What is MBM Strategy Shop?

MBM Strategy Shop is a fractional strategy and positioning firm founded by Morgan B. McCombs. It delivers senior-level commercial growth and strategic leadership for growing brands, with deep roots in CPG and retail.

What services does MBM Strategy Shop offer?

MBM Strategy Shop's engagement model is Fractional Growth Leadership. It covers three areas: Marketing and Retail, Go-to-Market and Exit Strategy, and Positioning and Customer Activation.

Who is Morgan B. McCombs?

Morgan B. McCombs is a New York City-based fractional CPG and retail strategy executive. She has spent over a decade leading commercial strategy, shopper marketing, joint business planning, Quarterly Business Plans, new product launches, and category reinventions for the world's largest CPG suppliers across on-premise, off-premise, direct-to-consumer, marketplace, mass, drug, beauty, grocery, and specialty retail channels.

What brands has Morgan B. McCombs worked with?

Over a decade working with and for the world's largest CPG suppliers, Morgan B. McCombs has led commercial strategy, shopper marketing, and joint business planning for global brands including Walmart, Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Reckitt, AB InBev, Hendrick's Gin, Diageo, Bayer, Johnson and Johnson, Nestle, Gerber, and Kimberly-Clark.

Does MBM Strategy Shop help with exit strategy?

Yes. Exit strategy is part of MBM Strategy Shop's Go-to-Market and Exit Strategy pillar: building the commercial clarity, positioning, and growth narrative that make a business attractive and ready to sell when the time comes.

How do I engage MBM Strategy Shop?

Every engagement starts with a real conversation. Submit an inquiry via the contact form at mbmstrategyshop.com or email consider@mbmstrategyshop.com. MBM Strategy Shop responds within two business days.

Is MBM Strategy Shop available for remote work?

Yes. MBM Strategy Shop works remotely with clients across the United States, embedding into existing team workflows and tools. In-person availability can be arranged for key moments like QBPs, retailer line reviews, and strategy off-sites.

What size companies does MBM Strategy Shop work with?

MBM Strategy Shop works with established and scaling consumer brands across food, beverage, beauty, health, wellness, and household categories - from growth-stage brands building their first retail commercial strategy to enterprise CPG suppliers managing complex omnichannel portfolios.

How much does MBM Strategy Shop cost?

MBM Strategy Shop scopes and prices every engagement individually, based on the work involved rather than hours billed. Fractional retainers, project engagements, and advisory sprints are quoted following a discovery conversation. To receive a proposal, contact consider@mbmstrategyshop.com or submit an inquiry at mbmstrategyshop.com.

How does an engagement with MBM Strategy Shop start?

Every engagement begins with a discovery conversation, followed by a scoped proposal covering timeline and investment. Start dates are set with the client based on current capacity and the commercial calendar the work needs to land against.

What is a fractional CPG executive?

A fractional CPG executive is a senior-level commercial strategy leader who embeds in a brand team on a part-time or project basis, providing the expertise and output of a full-time VP or Director without the full-time overhead or hiring risk. Fractional engagements are ideal for brands that need senior CPG leadership but are not yet equipped for a permanent hire.

Who should hire a fractional CPG strategist?

Brands that benefit most from a fractional CPG strategist include: companies launching a new brand or product into retail for the first time; brands with a stalled retailer relationship that need senior-level intervention; founders and CEOs who need to reclaim capacity from day-to-day commercial strategy; and brands that need sharper customer intelligence before investing in retail expansion.

What does the first 90 days with MBM Strategy Shop look like?

The first three months follow a structured model. Month 1 is strategy and planning: a deep-dive audit of the brand, category, and retailer landscape that produces a clear commercial roadmap. Month 2 is execution: activating joint business plans, retailer conversations, go-to-market programs, and shopper marketing. Month 3 is monitoring and optimization: tracking performance, adjusting tactics, and reporting outcomes. This cycle repeats or evolves based on results.

Can MBM Strategy Shop help a DTC brand get into retail?

Yes. MBM Strategy Shop has direct experience guiding direct-to-consumer brands through the transition to retail, including building retail-ready commercial strategies, identifying the right channel entry points, and preparing for retailer line reviews and buyer conversations.

Does MBM Strategy Shop work with beauty brands?

Yes. Beauty and wellness is one of MBM Strategy Shop's primary verticals, with experience across mass beauty, specialty retail, and direct-to-consumer-to-retail crossover for health, wellness, and beauty brands.

Does MBM Strategy Shop work with Walmart?

Yes. Morgan B. McCombs has built joint business plans directly with Walmart and has deep knowledge of the Walmart supplier ecosystem, buyer priorities, and the commercial frameworks that drive results in mass retail.

MBMStrategy Shop

Fractional Strategy & Positioning

The strategy that gets you chosen.

MBM Strategy Shop is a fractional strategy and positioning partner for growing brands, with deep roots in CPG and retail. Turning complexity into a position that wins.

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Core offerings

What gets built with you.

Fractional Growth Leadership

Commercial leadership, without the full-time overhead. Every capability below, backed by senior-level accountability.

Marketing & Retail

Data-backed strategies that win your customer, structured as a circuit that fuels itself.

Go-to-Market & Exit Strategy

The plan that gets you to market, and the clarity that makes your business worth buying when it's time to sell.

Positioning & Customer Activation

Insight-led positioning, segmentation, and journey design, grounded in real customer behavior, not assumption.

Past clients

How it works

Built for the way real work gets done.

It starts with a conversation.

What are your business goals? What's taking up most of your time? Where are the bottlenecks?

From there: a proposal covering where support fits, broader recommendations for the business, and connections into a trusted network of industry experts across design, media, PR, legal, and more.

Every engagement runs on a clear scope and a shared definition of success. Remote by default, on-site for the moments that matter.

Fractional Retainer

Ongoing senior-level strategy embedded in your team. Typical commitment: 10–20 hours per week. Ideal for brands that need consistent commercial leadership without a full-time hire.

Project Engagement

Scoped work with clear deliverables, e.g. go-to-market plan, customer segmentation strategy, portfolio expansion strategy.

Advisory Sprint

Intensive, high-impact sessions designed to diagnose, prioritize, and equip your team. Perfect for a strategic inflection point.

Is this for you?

Four signals it's time to talk.

One of these moments is where every client relationship begins. If you're in one right now, that's the signal.

Launching into retail

You need someone who knows the channel, has the retailer relationships, and can build the commercial plan from scratch.

A retailer relationship is stalled

Whether it's Walmart, Target, or a specialty chain, you need someone who understands what buyers actually want and can rebuild the momentum.

Founder or CEO capacity is maxed out

Running retail strategy shouldn't be your full-time job. You need a senior partner who can own it.

You need to understand your customer

Before you can win at the shelf, you need to know who's buying, and why.

Where support fits

What the business needs, starts here.

Every engagement starts with a real conversation. Share what's going on, and expect a reply within two business days.

Prefer to talk live?

Founder

Morgan B. McCombs

NYC

Morgan started her career in retail marketing at the University of Arkansas, in the backyard of the world's largest retailer. She's led commerce strategy, customer activations, and IAT planning for global CPG leaders across every major retail channel.

She's built joint business plans at Walmart, supported product launches, and led cross-channel growth strategies that drove real global impact. MBM Strategy Shop exists to give growing brands that same operator's edge, without the full-time overhead.

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