Boutique FMCG Growth Business Partner

You have the ambition.

The gap is in the execution.

ACG helps small and mid-size FMCG companies transform commercial ambition into sustainable, profitable growth — by integrating strategy, leadership, and execution into one cohesive system.

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20+
Years international
FMCG experience
3
Integrated pillars
in one system to cover end-to-end business cycles
5P
Product, Price, Promotion, Placement, People — all covered
ICF
Accredited Business
& Team Coach
The Challenge

The problem is
not necessarily the strategy.

The real problem is that there is no solid bridge between vision, strategy, and reality.
01

Strategy

Not well defined, not translated into concrete action.

  • You have a strong product or brand, but no clear route to market.
  • You have entered the market, but growth remains limited.
  • Growth exists, but current channels and markets are reaching their limits.
  • Expansion is on the agenda, but profitability is not following.
02

Capability

Gaps that make it hard to implement the plan.

  • Growth has outpaced the organisation's structure.
  • The team is overloaded and stuck in firefighting.
  • Roles have changed faster than capabilities.
  • Change initiatives stall — ownership and accountability are weak.
03

Execution

Inconsistent delivery; scaling fails under the load.

  • Execution quality is inconsistent across the team.
  • Critical commercial skills are missing or uneven.
  • Tools and data exist, but do not support decisions.
  • AI is present, but not well integrated.
ACG
The core difference

We don't advise
and disappear.

This is a real partnership, not a standardized consulting theatre. We don't advise and leave, and we don't deliver frameworks and disappear. We work side by side with you, be present when critical decisions are made, go to the field when needed, and listen across all organisational levels.

The ACG Integrated Growth System

Three Pillars. One System
01 WHY & WHAT
Needs to Change

Applied
Commercial Growth

Strategy designed for execution — not just presentation. We build the commercial architecture that makes growth repeatable and scalable.

  • Market entry & growth model
  • Revenue quality & margin strategy
  • Route-to-market design
  • Trade & shopper activation
  • 5P commercial architecture
02 WHO
Can Carry It

Applied
Capability Growth

Leadership development in real business context. For leaders who need to perform under pressure — not just understand concepts in a classroom.

  • Individual coaching & mentoring
  • Leadership transition support
  • Team coaching & alignment
  • Decision-making under pressure
  • Ownership & accountability
03 HOW
to Execute

Applied
Competency Growth

Commercial skills that stick. Training built around what your team needs to do differently tomorrow — applied immediately, measured by results.

  • Negotiation & persuasion
  • Sales opportunity creation
  • Stakeholder management
  • Commercial decision-making
  • AI-embedded execution tools

Sustainable growth only happens when strategy, capability, and execution evolve together. Most companies work on one. ACG works on all three — simultaneously, in context, with you.

The Founder
Attila Bellon
Attila Bellon — ACG Solutions Group founder
20+
Years international
FMCG experience
ICF
Certified Business
& Team Coach
4+
Regions across
Europe & Middle East
3
Commercial Director
roles at scale

ACG wasn't built
in a boardroom.

I started my career the same way most people do — at the bottom. First role: Sales Representative at Friesland Campina, balancing studies and semi-pro football. That experience gave me something I've relied on ever since — a deep respect for the people who do the work, and a ground-level understanding of where commercial strategies actually land.

From there, nearly a decade at Nestlé — growing from fresh graduate to leading Corporate Trade Marketing and E-commerce across Central and Eastern Europe. I sat across the table from major retail buyers. I built category strategies from scratch. I learned how decisions made at headquarters landed — or didn't — in stores across the region.

Then came Arla Foods in Saudi Arabia — leading Puck to market leadership as Category Head and board member. Full P&L responsibility. A team navigating genuine complexity. After that, Commercial Director roles at Reckitt Benckiser and BioTechUSA, driving international expansion from challenger to global contender.

Along the way, I completed an ICF-accredited Business and Team Coach diploma — not as a second career, but because I started to understand that the missing ingredient in almost every commercial challenge I'd ever faced was a human one.

ACG exists because I wanted to give others what I wish I had had — a partner who had walked the path before, who understood both the commercial and the human side of growth, and who would stay in it with you until it actually worked.

