Food & Beverage

Margin control for food and beverage brands from ingredient cost to distributor check.

Food and beverage margins are thin and move for reasons that don’t show up on a standard P&L. Ingredient prices reset with each contract, yields and shrink vary by run, co-packers charge minimums and tolling fees, and distributors take deductions weeks after the invoice. By the time month-end financials land, the margin problem is already a cash problem.

Buxbaum works with packaged food, beverage, and better-for-you brands to connect production, inventory, and channel data to the numbers leadership manages by. We help companies see true cost per case, understand what distributors actually pay, and plan cash around production runs and payment terms.

What We Offer Food & Beverage Companies

• Cost per case and SKU-level margin by channel (natural, conventional, club, foodservice, DTC), net of freight and distributor fees
• Ingredient and packaging cost tracking with yield, shrink, and co-packer variance analysis against standard cost
• Distributor gross-to-net reporting for UNFI, KeHE, and DSD partners, including MCBs, spoils, bill-backs, and promotional deductions, with reserve methodology that ties to remittances
• Inventory and cash planning built around production minimums, ingredient lead times, shelf life, and expiry write-offs
• Trade promotion and marketing ROI, including lift analysis on retail promotions and CAC and LTV for DTC and subscription programs
• Quality of Earnings and diligence support covering gross-to-net normalization, co-packer contracts, customer concentration, and velocity trends by door
• Fractional CFO leadership experienced in scaling brands through distributor expansion, co-packer transitions, and strategic sales