the bar reinforcing brand and consideration.


3. Maturity Phase

Portfolio expansion: 
Moved beyond bars into granola, pretzels, breakfast, and more.

Strategic acquisitions: 
Nature’s Bakery and Creative Snacks extended reach into adjacent categories.

Backed by Mars: 
Mars bought a minority stake in 2017, then full acquisition in 2020. Scale met capital.

---

Is this a universal playbook?
No.

Does this work for any brand?
No.

Each case is unique.
BUT in order to grow from start-up to maturity brands must continuously evolve their BGM.

KIND is one of 10 cases we break down in "How Small Brands Grow – A Replicable Approach to Start and Scale Brands". It’s an actionable growth framework built on the analysis of $1T+ in US sellout data.

Here's the link to the newsletter that covers all 10 cases plus framework:
https://lnkd.in/eFzb2FM8

🧐 CEOs, CMOs: Want to read something valuable?
Look here. Grow. Thank me later

It is a growth metric no one really talks about, but from my point of view, SOG = share of growth is one of the most valuable ways to look at growth.
Why? Because it breaks it down and shows you who, where, when, and what is driving it.

Let's break it down (literally)

(1) Consumer segments
Which segments contribute most to growth.
E.g. one segment drives 90% of category growth.

(2) Channels
Which channels are growing or declining.
E.g. share of growth is shifting from offline to online.

(3) Price tiers
Which price points capture most sales.
E.g. volume vs. value on low and high price points.

(4) Subcategories
Which parts of the category are growing or stagnating.

However, you can think of others such as geographies/regions, occasions/usage moments, formats/pack sizes, innovation/claims, etc. Basically, anything that is relevant to growth. The exact factors and weight depend on the specific case.

The problem
Most businesses don’t look at growth this way and act like blind archers shooting in random directions without a clear understanding of the best target to hit.
They measure broad averages and lack an understanding of category growth dynamics; therefore, they miss that growth opportunities are tied to specific segment × channel × product × price combinations.

The solution
Use SOG to understand which consumers, which channels, which price points, and which subcategories hold most value. This lets you make sharper 4P choices and capture a disproportionate share of category growth.
One caveat: there isn’t a single “one-size-fits-all” SOG framework.
Often, it’s a set of sub-frameworks applied to different parts of the business that together increase total value capture.

Bottom line
Without SOG, you risk chasing the wrong consumers, investing in the wrong channels, and extending into categories that don’t matter.
With SOG, you can tailor your strategy towards the largest profit pools in your category.

Time to act?
In 2026, we have four open slots to work with businesses ready to identify and capture their biggest growth opportunities in a structured way. 

♻️ Your network appreciates a repost

Join 4'000 executives that receive growth strategy insights right into their inbox https://lnkd.in/ecyVPv53

Share of Growth - Breaking Down Growth Contributors

LinkedIn will hate me for this,
but here's the link to update your AI settings.

If you don't want to train AI models with your content, you better opt out. Standard seems to be "active"

Here is the link to update your settings https://lnkd.in/ejZ8wyT3

Scaling CX Trainings for your company | Speaker, Trainer, Consultant

Well, thank you for making it so easy for me to opt out LinkedIn.
Thanks, bye, not using my work.

🤓 CEOs/CMOs: Referrals aren’t free growth.
They are dividends for products worth talking about

Most founders love the idea of referrals:
- Low CAC
- High value
- Organic growth

It sounds like a dream.
Actually, it really is because...

...referred customers are more valuable
Studies show they convert at higher rates, have 16–25% higher lifetime value, and churn less (up to 37% lower churn).

...referrers bring more referrers
A 2024 ScienceDirect study found that referred customers are themselves more likely to engage in WOM later. This means, referrals can snowball, creating compounding growth effects.

Sounds like a dream coming true. 
Of course, there's a catch.


👉 The Catch
If your value proposition isn’t strong, no referral program will save your bum and the best way to increase WOM is designing a value proposition consumers love and that migh mean you have some hard work ahead of you.

If you want to know how to create a strong value proposition and products people want to talk about, I recommend reading:  “How Small Brands Grow – A Replicable Approach to Start & Scale Brands.” It condenses the learnings of the 10 most successful CPG brands of the last 20 years into an actionable framework.

Comment "oh yes" below to get a copy of the deck.

🙃 Some things just make your day.
This is one of them.


