What Cadent Consulting Group does

Cadent Consulting Group is a privately held boutique management consulting firm specializing in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Founded in 2013 by former partners of Cannondale Associates and Kantar Retail (Don Stuart, Ken Harris, and Paul Crnkovich), the firm operates from its Wilton, Connecticut headquarters and an Evanston, Illinois regional office, with a team of 11-50 employees. The firm serves consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, and private equity investors evaluating CPG transactions, drawing on leadership experience from Blue Chip CPG companies including Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola Foods, Pillsbury, and Jacobs Suchard.

Cadent delivers strategy consulting across six service areas: Category Leadership & Growth Strategy, Commercial Due Diligence, Consumer & Shopper Insights, Operations & Logistics Planning, Organizational Design, and Revenue Growth Management. Underpinning these services is a portfolio of six proprietary, trademarked analytical tools (easyOPT®, RapidQuery®, PriceSiGHT®, PromoOPT®, SEGRiTE®, and QualiQ™) developed over 20+ years of cumulative research, with selective use of AI-driven insights in survey-based analytics. The tools translate advanced analytics into retail-ready outputs such as assortment optimization, pricing elasticity modeling, trade promotion evaluation, shopper segmentation, and qualitative consumer research.

The firm operates a sales-led, relationship-based go-to-market model, generating revenue through fee-for-service consulting engagements tailored to client scope. Go-to-market activity is reinforced by thought leadership including the annual Marketing Spending Study series, industry publications, conference speaking, and a strategic research partnership with Fetch Rewards. Cadent is privately held by its managing partners with no disclosed institutional investment or external ownership.

Name

Cadent Consulting Group

Legal name

Cadent Consulting Group, LLC

Website

https://cadentcg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cadent Consulting Group is a boutique CPG consulting firm providing strategy, due diligence, shopper insights, and revenue growth management services to consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, and private equity investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA), Supplier Performance, Quality & Development (BPAHAHAI)

Keywords

• CPG strategic consulting
• Shopper insights
• Category management
• Revenue growth management
• Trade promotion optimization

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Strategic Consulting Services: Cadent generates revenue through fee-for-service consulting engagements across six key service areas: Category Leadership & Growth Strategy, Commercial Due Diligence, Consumer & Shopper Insights, Operations & Logistics Planning, Organizational Design, and Revenue Growth Management. Engagements are fit-for-purpose tailored to client needs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cadent Consulting Group is a boutique consulting firm serving the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. It delivers strategic advisory services across category leadership, commercial due diligence, consumer and shopper insights, operations and logistics planning, organizational design, and revenue growth management, supported by a suite of proprietary analytics tools (easyOPT, RapidQuery, PriceSiGHT, PromoOPT, SEGRiTE, and QualiQ) that translate shopper, pricing, assortment, and trade data into execution-ready strategies for manufacturers, retailers, and private equity investors.

Product overview

Cadent Consulting Group is a boutique consulting firm offering a platform of six core consulting services complemented by six proprietary analytical tools. The consulting services span Category Leadership & Growth Strategy, Commercial Due Diligence, Consumer & Shopper Insights, Operations & Logistics Planning, Organizational Design, and Revenue Growth Management. The proprietary tool portfolio — easyOPT®, RapidQuery®, PriceSiGHT®, PromoOPT®, SEGRiTE®, and QualIQ™ — translates complex analytics into clear, executable strategies, with tools like RapidQuery® leveraging AI-driven insights and most tools backed by 20+ years of industry research. Together, the services and solutions form an integrated CPG strategic consulting offering focused on connecting consumers, shoppers, brands, and retailers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• easyOPT: Proprietary assortment optimization tool designed to simplify and enhance decision-making for brands and retailers by identifying high-performing SKUs.
• RapidQuery
• PriceSiGHT
• PromoOPT
• SEGRiTE
• QualIQ

Products and services

• Category Leadership & Growth Strategy

Quantifiable outcome

• Significant distribution gains in year one for flavor and ingredients client through category leadership platform
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Fetch RewardscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partnership producing the CPG Clarity Study series (Parts 1-3) and Thanksgiving Insta Clarity Study. Combined Cadent's consulting expertise with Fetch Rewards' consumer purchase data to provide insights on CPG shopping behavior and marketing effectiveness.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Circana: Formerly IRI + The NPD Group, Circana is a leading CPG data and insights provider offering analytics, shopper intelligence, and consulting to manufacturers and retailers — directly overlapping Cadent's easyOPT/PromoOPT/RapidQuery value proposition.
• NielsenIQ: Global CPG measurement, analytics, and consulting provider serving manufacturers and retailers with category-level insights, competitive intelligence, and shopper analytics — overlapping Cadent's category leadership and RGM practices.
• The Partnering Group: Specialized retail and CPG consulting firm focused on category management, shopper insights, and revenue growth management — directly competitive with Cadent's six core service lines among mid-market and large CPG clients.
• Strategic Edge: Boutique CPG consulting firm specializing in category management, shopper insights, and joint business planning for manufacturers and retailers — comparable scale, vertical focus, and service line mix to Cadent.
• Kantar Retail: Direct competitor and Cadent's former parent organization (formed 2010 from Cannondale Associates + WPP entities). Provides category management, shopper insights, and retail strategy to the same Fortune 500 CPG client base Cadent targets.

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company (Consumer Goods Practice): Global strategy consultancy with a dedicated Consumer Goods practice serving CPG manufacturers on growth strategy, marketing ROI, and organizational design — competes for larger transformation mandates Cadent cannot staff at scale.
• Bain & Company (Consumer Products Practice): Global strategy consultancy with a deep Consumer Products practice advising CPG companies on category strategy, retail, and operations — comparable strategic consulting offering but at significantly larger scale than Cadent.
• Deloitte Consulting (Consumer Industry Practice): Big 4 advisory firm with a dedicated Consumer Industry practice covering strategy, operations, and analytics for CPG manufacturers and retailers — broader portfolio but overlapping on revenue growth management and commercial due diligence.
• Accenture Strategy (Consumer Goods & Services): Global consulting and technology firm with a Consumer Goods & Services practice combining strategy, digital, and operations consulting — competes for large-scale CPG transformation mandates that extend beyond Cadent's boutique scope.
• Boston Consulting Group (Consumer Goods Practice): Global strategy consultancy with a Consumer Goods industry practice covering growth strategy, pricing, and shopper marketing — overlapping with Cadent at the strategic tier of CPG consulting work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cadent-consulting-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Cadent Consulting Group