What We Believe
I.
Strategy is only as good as its execution. A brilliant plan that lives in a deck is not a strategy. It's a hypothesis. Real strategy is execution design — built to be lived, not presented.
II.
People are the multiplier. The best commercial model in the world will plateau if the people carrying it aren't capable, confident, and aligned. Growth always happens through people.
III.
Partnership is a game-changer. The moment things get difficult is exactly when a real partner shows up — not the moment they hand over a slide deck.
The methodology

From unknown brand
to listed revenue.

A structured six-phase market entry system. Each phase builds on the previous — de-risking the decision, building the strategy, then accelerating revenue. The first three phases cost nothing, because you should know whether a brand can win before paying to find out.

1
Brand Qualification
Entry gate
Free
2
Market Scoping
Focus filter
Free
3
Retail Landscape
Market intel
Free*
4
Category & White Space
Strategy
5
Business Case
Commercial model
6
Execution & KAM
Revenue growth

* Retail Landscape is delivered to brands with a confirmed GO decision. Phases 4 and 5 can be combined.

No cost. No obligation. Before anything else, we establish whether this brand can realistically win shelf space.

What we do
  • Structured brand questionnaire — product, pricing, USPs, logistics, brand awareness, marketing support, readiness, distribution model
  • Ability-to-win scoring across key market criteria
  • Positioning and pricing validation against the target market
  • Initial feedback on gaps and immediate improvement areas
What you receive
  • Qualification score — 1–10 across readiness, pricing, USP and market fit
  • Listing probability — indicative rating for each key retail channel
  • Go / No-Go recommendation — a clear next step, with the reasoning behind it
  • Gap assessment — what has to change to qualify, in actionable terms
Tool 01
Brand Qualification & Retail Readiness Assessment

A structured, scalable model that qualifies any FMCG brand's readiness for retail market entry — and shows exactly where the gaps are before a buyer finds them.

10 sections46 scored questionsAuto gap analysisRadar chartAbility-to-win score /100
Brand qualification tool — ability-to-win score and section scorecards

Not every brand should enter every market. This phase finds where the real commercial opportunity is — fast, and without unnecessary complexity.

Scope
  • Up to three markets evaluated simultaneously
  • Hungary as the primary anchor market, with EU expansion assessed in parallel
Evaluation criteria per market
  • Market size and growth trend
  • Category maturity and competitive density
  • Pricing compatibility
  • Route-to-market availability
  • Regulatory and labelling requirements
  • ACG network and existing buyer relationships
What you receive
  • Market attractiveness ranking across the markets assessed
  • Top 1–2 recommended markets with the rationale behind the call
  • Initial route-to-market options per market
  • Red flags and risks identified before you commit
  • International leads from the existing network
Tool 02
International Market Entry Opportunities & Prioritization

From 70+ global markets down to the next move — scored, ranked and ready to execute. A data-driven framework that prioritises market entry, unlocks distributor networks and shortens the route to revenue.

70+ marketsWeighted scoringDistributor networkRanked shortlist
Market scoring matrix — markets ranked by weighted criteria

A comprehensive map of how the market actually works — not how it looks from the outside.

What we map
  • Trade structure — modern vs. traditional trade, centralised vs. decentralised buying, store count, market share and private label strategy per retailer group
  • Channel map — grocery, discount, drugstore, pharma, sport and DIY, with the top players, buyer contacts and listing criteria for each
  • Shopper and market data — category size, shopper profile, pricing benchmarks, shelf architecture and promotional mechanics by channel
What you receive
  • A 10–15 slide Retail Landscape deck covering trade structure, key accounts, market share, the buyer map, shopper profile and channel recommendations

* Delivered to brands with a confirmed GO decision from Phase 2.

Tool 03
Retail Landscape Analysis & Prioritization

A full channel and customer overview — shares, highlights, scores, rankings, category maturity and ability-to-win analysis across every relevant retail partner.

Channel mapCustomer sharesCategory maturityPartner ranking
Retail landscape — Hungarian grocery market structure and channel split

A deep dive into the top three customers — the ones where ability to win is highest.