"You're not a typical consultant.
 There's just no BS, 
 everything is reasonable and practical."

This is the kind of feedback I love to hear from clients because it means we're doing the right thing:
- No BS
- Highly practical
- Rooted in data not fantasy

Cheers to that!

If you think BGM stands for 𝗕ig 𝗚iant 𝗠ess, we need to talk.
Or you just read this 👇 

Okay, you got me. 
Big Giant Mess IS highly applicable to many businesses because that’s exactly what their marketing looks like.
But for connaisseurs, BGM = Business Growth Model and drumroll… it’s the single most important lever to grow a business.

In this newsletter that should have just been a post (got carried away 😅), we don’t just explain what a BGM is, we break it down for one of the most iconic beauty brand growth stories of the past 20 years.

It’s just one of 10 success cases we analyzed in "How Small Brands Grow – A Replicable Approach to Start and Scale Brands". 

👉 To get the full publication, comment “oh yes” below. 
🤓 Make your network smarter by sharing this post.

Frederic Fernandez

“The only constant in life is change.” Heraclitus "The only constant in life is change." In business, few truths are more relevant. Companies that fai

Open article: Business Growth Model: The Hidden Engine of Brand Success by Julia Kinner • 4 min read

Business Growth Model: The Hidden Engine of Brand Success

Mission impossible?
Just spent an hour detangling kite strings (on the verge of a meltdown)

Then the instructor stepped in, made a couple of quick moves, and boom, problem solved. 😂
#NothingBeatsExperience

Same with your growth strategy.

You struggle. 
We see the pattern.
And suddenly everything flies.

🏀 A stagnating category is like looking at the final score of a basketball game. The average tells you the game was close, but it hides the fact that some players were on fire while others barely scored. 

I had an interesting discussion earlier this week. 
It was about how difficult it is to grow in a stagnant market. 
And it's very true. 
It's easy to grow if your category is growing; you just go with the flow and grow with a rising tide; however, it's very hard if the category doesn't grow. 

However, you must keep in mind that a stagnating category is "an average" and the average always lies. Within that stagnating category there will always be some areas (segments, price points, channels, subcategories) that ARE growing while others decline. The result is a stagnating category. 
That doesn't mean there's NO growth at all. It's just burried in the average.

The solution: 
That's where share of growth (SOG) comes in. SOG shows you which consumers, which channels, which price points, and which subcategories are creating value: 
- A few segments might be growing
- A few channels grow while others shrink
- Certain price points hold disproportionate profit pools. 
- Some subcategories grow, others stagnate. 

When you know this, you can point your strategy at the right intersections and capture more than your fair share of growth. 

The essence: 
The average says “stagnant.” The details show who’s winning the game.
In a stagnating category, SOG is your power tool, it helps to spot growth pockets others overlook, so you can focus resources where there's value to capture. 

Don't look at the average - it always lies.

🇨🇭 Swiss E-Commerce: Take a Hard Look at Temu
But mind the strings attached…

Swiss people don’t like it cheap.
However, in 2024, Temu sold goods worth CHF 700 million in Switzerland (+100% vs 2023; ~25% of Galaxus).

What started as pure cross-border selling is now transforming into a more localized business model, and since September 15th Swiss sellers can sell via the platform.

Big question:
Should Swiss merchants get listed and who could benefit?


👉 The Benefits

1. Reach without heavy investment
Temu invests massively in advertising, and listed businesses can benefit from large amounts of “free” traffic.
To put things into perspective: over the last 12 months, Temu had an average search volume of 0.5 million per month on Google. In comparison, Galaxus averaged 1.5 million searches per month. → There’s substantial demand.

2. Incremental sales, not substitution
For companies with limited online exposure, Temu can bring net new customers without cannibalizing existing sales.

3. Test channel for new products
Temu can be a sandbox to experiment with product-market fit. Sellers can list new products quickly and without big effort, see what sticks, and then decide whether to scale through other channels.

4. Trust and delivery speed
Delivery times with Temu cross-border are usually quite long (≈2 weeks). Local businesses could stand out with faster delivery and greater trust, despite higher prices.


👉 The Risks

1. Margin pressure
Temu is price-driven, and competing on low cost may erode profitability.

2. No customer relationship
Unlike in D2C, Temu owns the customer relationship. Sellers have no direct consumer relationship and limited ability to drive repurchase.

