What CA Fortune does

C.A. Fortune is a privately held integrated commerce agency serving consumer packaged goods brands in the food and beverage sector. Founded in 1983 and expanded under current ownership in 2013, the company is headquartered at 651 W Washington Blvd, Suite 600 in Chicago and operates nationally across conventional and natural retail channels. The company is structured as C.A. Fortune Sales & Marketing LLC and offers six core service lines: HQ Management (national sales brokerage across grocery, natural, mass, club, drug, convenience, value/dollar, and e-commerce channels), Retail (in-store execution and merchandising), Insights (proprietary analytics dashboards with SKU-level distributor data), Support (order, deduction, and trade management), E-Commerce & Omni-Channel (Amazon Vendor/Seller Central, retail media, and digital shelf optimization), and Marketing & Advertising delivered through the SRW internal agency. The company also operates the BUILD emerging brands accelerator and C.A. Consult mentoring program for first-time retail entrants.

The company monetizes through transaction-based brokerage commissions, professional services fees for marketing and back-office support, and managed services for e-commerce and retail media. Its go-to-market motion is sales-led, with national customer teams structured by retail channel and direct relationships at major retailers including Albertsons, Kroger, Target, Whole Foods, Amazon, Instacart, and Thrive Market. Pricing is custom and quote-based, structured as multi-year contracts. The customer base consists of mid-market food and beverage brands (e.g., Miyoko's Creamery, Simple Mills, Vital Proteins, Perfect Bars, UNREAL Snacks, Good Culture). The company is led by Managing Partner & CEO Tyler Lowell with a compact executive team (CFO, CCO, CDMO, Chief Client Officer, General Counsel & Head of People), and has executed strategic acquisitions including DaCosta Global in 2019 and SRW Agency in 2024. Notable recognition includes multiple Great Place to Work, Built In Top Workplaces 2024, USA Today Top Workplaces 2024, and Inc. Best Workplaces 2026 designations.

Name

CA Fortune

Legal name

C.A. Fortune Sales & Marketing LLC

Website

https://cafortune.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

C.A. Fortune is a Chicago-headquartered, privately held integrated commerce agency that serves mid-market food and beverage CPG brands through national sales brokerage, retail execution, e-commerce, full-service marketing (SRW), analytics, and trade management. Founded 1983.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

CPG Sales Brokerage & Integrated Commerce Services

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer & Lifestyle PR (MPAAADAB)

Keywords

• CPG sales brokerage
• Retail execution services
• Trade marketing agency
• E-commerce retail media
• CPG data analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Elk Grove Village

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brokerage Services: National sales brokerage for CPG brands connecting them with retail decision-makers across multiple retail channels including grocery, natural, mass, club, drug, convenience channels
2. Marketing & Advertising Services: Full-service marketing and advertising through SRW internal agency, including strategy, creative, social media, PR, influencer marketing, and paid media
3. E-Commerce Services: Omnichannel and e-commerce services including Amazon Vendor Central & Seller Central Management, retail media, and digital shelf optimization
4. Support Services: Order management, deduction management, and trade management services for CPG brands
5. BUILD Accelerator: Outsourced sales solution and brand accelerator for emerging brands, providing full team support

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CA Fortune is a national consumer-centric integrated commerce agency for CPG (food and beverage) brands that delivers sales brokerage across grocery, natural, mass, club, drug, convenience, and e-commerce channels. The company bundles in-store retail execution, full-service marketing via its internal agency SRW, e-commerce and retail media management, proprietary analytics dashboards, and back-office order, deduction, and trade management support under a single integrated partner.

Product overview

C.A. Fortune is a national consumer-centric integrated commerce agency for CPG brands, combining sales brokerage, marketing, retail execution, e-commerce, and data analytics into a single integrated partner. The core offering includes HQ Management (national sales brokerage across grocery, natural, mass, club, drug, convenience, and e-commerce channels), Marketing & Advertising (via internal agency SRW providing strategy, creative, and paid media), E-Commerce & Omni-Channel (Amazon management and retail media), Retail Services (in-store execution), Insights (proprietary analytics dashboard), and Support (order, trade, and deduction management). BUILD (emergging brands accelerator) and C.A. Consult (mentoring) extend services to emerging brands. The company operates as a vertically integrated, privately held entity headquartered in Chicago.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SRW: Internal marketing agency for food and beverage brands, providing strategy, creative, production, influencer, PR and paid media services. Founded in 2015 and acquired in 2024.
• C.A. BUILD

