Trade marketing · FMCG & retail

Innovative marketing,
measurable impact.

Catalyst is the specialist shopper-activation agency for FMCG and retail brands. We integrate creative production with technology-driven insight so your campaigns don't just reach the aisle — they win it.

Strategy to shelf, in-house ROI on every activation
Brightly lit supermarket aisle stocked with FMCG products
FMCGRetailBeverageConvenienceWholesaleModern TradeGeneral TradeE-commerce RetailFMCGRetailBeverageConvenienceWholesaleModern TradeGeneral TradeE-commerce Retail

4.2x

Average return on activation spend

18%

Lift in shelf sell-through

6 wks

From brief to in-market

1

Team owning strategy → shelf

What we do

The full shopper-activation stack, owned end to end.

From strategic ideation to logistics and reporting, every capability lives under one roof — closing the gaps that generalist networks and data-only shops leave open.

Shopper Activation

In-store campaigns, sampling and experiential moments engineered to convert at the point of decision — not just to be seen.

POS Production & Logistics

We design, manufacture and physically deploy your point-of-sale — the piece generalist agencies outsource and lose control of.

Trade Marketing Strategy

Category, channel and retailer plans built around the shopper, not the org chart. Ideation through to a costed activation roadmap.

Data & Measurement

Every campaign ships with a measurement plan up front: sell-through, share of shelf, redemption and incremental ROI on a live dashboard.

Field & Staffing

Trained brand ambassadors and merchandisers, managed and marked up transparently — the same team that planned the activation runs it.

Creative Production

Retail-first creative that respects the aisle: bold, legible and produced to spec, integrating creative craft with technology-driven insight.

How we work

One accountable team, from the brief to the board deck.

No hand-offs between strategy, production and field. A single pod carries your programme through every stage — which is exactly why the measurement holds up.

01

Strategic ideation

We start at the shelf. Shopper insight and category data shape a sharp activation idea with a measurable objective attached.

02

Creative production

Concepts become retail-ready assets and POS — designed and manufactured in-house so nothing is lost in translation.

03

Logistics & activation

We deploy to store, staff the floor and run the programme. One accountable team from warehouse to shelf.

04

Reporting & optimisation

Live measurement during, a board-ready readout after. Every unit of spend traced to an outcome and the next sprint.

Retail staff completing a point-of-sale transaction with a shopper
Curated retail store interior with merchandised displays
Grocery store aisle with fully merchandised shelves
Why Catalyst

Built to own the aisle the big networks can't.

We deliberately dropped the “all sectors” positioning to become the go-to trade-marketing specialist for FMCG and retail — and built the model around the gaps competitors leave open.

The old way

  • Generalist experience networks spread across every category.
  • Production and logistics handed to third-party suppliers.
  • Data houses that report but never touch the shelf.
  • Retainers padded with layers you can't see.

The Catalyst way

  • Specialists in one thing: FMCG & retail shopper activation.
  • POS designed, produced and deployed under one roof.
  • We execute and measure — insight tied to in-market results.
  • One blended retainer: campaign, production and staffing, transparent.
In their words

Trusted by the teams closest to the shelf.

Illustrative testimonials from fictional brands.

Catalyst is the first partner that owned the whole chain — idea, POS and the people in-store. Sell-through moved within the first cycle.
NMNaledi M.Head of Trade Marketing · National Beverage Brand
We stopped stitching together three agencies. One team, one number, and a dashboard I can actually take to the board.
RVRiaan V.Marketing Director · Packaged Foods Group
They speak retailer, not jargon. The activation was in every store on time and the measurement was ready before I asked.
TKThandeka K.Shopper Marketing Lead · Personal Care Portfolio
Engagement

One retainer. Strategy, production and staffing — blended and clear.

No stacked agency fees or hidden markups. A single monthly partnership scaled to a mid-to-large brand's marketing budget.

Brand Partner Retainer
$14K/ month

A blended monthly retainer covering campaign fees, POS production margin and field-staffing markups for one brand — priced for mid-to-large corporate marketing budgets.

  • Dedicated strategy + activation pod
  • In-house POS design & production
  • Physical logistics and store deployment
  • Managed field & merchandising staff
  • Live measurement dashboard
  • Board-ready campaign readouts
Start your programme
Activation Pilot
Project

Prove the model before you commit. A single scoped shopper-activation sprint with measurement built in.

  • One-off activation, fully measured
  • Fixed scope & fixed fee
  • Clear path to a retainer
Scope a pilot

Scaling from 5 active brand partners today toward 20 by Year 3. Illustrative pricing — final scope is agreed per brand.

Questions

Everything else you might ask.

We are a specialist trade-marketing and shopper-activation agency for FMCG and retail brands. We run the full loop in-house — strategic ideation, creative production, POS manufacturing and logistics, field and staffing, and measurement — so a single team owns your programme from brief to board-ready report.

Generalist and experiential networks cover many categories and hand production or logistics to third parties; data houses report but don't execute. We deliberately do the opposite: one specialist team that owns strategy, physical POS logistics and hard measurement together. Fewer hand-offs, tighter shelf-level accountability, faster in-market learning.

Our core niche is FMCG and retail shopper activation, including beverage. We selectively support adjacent corporate marketing teams in telecom, financial services and automotive when the work is retail- or activation-led — but shopper activation is what we do best.

Most brands engage us on a monthly partner retainer that blends campaign fees, POS production margin and field-staffing markups into one predictable number — typically around $14K per month for a mid-to-large brand. Project and pilot engagements are available before you commit to a retainer.

Every activation ships with a measurement plan up front — sell-through, share of shelf, redemption, cost-per-activation and incremental ROI. You get a live dashboard during the campaign and a board-ready readout after it, so 'measurable impact' is a contract term, not a slogan.

A focused shopper-activation sprint can be in-market within four to six weeks. After you join the waitlist, our strategy team scopes a first sprint with you inside two business days.

Get started

Ready to win at the shelf?

Join the waitlist and our strategy team will scope your first shopper-activation sprint within two business days. Innovative marketing, measurable impact — starting with your next campaign.

No obligation Reply in 2 business days

No spam. We'll only reach out about your activation programme.