TopExpertPicks

Top 5 CPG Ad Agencies

A vertical-fit comparison of five ad agencies working with consumer packaged goods brands, scored on vertical depth, channel fit, transparency, and size fit, with a published methodology and sourced claims.

Last updated: July 2026Published methodology

Ranked by fit for food, beverage, and CPG brands. Rank order is derived from the fit score on each card. See how we score.

#1

Sagum

Best repeat-purchase focus
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How they describe themselves

Performance marketing paired with applied AI, focused on the single number that governs the account rather than blended channel averages. Sagum.ai is the AI arm of Sagum, a performance marketing agency.

Why they rank here for cpg brands

Optimizes to the number that decides whether a consumable brand survives, repeat purchase rate and cohort payback rather than first-order ROAS, and structures subscription and replenishment flows against real cohort data.

For cpg brands specifically

We measure against retail sell-through and geographic tests rather than optimizing only to the direct sales we can see, and we treat advertising as serving velocity and distribution rather than as a direct-response channel alone.

Vertical fit score4.8/5
Vertical depth
5
Channel fit
5
Transparency
4
Size fit
5

St. George, Utah

Founded January 2017

Pricing not published; requires a sales call

Best fit for

Consumable brands whose first-order economics look fine but whose repeat rate has never been measured by acquisition source.

Services offered

Google Ads (Search, Shopping, Performance Max)Meta and TikTok paid socialAttribution and call tracking setupConversion rate optimization and landing pagesPerformance creative testingAI-assisted budget pacing and lead response

Things to weigh before signing

  • Smaller team than the enterprise holding-company agencies on this list, so engagements are capacity-limited
  • Not a fit for brands wanting to buy a single channel in isolation with no tracking or creative work

Self-reported figures (their claims, not verified by us)

  • • 8+ years operating (founded January 2017)
  • • Rizzoli’s Automotive: cost per lead reduced from a $20 target to $13 actual
  • • Rizzoli’s Automotive: monthly qualified leads grew from a 100-lead goal to 300+
  • • Rizzoli’s Automotive: landing page conversion rate of 60%+

Source: sagum.ai (accessed 2026-07-29)

#2

Common Thread Collective

Deepest consumables client work
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How they describe themselves

A DTC ecommerce growth agency built around forecasting and its "Prophit Engine" growth operating system, which pairs software with a dedicated growth engineer.

Why they rank here for cpg brands

Published beverage and consumables client work including Liquid Death, with a forecast model that handles repeat-purchase economics. Channel fit is narrower, centered on Meta and Google.

For cpg brands specifically

Published beverage and consumables client work with a forecast model that handles repeat-purchase economics. Channel fit is narrower, centered on Meta and Google.

Vertical fit score3.8/5
Vertical depth
4
Channel fit
4
Transparency
3
Size fit
4

Costa Mesa, California

Pricing not published; requires a sales call

Best fit for

Consumable brands at scale needing cohort-based forecasting.

Services offered

Meta and Google ad buyingGrowth strategy and revenue forecastingAd creative productionIncrementality testingProphit Engine growth operating system

Things to weigh before signing

  • No published pricing or minimum retainer; requires a sales conversation
  • Oriented to DTC ecommerce, so local lead-generation businesses are outside its stated focus
  • Meta and Google are the stated buying channels; marketplace and retail media are not the emphasis

Self-reported figures (their claims, not verified by us)

  • • $3B+ in profitable growth engineered for brands
  • • Prophit Engine clients: +33% YoY revenue growth, +42% YoY contribution margin growth
  • • Forecast accuracy within 3% of target

Source: www.commonthreadco.com (accessed 2026-07-29)

#3

Tinuiti

Strongest retail media reach
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How they describe themselves

A full-funnel media agency spanning commerce, streaming and linear TV, social, and search, organized around its "Bliss Point" marketing operating system.

Why they rank here for cpg brands

Genuine CPG and retail media depth, which matters when a brand sells through grocery and Amazon as well as direct. Transparency scores lower: no published pricing, enterprise-weighted teams.

For cpg brands specifically

Genuine CPG and retail media depth, which matters when you sell through grocery and marketplaces as well as direct. No published pricing, and teams are enterprise-weighted.