Products and services

• HQ Management (National Sales Brokerage) National sales brokerage service covering conventional grocery, natural grocery, mass, club, drug, convenience, value/dollar, alternative, and e-commerce channels; provides strategic placement, customer relationships, and sales execution across retailers for CPG brands.
• Marketing & Advertising (SRW Agency) Internal creative agency offering strategy, creative, production, influencer marketing, public relations, and paid media services for food and beverage CPG brands.
• E-Commerce & Omni-Channel Services Digital shelf and retail media services including Amazon Vendor/Seller Central management, catalog management, PDP content optimization, SEO, and retail media execution across Amazon, Instacart, Criteo, and other e-commerce partners.
• Retail Services (In-Store Execution) In-store retail execution with a direct retail force for void closures, display execution, planogram compliance, promotional optimization, and brand awareness across conventional and natural retail channels.
• Insights (Data Analytics & Intelligence) Data analytics and intelligence platform providing proprietary data visualization, web-based dashboards for distributor data down to SKU level, and market share insights for CPG brands.
• Support (Order, Deduction & Trade Management) Back-office operations including order management (EDI/non-EDI purchase orders), deduction management and verification, and trade dollar allocation and spend optimization for CPG brands.
• BUILD (Emerging Brands Accelerator) Outsourced sales solution for emerging brands providing full team support including leadership, sales, analysis, and operations, plus customized coaching via C.A. Consult for first-time retail entrants.

Quantifiable outcome

• Trade and deduction management investment pays for itself in less than six months for clients
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SRW AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024SRW (founded 2015) joined C.A. Fortune in 2024 as the internal agency for food and beverage brands. SRW developed brand strategies for Simple Mills and Vital Proteins and made cottage cheese cool for Good Culture. The partnership provides strategy, creative, social media, PR, influencer marketing, and paid media as a core discipline within C.A.
• AlbertsonscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor grocery retailer partner for C.A. Fortune's client brands. C.A. provides retail execution and sales support for brands selling through Albertsons stores.
• AmazoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorC.A. Fortune is an Amazon Ads Verified Partner managing Amazon Vendor Central & Seller Central for client brands. Services include catalog management, PDP content optimization, and retail media execution.
• KrogercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor grocery retailer partner. C.A. provides retail execution and sales support for brands selling through Kroger stores.
• TargetcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor retailer partner. C.A. provides retail execution and sales support for brands selling through Target stores.
• Whole Foods MarketcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNatural channel retailer partner. C.A. provides sales and execution support for brands in the natural channel through Whole Foods.
• Thrive MarketminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNatural and organic e-commerce retailer partner for natural channel brands.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• KeHE Distributors: Large natural food distributor with brokerage and retailer-services arms serving CPG brands. Comparable to C.A. Fortune's natural-channel brokerage and distribution support.
• UNFI (United Natural Foods): Leading North American natural and conventional wholesale distributor with broker and retail-services capabilities. Competes with C.A. Fortune in natural-channel CPG brand distribution and retail execution.
• Walmart Connect / Sam's Club MAP (via GroupM): Retail media and commerce services arm of a major mass retailer. Comparable to C.A. Fortune's e-comm/retail-media service line for CPG brands selling across mass and club channels.

Direct peers

• Advantage Solutions: Largest US CPG sales brokerage and in-store execution services firm. Direct competitor to C.A. Fortune's HQ Management and Retail Services, serving similar CPG brand clients across grocery, mass, and club channels.
• Acosta: Major CPG sales and marketing services company providing retail brokerage, in-store execution, and integrated commerce support. Direct competitor to C.A. Fortune across CPG broker and retail execution offerings.
• Daymon Worldwide: Specialized CPG sales brokerage and retail services company, particularly strong in private label. Closely comparable to C.A. Fortune's HQ Management and in-store execution model for CPG brands.
• The Mars Agency: Shopper marketing agency specializing in CPG brand activation at retail. Closely comparable to C.A. Fortune's marketing/advertising arm (SRW) and integrated commerce offerings for CPG clients.

Emerging players

• M Booth: Independent communications and PR agency with strong consumer and lifestyle brand portfolio. Comparable to the PR and influencer-marketing capabilities within C.A. Fortune's SRW agency.
• BerlinRosen: Independent communications and earned-media agency serving consumer and lifestyle brands. Comparable to SRW's PR and influencer-marketing service line for CPG and lifestyle clients.

Others

• NielsenIQ (NIQ): Market measurement and consumer insights provider for CPG brands and retailers. Adjacent to C.A. Fortune's Insights and SKU-level distributor dashboard offering; both compete for analytics-driven CPG decision support.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cafortunensb
• Facebookfacebook.com/cafortunensb
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/c-a-fortune-food-broker

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CA Fortune