What Impact Group does

Impact Group is a sales and marketing agency serving consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Boise, Idaho, with a workforce of 101-250 employees. The firm provides outsourced sales representation and marketing services to CPG brands across multiple retail channels and product categories.

The company operates as a platform-and-add-on model: since a 2016 investment from CI Capital Partners, Impact Group has executed at least eight targeted acquisitions through 2018 — including Co-Sales Company, Harlow-HRK Sales & Marketing, Signature Specialty Sales & Marketing, Performance Sales and Marketing, Mingerink, W.J. Pence Co., Ritt, Beyer & Weir Inc., and Cluep — broadening its CPG sales network and extending into digital consumer engagement via the Cluep acquisition.

Economically, Impact Group is a privately held, for-profit agency that monetizes through professional services fees tied to outsourced sales and marketing engagements with CPG manufacturers. There is no public pricing or disclosed revenue in the input. The leadership team comprises founder Claude See, CFO Pat Hobby, SVP of IT Rob James, and VP of Sales Linda Hodnett, supporting a technology- and sales-led operating posture consistent with a multi-agency CPG services roll-up.

Name

Impact Group

Legal name

Acosta

Website

https://impactgrp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1930

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Impact Group is a privately held CPG sales and marketing agency founded in 1994 in Boise, Idaho, that operates a roll-up of regional and specialty CPG sales agencies serving consumer packaged goods brands across multiple retail channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

CPG Retail Sales and Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance) (BPAGALAA)

Keywords

• CPG sales agency
• Retail merchandising services
• Headquarter sales representation
• Category management services
• Brand activation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boise

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services Fees: Acosta generates revenue by providing retail sales, merchandising, and marketing services to consumer brands and retailers. Services are delivered through retainer arrangements, project fees, and performance-based contracts. The company acts as an intermediary connecting brands with retailers, earning fees for headquarter sales coordination, merchandising execution, and data analytics services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Impact Group is a sales and marketing agency that serves consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and retailers. The company provides headquarter sales representation, in-store merchandising, space and category management, business intelligence, revenue growth management, and supply chain/order-to-cash services that connect brands with retailers across grocery, mass, club, drug, natural, and e-commerce channels in the United States and Canada.

Product overview

Acosta offers a unified platform of retail sales and marketing services organized into four integrated pillars: (1) Drive Omnichannel Sales — combining Headquarter Sales, Connected Commerce, and Emerging Natural and Organic Brands (Ignite Sales Services) to accelerate brand growth across physical and digital channels; (2) Execute at Retail — featuring Merchandising and Space + Category Management for optimal in-store presence; (3) Mobilize Complex Data — delivering Business Intelligence and Revenue Growth Management for actionable insights and profitability; and (4) Optimize Processes — including Order to Cash and Supply Chain services for operational efficiency. The portfolio is designed as an end-to-end solution connecting brands, retailers, and consumers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Headquarter Sales

Quantifiable outcome

• +95% dollar sales growth and +6 SKUs in national distribution for a regional brand expanding to Whole Foods
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Feature4 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Global data, research, and consulting powerhouse serving CPG brands with insights, retail measurement, and brand strategy. Larger and broader than Impact Group, but addresses overlapping client needs around retail intelligence and revenue growth management.
• NielsenIQ: Global consumer intelligence and retail measurement company serving CPG brands and retailers. Overlaps with Impact Group's business intelligence and category management services at a much larger scale.

Direct peers

• CROSSMARK: Sales and marketing services agency focused on CPG and retail, offering headquarter sales, in-store merchandising, and shopper engagement — directly overlapping with Impact Group's core offerings.
• Mosaic Sales Solutions: Sales and merchandising solutions provider for CPG brands across North American retail, directly comparable to Impact Group's headquarter sales and in-store merchandising offerings.
• Advantage Solutions: The largest U.S. sales and marketing agency for CPG brands, providing headquarter sales, merchandising, and category management — the same core service stack as Impact Group, but at significantly greater scale.
• Sales Force (S&F / Sales & Field Services): Provider of retail field sales, merchandising, and brand activation services to CPG companies — directly comparable headquarter sales and in-store execution model to Impact Group.
• Daymon (now part of Advantage Solutions): Specialized retail sales and branding services for CPG brands in the private label and emerging brand segments, mirroring Impact Group's stated focus on emerging and established CPG clients.
• Acosta: Long-standing CPG sales and marketing services firm (founded 1930) providing headquarter sales, merchandising, business intelligence, and supply chain services to brands across grocery, mass, natural, and drug retail channels. Closest direct functional competitor to Impact Group.

Emerging players

• The Mars Agency: Independent marketing agency focused on shopper marketing, commerce, and CPG brand activation. Comparable to Impact Group in target client (CPG brands) and category (shopper/sales marketing), though more creative-led than field-sales-led.
• Salsify: Digital product content and commerce experience platform used by CPG brands. Adjacent rather than directly competing, but increasingly relevant as CPG brand-to-retail execution moves digital, potentially disintermediating traditional field sales agencies like Impact Group.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/impctgrp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A8 records

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Impact Group