Emerging CPG brands recently showcased their products at the 2025 Build Tank, hosted by C.A. Fortune, a national, privately-held, consumer brand sales and marketing agency. Modeled after Shark Tank, brands such as Torres, a Spanish-based potato chip company, were evaluated on their packaging, pitch, and product innovation. The judges featured representatives from retailers including Meijer, Kroger, and Whole Foods.

In a food and beverage marketplace that has become extremely crowded with competition and consumers becoming increasingly discerning about the CPG and food items they purchase, C.A. Fortune began hosting Build Tank events to offer clients more personalized feedback from leading food and beverage industry experts. 

The panel was given scorecards and asked to evaluate each presenting brand on packaging, pitch and product innovation. Cookie dough company Doich! earned the award for best pitch, Bear Maple Farms won for best packaging, Headlock Hot Sauce was recognized for most innovative, and the award for best overall brand went to Anihana, a New Zealand-based body wash and shampoo company.

In the week leading up to the event, the participating brands were given training from C.A. Fortune’s brand accelerator division, C.A. Build, on how to craft an effective pitch. The morning of the presentations, C.A. Fortune’s insights team provided the latest data updates from the grocery industry. Each brand then had approximately 10-15 minutes to present, followed by individualized feedback from the judging panel.

Build Tank is a signature event within C.A. Fortune’s four-day, one-of-a-kind Build national sales meeting which offers emerging brands access to strategy sessions, brainstorms, and guidance.

“This was our fourth annual Build Tank, and we have case studies from prior years that brands who participate in the event have some learnings, good and bad, and we put those to work,” says Meagen Arensdorff, vice president of C.A. Build. “The beautiful thing is with the feedback from today, we’ll sit down with our brands, ask them what they learned and we rework the strategy to make sure we can be as effective as possible. Past participating brands have seen that when they incorporate this critical feedback, retweak certain aspects of their product or packaging, they can reach their goal of getting in store shelves. It’s incredibly impactful.”

Related: Brands set to compete at Naturally Rising pitch competition