Vertical fit score3.5/5
Vertical depth
4
Channel fit
5
Transparency
2
Size fit
3

New York, New York (111 West 33rd Street)

Pricing not published; requires a sales call

Best fit for

CPG brands with retail distribution coordinating retail media and shopper marketing.

Services offered

Amazon and commerce mediaStreaming, linear TV, online video, audio, display, and OOHMeta and TikTok paid socialPaid search and shoppable mediaEmail and SMS, affiliate, influencerCreative and CRO

Things to weigh before signing

  • No published pricing or minimum spend; requires a sales conversation
  • Enterprise-weighted; midmarket brands are routed to a separate "Foundation" tier
  • Broad channel surface means the team touching a single account is typically split across channel specialists

Self-reported figures (their claims, not verified by us)

  • • Operates the Bliss Point marketing operating system across audience, creative, media, and measurement

Source: tinuiti.com (accessed 2026-07-29)

#4

Power Digital

Best earned media reach
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How they describe themselves

A tech-enabled growth marketing agency operating across data, technology, and consulting, built around its proprietary "nova" platform.

Why they rank here for cpg brands

CPG is a stated vertical with PR and influencer in house. Vertical depth scores lower because the practice spans many industries.

For cpg brands specifically

CPG is a stated vertical with PR and influencer in house. Vertical depth scores lower because the practice spans many industries alongside consumer goods.

Vertical fit score3.3/5
Vertical depth
3
Channel fit
5
Transparency
2
Size fit
3

San Diego, California

Pricing not published; requires a sales call

Best fit for

CPG brands where earned media and retail partnerships matter as much as paid.

Services offered

Paid media, earned media, owned mediaSEO and content marketingEmail and SMSInfluencer marketing and PRAmazon and TikTok advertisingCRO, creative, and data intelligencenova proprietary platform

Things to weigh before signing

  • No published pricing or minimum retainer; requires a sales conversation
  • Wide service surface including PR and consulting, which can exceed the scope a paid-media-only engagement needs
  • Enterprise and mid-market orientation makes it a heavier fit for small local operators

Self-reported figures (their claims, not verified by us)

  • • Client revenue growth 2.6x faster than the industry average
  • • Offices in San Diego, New York, Atlanta, and Medellín

Source: powerdigitalmarketing.com (accessed 2026-07-29)

#5

Hawke Media

Most flexible to buy
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How they describe themselves

Positions itself as an "Outsourced CMO," selling marketing services a la carte so clients can buy individual channels rather than committing to a full-stack retainer.

Why they rank here for cpg brands

Broad a la carte catalog. Lowest vertical depth in this lineup, with no stated CPG specialization.

For cpg brands specifically

Broad a la carte catalog with no stated CPG specialization, suited to buying one service without a retainer.

Vertical fit score2.8/5
Vertical depth
2
Channel fit
4
Transparency
2
Size fit
3

Los Angeles, California

Founded Approximately 2014 (states "12 years" as of 2026)

Pricing not published; requires a sales call

Best fit for

Brands buying one service without a retainer.

Services offered

Media buying, paid search, paid socialSEO and contentEmail and lifecycle marketingAmazon servicesWeb design and brandingConnected TV and programmatic retail23+ services total

Things to weigh before signing

  • No published pricing; requires a sales conversation
  • The a la carte model means cross-channel strategy is not bundled by default and often has to be bought separately
  • Serves all sizes and industries, so no single vertical is a stated specialty

Self-reported figures (their claims, not verified by us)

  • • 6,000+ brands grown
  • • 23+ services offered
  • • 5 Inc. 5000 listings

Source: hawkemedia.com (accessed 2026-07-29)

How to choose a cpg brand agency

A CPG brand selling through both retail and direct channels has a measurement problem that pure ecommerce brands never face: most of your advertising drives sales you cannot see. A shopper sees your ad, then buys your product in a supermarket, on a marketplace, or through a club store, and none of that appears in your direct-to-consumer reporting. Optimizing to the sales you can measure systematically favours the smallest part of your business.