3. Future squeeze
Temu’s playbook looks quite similar to Amazon’s. Amazon started with low fees, then gradually increased commissions, introduced advertising fees, and tightened logistics requirements -> squeezing margins. Temu is likely to follow a similar path.

👉 Conclusion: A Balancing Act
For Swiss merchants, Temu is an attractive opportunity. The platform already has significant weight in local e-commerce, and early movers can benefit from visibility, traffic, and low barriers to entry. 
The downsides may come later once Temu shifts from growth to monetization. 

However, for now, the upsides outweigh the risks and joining Temu could be a smart move to increase customer acquisition and sales. It’s just important to avoid dependency on the platform to mitigate future risk. But as we all know there's no "Foifer und s’Weggli" at least not on the long run.

🚀 𝗖𝗘𝗢𝘀 / 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 / 𝗖𝗠𝗢𝘀: 𝗛𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗮𝘂?
How to turn it into a launchpad.

Here’s the story:
At first, growth feels effortless.
Every campaign lands.
Revenue climbs.

Then one day… you’re kicked out of heaven.
Channels don’t perform.
CAC goes up.
Growth flattens.

The 1st thought? “Maybe we’ve maxed out the market.”
9 out of 10 times that’s not the case.
Markets are rarely that saturated.

👉 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴:
The Business Growth Model (BGM) that got you here can’t get you further.
Your value proposition may be strong, but your product, price, promotion, and channels aren’t designed to increase:

- Addressable market 
- Share of wallet
- Value capture
- Physical availability
- Mental availability

BUT, to grow further, your BGM must evolve to stay / become even more relevant.

👉 Look at e.l.f. Beauty.
Their value proposition = “cruelty-free, accessible beauty” hasn’t changed.
But their BGM has been reinvented multiple times, turning them into a $1B business.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁-𝘂𝗽
Product: 13 essential $1 SKUs, cruelty-free, simple packaging.
Price: “Affordable luxury” at coffee-cup pricing.
Promotion: Digital-first + beauty blogs + YouTube creators → viral $1 shock factor.
Place: DTC, scaled via Target in 2008.


𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲-𝘂𝗽
Product: “Project Unicorn” → sleek packaging, vegan SKUs, hero products like Camo Concealer.
Price: Ladder from $1–$10, enabling trade-up while staying mass.
Promotion: Beauty Squad loyalty program + influencer/UGC campaigns.
Place: Target, Walmart, Ulta, Amazon. Shelf redesign to spotlight hero SKUs.

Outcome: elevated image, bigger margins, stronger retail credibility.


𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆
Product: Expanded into skincare + trend collabs.
Price: “Value + trend,” competitive with masstige.
Promotion: 34% of sales reinvested into bold, viral campaigns.
Place: True omnichannel: DTC, mass retail, beauty specialty, Amazon, TikTok

Outcome: cultural relevance + explosive engagement.


👉 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀:

(1) Plateaus are signals that your BGM must evolve.
(2) Doing more of the same won’t solve the problem.
(3) Your Business Growth Model needs regular updates.

So if your curve is flattening, don’t push harder.
Rethink the engine.

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This is one of 13 key messages from “How Small Brands Grow – A Replicable Approach to Start and Scale Brands.” It’s based on learnings from analyzing $1T in sell-out value and distilling the success criteria of the 10 most successful CPG businesses of the past 20 years into one actionable framework.

To get the full publication comment "oh yes" below.

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JK & Associates AG is a Swiss consulting firm focussing on growth strategy and execution for challenger brands.

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Join 4'000 executives to get free growth strategy advice right into their inbox
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🤔 CEOs / Founders: Hand on Heart
Is your martech investment a failure?

Maybe it’s just me.
But I’ve never solved a growth problem with martech.
It's just NEVER the issue.
Yet marketers shift 20–25% of their budgets into martech at the expense of their working budget which is the very thing driving acquisition.

👉 That raises one big question:
Can efficiency gains ever outgrow the budget you lose?

The numbers suggest it’s unlikely:
Each cut in working budget causes a disproportionate loss of reach capacity.

75% working budget = 100% reach
65% = 87% reach (–13%)
60% = 80% reach (–20%)
55% = 73% reach (–27%)

In reverse, it demands a disproportionate increase in efficiency to offset the lost budget.

