What Smartfish Group does

Smartfish Group is a privately held, full-service marketing and production agency headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, with a secondary office in Milton, Massachusetts. The firm provides brand strategy, graphic and packaging design, web design and development, social media management, video production including drone videography, event materials, and physical warehousing, embroidery, fulfillment, and multi-region distribution. It serves a client base that includes large consumer packaged goods and beverage brands (Bacardi, Guinness, Heineken, Red Bull, Smirnoff, Converse, Ocean Spray), craft beverage producers (Woodchuck Hard Cider, Nauti Seltzer, Wormtown Brewery, Trail's End, Gumption Hard Cider), marine electronics (Raymarine/FLIR), healthcare IT (Diameter Health), sports organizations (BAUER Hockey, US Olympic Committee), and nonprofit clients (MSPCA-ANGELL).

The company's core capability is human-led creative services rather than proprietary technology; production relies on standard creative tooling (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, drawing tablets, iPad/Procreate) plus an in-house Smartfish Digital Lab for photography, videography, and drone operations, and a 10,000+ square-foot warehouse with an in-house embroidery department. It has no disclosed AI/ML, software platform, or productized technology offering. Smartfish operates as a single integrated service line spanning ideation through physical product delivery, differentiating through full-lifecycle execution and deep beverage-industry expertise.

The business model is professional services: project-based and retainer engagements delivered through direct enterprise and mid-market client relationships, with a relationship-driven go-to-market motion. Creative capacity is augmented by a long-standing partnership with Jackrabbit Design (led by Creative Director Dave Belyea, active since approximately 2007) that contributes 20+ additional creative professionals without proportional fixed-cost headcount. The company is founder-led (Dave Matthy, Brendan Benecchi, Jim Coveno), privately held with no disclosed external funding, and operates with 11-50 employees covering the Northeast US region with fulfillment reach into Canada, South America, and the Caribbean.

Name

Smartfish Group

Legal name

Smartfish Group

Website

https://smartfishgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smartfish Group is a privately held, full-service marketing and production agency serving enterprise CPG, beverage, apparel, and other brand clients with brand design, packaging, web, social media, video, and integrated warehousing and fulfillment services from Marlborough and Milton, Massachusetts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Marlborough

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, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Marketing and Creative Services: Smartfish Group generates revenue by providing comprehensive marketing and production services to a roster of well-known CPG, beverage, apparel, and other brand clients. Services include brand activation, digital strategy, print design and production, direct marketing, social media management, packaging design, website development, video production, and warehousing and fulfillment. Revenue is project-based and retainer-driven for ongoing accounts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smartfish Group is a full-service marketing and production company that creates engaging marketing solutions for brand owners, spanning brand strategy, identity and logo design, packaging design, web design and development, social media management, print and event materials, video and drone content production, plus in-house warehousing, embroidery, fulfillment, and physical distribution of branded merchandise. The agency operates as a single unified service rather than a modular platform, serving enterprise CPG, beverage, apparel, healthcare technology, and nonprofit clients across the Northeast US and select international regions.