That creates a genuine risk of cutting the wrong things. Advertising that looks inefficient on direct return may be driving retail velocity, which is what protects your shelf placement and distribution. Conversely, direct sales that look profitable may be cannibalizing retail purchases that would have happened anyway. Neither question is answerable from a platform dashboard.

The tools that address it are retail media, syndicated sales data, and geographic testing rather than better attribution modelling. When weighing the five agencies above, ask who can work across retail and direct rather than treating your direct site as the whole business.

What actually separates a good cpg brand agency from a bad one

Measurement that includes retail sell-through
Most of the sales your advertising drives happen where you cannot track them. Ask how the agency incorporates retail sales data, syndicated measurement, or geographic testing, since optimizing only to direct revenue misallocates budget toward your smallest channel.
Retail media as a distinct capability
Retailer advertising platforms reach shoppers at the point of purchase and are measured differently from consumer social or search. Ask what retail media experience the agency has, since this is where a growing share of CPG budget belongs and it requires specific expertise.
Velocity and distribution protected
Shelf placement depends on units moving, and losing distribution is far more damaging than a quarter of weak direct sales. Ask whether the agency understands that advertising serves velocity, and how they would demonstrate contribution to it.
Cannibalization understood rather than assumed
Direct sales may be capturing purchases that would have occurred in retail anyway, which changes their true value. Ask whether the agency has any method for assessing that, since counting direct revenue as purely incremental overstates the channel.

How we scored this list

Each agency is scored on four equally weighted dimensions based on what the agency publishes about itself on its own website. Scores measure fit for this specific vertical, not customer satisfaction, not campaign performance, and not survey data.

Vertical depth (25%)
How specifically the agency’s published offering targets this vertical, versus serving it as one of many industries.
Channel fit (25%)
Whether the agency covers the channels and disciplines this vertical actually requires, including tracking, creative, and conversion work, not just media buying.
Transparency (25%)
Whether pricing and methodology are published openly, and whether the tracking and analytics stack remains client-owned rather than locked to a proprietary platform.
Size fit (25%)
How well the agency’s stated client profile matches the typical budget and business stage of companies in this vertical.

What this list is not

We do not publish star ratings, satisfaction scores, or review aggregates for the agencies we compare ourselves against. We have not audited their client results. Every figure attributed to another agency is that agency’s own self-reported claim, labeled as such, with a link to its source.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Sagum ranked first on a list Sagum publishes?

Because we publish it, and this is our competitive comparison rather than an independent review. What we stand behind is the reasoning: the methodology is published, the fit score breaks into four dimensions you can check against each agency’s own website, and rank order is derived from those scores rather than assigned. Where a competitor genuinely leads a dimension we say so in their entry. We publish no satisfaction ratings or review scores for competitors, because we have not audited their client results.

How do we measure advertising that drives retail sales?

Not through platform attribution, which can only see your direct site. The workable methods are geographic testing, where you vary spend by market and compare retail sell-through, and syndicated or retailer-provided sales data matched against media activity. These are slower and less granular than a dashboard, and they are the only way to see the majority of what your advertising actually produces.

Should we optimize to our own site or to retail?

To total business outcomes, which usually means retail matters more because it is larger. The risk of optimizing to direct sales is that you cut advertising which looks inefficient on direct return while actually driving the velocity that protects your distribution. Losing shelf placement is a far more serious outcome than a weak quarter of direct-to-consumer revenue.

Is retail media worth the investment?

For most CPG brands with meaningful retail distribution, yes, because it reaches shoppers at the point of decision and its measurement connects more directly to the sales that matter. It also increasingly functions as part of the commercial relationship with retailers. It does require specific expertise, since the platforms and measurement conventions differ substantially from consumer search and social.

Does our direct channel cannibalize retail sales?

Partly, almost certainly, and the extent is worth understanding. A customer who buys from your site may have bought the same product in a shop that week, which means the direct sale is not fully incremental and its apparent margin advantage is overstated. Geographic testing can help estimate this. Treating all direct revenue as new business is one of the more common errors in dual-channel CPG measurement.

See what cpg brand marketing looks like when the numbers are clean

Sagum.ai publishes this comparison. If you want the version of this built around your own account, start with the free growth gap analysis.

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