Bravo if you’ve pulled that off.
Studies suggest it’s the exception, not the rule:
- CMO Survey (2024): martech underdelivers by ~34%. 
- MarTechorg: over half of CMOs are disappointed.

So… is your martech really helping you grow or is it a failure?

More likely the latter. 

Businesses should:
(1) Seriously reconsider their budget splits
(2) Shift budget and resources to fixing the basics
(3) Invest more into the market research

Those 3 might be more impactful.
What do you think?

💡 Sorry for the silly question, but...
Is your CAC too high, or are your customers not profitable enough?

Sounds silly, right?
But it matters.
I’ll explain at the end.

Too often, we blame cost when the problem is value:
- Are you attracting the wrong segments?
- Are your customers buying too little, too infrequently?
- Are margins too thin to ever cover CAC?

👉 CAC is only half the equation.
 The other half is customer profitability.

👉 Why does it even matter?
 If you’re acquiring unprofitable customers, no level of CAC optimization will save you. You’re hunting the wrong metric and optimizing the wrong side of the equation.

👉 How to know what to fix?
Here’s the thing: to know whether CAC is too high or your customers aren’t profitable enough, you need to understand consumer spending behavior and how profitable different segments can realistically be. And yes, there are differences.

That means the real answer starts with:

- Knowing your customer segments
- Quantifying the value they can bring
- Aligning strategy and resources to optimize both

👉Bottom line:
High CAC isn’t always the problem.
Sometimes it’s chasing the wrong customers.
Fix segmentation & targeting then CAC takes care of itself.

It always brings me back to the same:
In order to grow small brands should...


1. ...be differentiated to be easier to think  of.

2. ....tailor their value proposition towards unmet consumer needs to be more relevant and design the 4Ps accordingly.

3. Choose channels with a high share of growth to get disproportionate chances to sell.

To be adjusted as you grow.

Commercial Strategy & Marketing Effectiveness

𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗝𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗵, 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴!

The Double Jeopardy (DJ) Rule suggests that:

✔️ Large brands have more buyers than smaller brands (Market Penetration)
✔️ Customers of large brands are slightly more loyal (Share of Category Requirements)

There are those who suggest that DJ is a mysterious phenomenon that's neither obvious nor intuitive, and whose mysteries can't be explained.

Let's start with what DJ is not:

👉 It's not about mysterious human behavior 
👉 It's not how big brands are better at retaining customers
👉 It's not about what brands or marketers do at all
👉 It doesn't explain "how brands grow"
👉 It doesn't explain why "loyalty doesn't exist"

---

Double Jeopardy is purely a 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁 that automatically emerges whenever:

👉 There are at least two competing brands
👉 Individual buyer brand preferences are stable 
👉 Buying frequency isn't related to favoring any brand
👉 Each purchase is an independent event, conditional on the buyer's stable brand preferences

DJ has nothing whatsoever to do with how small or large brands operate. It’s just a simple consequence of how probability works.

In fact, if there are at least TWO brands with different relative market shares and at least TWO buyers who are not 100% loyal to either Brand, then the FULL Double Jeopardy pattern immediately emerges!

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This mathematical function is known as a "𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼-𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻" conditioning step (it's not a "law") and is widely seen and understood across many unrelated contexts, not just in marketing: 

• Visits per hospitalized patient
• Crashes per driver among drivers with ≥1 crash
• Symptom count among patients with ≥1 symptom
• Plays per artist with ≥1 play
• Listens per song with ≥1 stream
• Citations per cited paper
• Papers per author among publishing authors
• Goals per scorer for players with ≥1 goal
• RBIs per batter with ≥1 RBI

It's a very basic concept, typically introduced at the freshman level for Statistics majors and seen as an obvious and intuitive concept. Unfortunately, few marketers (or marketing professors) have even this level of basic training in mathematics, and so they present the concept as weird and mysterious. 

It's really VERY simple!

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In addition to the Double Jeopardy pattern, the Duplication of Purchase (DoP) pattern also directly falls out of the same assumptions and "zero-trucation" condition. Both are aspects of the exact same probability description of purchasing.

Finally, Double Jeopardy DOES NOT explain anything about why loyalty doesn't exist or why big brands are big or how small brands can grow. This is purely a "stationary" descriptive mathematical artifact that merely describes how various large and small brands are expected to differ from one another at any snapshot in time.

Below is a step-by-step demonstration of deriving both DJ and DoP, with just two brands and 100 customers who each purchase only twice 👇

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