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Take your Food & Beverage company to the next level by hiring a Marketing expert.

I am a Fractional CMO specializing in Food & Beverage brands with a track record of delivering predictable and profitable growth.

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Why did I start Next Level CMO?

  • I love Marketing!
  • I love taking great products and turning them into great brands.
  • I love watching great Marketing change the hearts & minds of customers.
  • I love creating effective Marketing processes that just make everything so simple.
  • I love finding optimal campaigns that get great results for less money.
  • And did I mention I love Marketing!

Previous Brand Experience

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Case Studies

Testimonials

  • "I've had the pleasure of knowing Mike for nearly two decades in a multitude of ways - as classmates, professional colleagues, and as personal friends. I can recommend Mike as a great person to know in general since he's personable and hardworking. As a marketer, I admire his ability to be strategically oriented, but practical at the same time. What sets Mike apart is his ability to empower his teams to "make the calls" and not micromanage. He does this by only surrounding himself with good people, holding them accountable, and creating metrics and check-ins to ensure things are on track. I look forward to working with Mike for the coming decades!"
    Rajat Kapur, Founder & CEO at &Marketing
  • "Mike was a key member of the Marketing team when we worked together at Schuman Cheese. In just a short period of time he was able to capture the key product attributes and pivot the brand message to a better and more poignant one, understood by the consumer and which ultimately won an Effie Award. Mike’s conviction to delivering the marketing strategy was always unwavering despite multiple challenges along the journey, from budget cuts to recalibrating the team’s efforts through a work from home dynamic."
    Neil Cox, CEO at Diana's Bananas (formerly CCO at Schuman Cheese)
  • "Mike is a fantastic marketer and provides excellent leadership for brands and businesses. When I worked with Mike at Arla Foods he was the head of US marketing and was tasked with growing a brand to compete head-to-head against titans in the food industry. His leadership led our business to an incredible result, capturing over 7% US HHP within the first two years of launch and breaking through to a #2 share position, directly challenging the long-established category players.

    Over the course of working with Mike I appreciated his strong marketing foundations as he moved easily between directing creative and media agencies, interacting with customers and sales teams, and orchestrating a product strategy that unlocked consumer-first innovation. He did all of this with the mindset of a business owner, protecting the P&L while placing smart bets.

    Mike has an impressive ability to deliver impact whether it be for startups or large national brands. He brings a wealth of direct experience across multiple categories and can help an organization identify and capture the opportunities within its marketplace."
    Kyle Lancaster, Global Brand Director at Reckitt (formerly SBM at Arla Foods US)
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Problem:  Cello Cheese played in a crowded, confusing category and was at risk of losing distribution if it didn’t create an ownable position and improve market share quickly.

Solution:  Utilizing traditional Marketing frameworks, I identified a unique positioning within the Specialty Cheese category and created the new “Cheese Confidently” campaign to drive preference for Cello.

The Results

  • +60.3% growth in Retail Sales
  • Doubled Market Share in Specialty Cheese
  • Reduced Marketing spend from 10.1% to 8.7% of Sales
  • Drove +124% higher traffic to website
  • Improved average rank for focus keywords by 6 positions
  • Revamped agency structure to reduce costs by 30% and improve service
  • Won Silver Effie Award for most effective campaign with a small budget (losing out to a tiny little brand called Coors Light)

Problem:  Despite having a great taste and fewer, simpler ingredients, consumers just didn’t take notice of Arla’s superior product because they bought the dominant category leader on autopilot. Furthermore, retailers threatened to delist Arla’s cream cheese if sales velocities didn’t double.

Solution: I led the launch of the “Free From” campaign, highlighting Arla’s amazing taste and clean label. Besides showcasing consumers’ preference for Arla with a “blind” taste test, we offered free product to shoppers in key retailers, with the belief that tasting was believing.

The Results

  • Improved brand awareness by +10pts, from 17% to 27%.
  • Increased branded searches for "Arla Cream Cheese" by +3,000% vs. pre-campaign
  • Delivered over 2MM free samples, leading to category best repeat rate of 40.2%
  • Increased average unit sale velocities by 9 units/store/week in key retailers
  • Grew Arla household penetration by 5x, adding 6MM new consumers

Problem:  The launch of French’s Ketchup in Canada received very little interest from customers and consumers because it was seen as a me-too product up against a well-loved, iconic brand in Heinz.

Solution:  I tapped into a key consumer insight that Canadians supported brands that supported Canadians and re-positioned French’s Ketchup to (1) source tomatoes from local Canadian farms, (2) donate one meal to a Canadian family in need for every bottle of Ketchup sold, and (3) align with classic Canadian establishments to borrow local equity.

The Results

  • Improved the livelihoods of Leamington, Ontario farmers with increased demand for high-margin tomato crops
  • Delivered over 1.5MM meals to Canadian consumers in need
  • Gained distribution in two iconic Canadian institutions - A&W restaurants and the Maple Leafs hockey arena
  • Drove market share up +6.6 pts to become #2 brand in Ketchup category
  • Added $5.3MM in incremental revenue