Planning for 2026? Here’s where we help Category and Sales teams with retailer presentations
Most weeks, we share thought leadership to help you show up stronger in front of retailers and internal stakeholders.
Once a quarter, we zoom out and share how we help CPG teams like yours through our services.
This is that edition, framed as a few FAQs.
Question 1: When do Category and Sales leaders typically tap OUTKREATE?
A few common situations include:
- You’re heading into a critical Top-to-Top or JBP meeting and your current materials aren’t telling a compelling enough growth story.
- You’re launching a major innovation and need retailer-facing materials that shift buyer perception and secure shelf space.
- Your team is spending weeks building presentations internally, but they’re still not landing with buyers or driving the results you need.
Across these situations, we help CPG teams craft retailer presentations that land with clarity, conviction, and confidence. That often means helping teams decide what to emphasize, what to simplify, and what to leave out entirely.
We support CPG teams across moments like:
- Top-to-Top and Joint Business Plan meetings w/ Retail Customers
- Innovation Selling Stories to launch new items
- Strategic Retail Initiatives (e.g., Category growth initiative)
- QBRs, AOP, Strat Plan, NSMs
- Internal presentations to senior leadership
“We brought OUTKREATE in for a critical Top-to-Top with a large grocery customer. They built the story from scratch and elevated the visuals. The presentation landed well and set us up for growth.”
~ Kayla Ward, Brand Manager, FrieslandCampina
QUESTION 2: What type of results have you delivered?
Here are a few examples:
A. Turned Around a Tenuous CPG-Retailer relationship
A global dairy brand had a fragile relationship with a national grocer and was on the verge of losing key SKUs. We worked with the team to reshape the Top-to-Top story around a clear category growth opportunity, helping the retailer see a path to regaining category share.
That shift rebuilt trust, aligned both teams on a multi-year JBP, and unlocked $10M+ in incremental sales.
B. Powered a $100M Innovation Launch
A snack brand needed a story to match the scale of a major innovation launch. We created a shopper-first narrative that equipped more than 100 account executives to sell-in the new item to their buyers with clarity and confidence.
This led to secured shelf space at major retailers and performance that is on track to exceed year-one launch goals.
C. Simplified a Complex Space Story
A modern food brand had strong space recommendations for its category, but the story wasn’t landing with buyers. We simplified the narrative, grounded it in data, and framed the recommendation around mutual value.
Two major retailers approved the recommendations and are now moving forward with the proposed changes.
🚀See More: Results we’ve driven for CPG teams
QUESTION 3: Tell me more about your services
These are the moments when Category and Sales teams bring us in most often.
1/ Retailer Presentations and Selling Stories
Whether building from scratch, strengthening an existing narrative, or elevating visual design, we help CPG teams craft retailer-facing stories that clarify the category opportunity, earn buyer confidence, and drive action.
2/ Presentation Training Programs
We design practical presentation training for Sales and Category Management teams who need to influence buyers, not just inform.
Our bespoke training help teams:
- Clarify the core story using simple, repeatable frameworks (such as SCQA)
- Turn complex data into clear, persuasive slides
- Apply visual storytelling principles that build retailer credibility
This is not theory-led training. We teach using real examples from your business and work directly on the presentations your teams actually need to deliver. Formats range from hands-on workshops to shorter, virtual sessions, and we’ve trained teams of 10 to 300 across Sales, Insights, and Category Management.
“OUTKREATE helped us build a presentation training program rooted in storytelling, audience relevance, and strong design. It elevated how our teams communicate, strengthened retailer relationships, and continues to drive better results.”
~ Lucia Maschler Barnes, Manager, CatMan Training, The Hershey Co.
3/ PPT Time-Saver Toolkits
We build custom slide libraries and templates designed around how your teams actually work, not how PowerPoint thinks they should.
These time-saver toolkits help teams move faster while maintaining consistency, quality, and brand standards across accounts. Instead of starting from scratch each time, teams pull from proven structures and slides that already work in the real world.
They typically include:
- Story structures tailored to your use cases
- Plug-and-play slide templates
- On-brand visuals, including charts, product imagery, and icons
Teams using these toolkits report saving hundreds of hours each year and showing up more consistently in front of customers.
“Since rolling out time-saver toolkits at NSM, we’ve seen stronger meeting prep, sharper storytelling, and more impactful conversations with our retail customers.”
~ Chris Witham, Sr. Dir, Category Strategy and Insights, Nature’s Way
Question 4: I want to learn more. What’s next?
Let’s talk.
On our first call, we’ll review your current materials, share relevant examples of our work, and offer outside-in observations to help you assess whether working together makes sense.
Learn More About OUTKREATE's Sales, CatMan & Insights Solutions
OUTKREATE developes retailer-facing presentations for top CPG Cat Man & Insights teams, equipping them for success — be it Top to Tops, Innovation Selling Stories, Line Reviews & JBPs, and more.
Thinking of UPGRADING your Retailer-facing Presentation?
TALK THROUGH YOUR PRESENTATION CHALLENGE
How does your Presentation measure up?
Do you have a major event or a high-stakes meeting coming up? Do you need a sharp narrative and bold design?
Let's connect and we can take a closer look at your presentations. We'll share with you actionable ideas along with real examples that you can apply to improve odds of success.