What we analyse
  • Category maturity — growing, saturated or emerging? Shelf space trends, new entrant success rates, category investment level per channel
  • Competitor mapping — who holds the shelf, at what market share, pricing tier, trade marketing support, promotional frequency and range width
  • White space analysis — price gaps, format opportunities, functional claims, underserved target groups, packaging and size blind spots
  • Ability-to-win score — ranked assessment of the top three retail partners by listing probability and volume potential
What you receive
  • Portfolio recommendation
  • Listing proposal with SKU selection
  • Pricing positioning
  • Channel priority ranking
  • Pack price architecture proposal
  • Promo and trade marketing strategy framework
  • A compromise entry angle where the direct route is closed
Tool 04
White Space Analysis with Pricing & Pack Price Architecture

Category landscape, competitor price positioning and the optimal entry points by sub-segment — the gaps on the shelf that a new entrant can actually take.

Price gap mappingSub-segment entry pointsPack price architecture
White space map — price against sub-category across the shelf

A full commercial model, so the decision to commit is made on numbers rather than optimism.

What the model covers
  • Pricing architecture — validated RRP, promo price, mechanism and frequency, promo share, price positioning against competition, pack price architecture
  • Margin and volume model — channel margin requirements for retailer, distributor and agent, transfer price, COGS and landed cost, best / realistic / conservative volume scenarios, gross sales and net revenue projection, rotation estimate per store per week
  • Route to market — direct, distributor or agent, selected partner options, commercial model type, listing points and SKU prioritisation
What you receive
  • Excel business case model plus an executive summary slide
  • Three scenario projections — best, realistic, conservative
  • A Go / Invest decision with full financial transparency
Tool 05
Business Potential Scenarios with Full P&L Model

Best and worst case 12-month net revenue projection, by retail partner and at SKU level, built on benchmarked rotation rates rather than hopeful assumptions.

SKU-levelBy partnerBenchmarked rotation3 scenariosFull P&L
Business potential dashboard — best and worst case revenue scenarios

Strategy becomes revenue here. Three engagement models, depending on how much of the execution you want to own.

Model A
Full market entry & management
  • Full KAM-led execution with two Key Account Managers
  • Retail negotiation and listing
  • Joint Business Planning with retailers
  • Ongoing key account management
  • Continuous growth support
Model B
Listing only
  • Focused listing execution
  • Retail placement secured
  • Your team takes over operations
  • ACG transitions out after listing
  • Ongoing revenue share
Model C
Distributor match
  • The right distributor identified
  • Relationship facilitated
  • Commercial framework set
  • Lower fee, lower intensity
  • Two-year revenue share
Reporting cadence
  • Bi-weekly — update call and live negotiation tracker refresh, with status on every active partner conversation
  • Monthly — full status presentation per retailer and partner
  • Quarterly — business review covering volume, margin and the next quarter's plan
  • Ad hoc — immediate escalation on urgent buyer decisions

Before a brand can be listed, buyers look it up. We assess what they will find — and where needed, we build it.

Validation research
  • Category maturity assessment — search volume analysis, social buzz, US benchmark against the Hungarian market: is the category ready, or does it need education?
  • Competitive landscape audit — ad volume, marketplace bestseller data, pricing benchmarks and USP differentiation mapping
  • Audience and demand research — what pain points actually drive purchase, and what objections stand in the way
  • Current brand performance audit — an honest baseline of existing ad performance, SEO, social following and creative quality before the retail pitch
What we build
  • Market validation campaign — low-budget test campaigns before stock commitment, giving Go/No-Go data before inventory is imported
  • Performance marketing — full-funnel paid campaigns from awareness to conversion, ROAS-optimised
  • SEO and content strategy — category education content and keyword architecture, building organic demand in low-awareness categories
  • Social and influencer ecosystem — micro-influencer activations and UGC driving category awareness ahead of listing

Screens shown are illustrative examples from previous projects. They represent output structure, visualisation and dashboard content — client figures and brand names are redacted.

Beyond market entry — the full ecosystem

01
Long-term strategy

Full go-to-market strategy for complex or multi-market entries — from category positioning to channel design and the annual operating plan.

02
Digital brand growth

Performance marketing, full-funnel build, category validation research, SEO, content and e-commerce acceleration.

03
Trade marketing & in-store

In-store execution, shopper activation, promotional planning and trade investment management to drive velocity off the shelf.

04
Organisation & retail readiness

Local team setup, commercial structure design and governance for brands committing to a long-term market presence.

05
Coaching & training

Brand, sales and retail capability training for local teams and distributors, using ICF-accredited coaching methodology.

06
AI-powered business intelligence

Automated P&L dashboards, market monitoring, competitor alerts and AI-augmented reporting — turning data into decisions.

Selected work

What this looks like
in practice.

National retail chain · Hungary

An integrated trade growth model, built from scratch

Trade marketing spend was being consumed without measurable commercial return. We designed an integrated trade growth system in its place — category development, premium in-store execution, shopper activation and closed-loop ROI measurement, operating as one cycle rather than a series of disconnected campaigns. The engagement covered the commercial model, the organisational design behind it, the partner responsibility framework and a three-phase implementation roadmap through to a board-level go/no-go decision.

Commercial modelCategory developmentOrganisational designROI framework
International FMCG brand

A market entry decision made on evidence

A brand with a proven product and no clear route into the market. We ran the full analysis phase: brand qualification and readiness scoring, market prioritisation across candidate territories, retail partner and category assessment, white space mapping against the incumbents on shelf, and a scenario-based business case with pricing, margin and volume modelling — so the decision to enter, and where to enter, rested on numbers rather than instinct.

Brand qualificationMarket prioritisationWhite spaceBusiness case

Client names and detailed results are available on request, under NDA.

What you are investing in

Eight capabilities. One team.
01
Interim commercial lead

Embedded senior expertise working as part of your team — full commercial accountability, strategic direction and execution leadership.

02
A full commercial team in one

Brand marketing, trade marketing, category development, sales and NRM — all disciplines integrated into a single growth unit.

03
Commercial framework & toolkit

A proven toolset built for international markets — ready to deploy and adapt across geographies from day one.

04
Established KAM network in Hungary

Senior Key Account Managers with deep, stable buyer relationships across every major Hungarian retail and drugstore chain.

05
Sales representation & merchandising

Best-in-class field sales and merchandising execution partners, available as strategic resources when the plan needs them.

06
Global distribution partner pool

A wide network of distribution partners enabling rapid market activation and channel entry across global markets.

07
International trade exhibition experience

A proven track record at global exhibitions — driving brand visibility, buyer engagement and new market leads.

08
100+ global senior buyer contacts

Direct access to decision-makers gathered from international trade shows — an immediate commercial head start.

Who We Work With

We work with a small number
of FMCG companies — by design.

Not because we can't scale. Because real partnership requires focus. ACG's clients are small and mid-size FMCG brands who have proven their product, but know something needs to change to reach the next level.

We partner with organizations and professionals who commit to real change, do not want to waste money on theoretical standardized consulting, and are ready to work side by side to reach sustainable long-term growth.

If that sounds like you, we should talk.
You've hit a growth ceiling
Revenue is growing, but not profitably. Or growth has plateaued and your team isn't sure why. The next level requires a different approach.
Execution is inconsistent
Results depend on specific individuals. Plans are made but follow-through is uneven. The gap between intent and reality is too wide.
Your team is stretched
Strong experts have been promoted into roles without the preparation or support to perform effectively under growing pressure.
Why ACG

What makes us different.

01 We stay.

Committed through implementation

We don't deliver a strategy and leave you to figure it out. We embed ourselves in your business reality — in the critical decisions, in the field, in the difficult conversations — and we stay through implementation.

02 We integrate.

Strategy + People + Execution together

Commercial strategy without leadership capability is a presentation. Leadership development without execution standards is a workshop. ACG builds all three layers simultaneously — because that's the only way growth sticks.

03 We've lived it.

20+ years of real commercial leadership

ACG is built on lived experience — not academic models. From sales representative to managing a category across the Middle East to board-level strategy. We've made the mistakes, learned from them, and built our system on what actually works.

04 AI amplifies.

Human expertise, accelerated by AI

We embed AI where it genuinely accelerates results — faster market insight, smarter decision preparation, sharper execution tools. Human judgement leads. AI makes it faster and more precise. Not the other way around.

Let's Talk

Ready to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be?

Every engagement starts with a conversation. Not a pitch — a real exchange about your situation, your ambitions, and whether ACG is the right partner for where you're going.

If what you've read here resonates, reach out. We'd love to hear where you are.

01
You reach out
Send a message. Tell us a little about where you are and what's on your mind. There's no template — just say what feels true.
02
We connect
Within 48 hours, we'll suggest a time for an initial call. 30–45 minutes. No preparation needed. Just a real conversation.
03
We're honest
If ACG is the right fit, we'll say so and explain how we'd approach it. If we don't think so, we'll tell you that too, and point you somewhere better.

We read every message personally. You'll hear back within 48 hours.