Product overview

Smartfish Group is a full-service marketing and production company that operates as a single unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company provides comprehensive marketing solutions including brand design, packaging design, web design and development, social media management, print production, promotional programs, warehousing, and fulfillment services. Rather than distinct software products, the company delivers creative and marketing services to clients across various industries including beverage/alcohol, sports, healthcare technology, and non-profit sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Marketing and Brand Design Services Full-service marketing, brand design, packaging, web, social, print, video, and event creative services sold to enterprise, mid-market, startup, healthcare, and nonprofit clients. Services include brand strategy, identity and logo design, packaging design, web design and development, social media management, video production, drone videography, print production, and event materials.
• Web Design and Development Design and development of brand websites and web-based ordering systems for client marketing materials and sales literature. Example engagements include website design and development for Woodchuck Hard Cider and Gumption Hard Cider, plus the custom web-based ordering platform for Converse.
• Packaging Design Bespoke packaging design for consumer brands, including custom illustrations, seasonal and exclusive SKU artwork, and logo redesign. Examples include packaging design for Wormtown Brewery core, seasonal, and exclusive brews, Woodchuck Hard Cider core and seasonal ciders, and Nauti Seltzer.
• Brand Strategy and Identity Design Brand strategy, brand identity, and logo design services for consumer and craft beverage brands. Engagements include logo and brand identity development for Nauti Seltzer and Trail's End (Hood River Distillers), plus logo and identity work for Diameter Health in the healthcare technology sector.
• Social Media Management Ongoing social media management for brand clients including content contributions and posting for spirits, beverage, and other consumer brands. Examples include social media contributions for Trail's End (Hood River Distillers) and ongoing social media management for Nauti Seltzer.
• Smartfish Digital Lab Video and Drone Production In-house video, photography, and drone fleet production capability housed in the Smartfish Digital Lab at the Marlborough, MA headquarters, delivering video, drone videography, and aerial content for client marketing and corporate initiatives such as the Diameter Health sell sheets, videos, and tradeshow identity work.
• Warehousing, Fulfillment and Distribution Physical warehousing, fulfillment, embroidery production, and distribution of branded merchandise and promotional materials. Includes ongoing DTC retail fulfillment for Converse plus tradeshow, signage, POS, apparel, promotional items, sales kits, and distribution across the US, Canada, South America, and the Caribbean for Raymarine/FLIR.
• Event Marketing Materials and Print Production Print and event marketing collateral including tradeshow displays, signage, POS displays, apparel, stationery, sell sheets, event diecuts, spot glosses, holographic foil, and other specialty print materials. Example engagements include MSPCA-ANGELL Raise the Woof Gala event materials and Raymarine/FLIR tradeshow displays.

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Jackrabbit DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJackrabbit Design, led by Creative Director Dave Belyea, has maintained an ongoing creative partnership with Smartfish Group since approximately 2007. Dave Belyea's Jackrabbit Design originally served as a creative resource to Smartfish and its clients. Over 10 years into the partnership, Jackrabbit continues to contribute to design projects spanning identity, packaging, and web work. Jackrabbit adds over twenty creative professionals to the Smartfish team, enabling them to service clients across the world on digital marketing and brand design projects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Martin Agency: Richmond, VA-based independent creative agency with a strong CPG and beverage portfolio. Comparable as a regionally anchored, privately held full-service creative shop competing for enterprise consumer brand work.
• Mother New York: Independent creative agency known for brand-building work across CPG, beverage, and consumer brands. Comparable as a privately held, creatively led agency serving enterprise consumer clients with a full-service offering.
• Mower (formerly Eric Mower + Associates): Northeast/Midwest integrated marketing agency with deep CPG and beverage category experience, including brand strategy, creative, digital, and content production. Closely comparable in service mix, vertical focus, and privately held mid-sized agency profile.
• BVK: Milwaukee-based independent marketing agency with deep CPG, food, and beverage industry experience and integrated creative/media/production capabilities. Comparable in private ownership, full-service offering, and CPG vertical focus.
• Anomaly: Independent creative and brand consultancy serving major consumer brands across categories including beverage and CPG. Comparable in its independent, brand-led positioning and full-service creative-to-execution offering.
• The VIA Agency: Portland-based creative agency with deep craft beverage, lifestyle, and CPG brand experience. Comparable in category specialization (craft beer/spirits/CPG), full-service creative offering, and mid-sized boutique agency profile.
• Marcus Thomas: Cleveland-based independent integrated marketing agency with significant CPG, food, and beverage engagements. Comparable as a privately held, full-service independent agency of similar scale serving enterprise consumer brands.
• Partners + Napier: Integrated marketing agency headquartered in Rochester, NY, with a strong CPG/food/beverage practice and in-house production capabilities. Directly comparable in scope (strategy, creative, digital, fulfillment) and customer base (mid-to-large consumer brands), and similar in scale and regional Northeast US orientation.

Broad incumbents

• RPA: Long-established independent advertising and creative agency with a substantial CPG, retail, and beverage portfolio (including long-tenured Honda account). Comparable in independent ownership model and full-service creative offering, but materially larger in scale and geographic reach.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Large independent global creative agency with iconic beverage and CPG work. Overlaps significantly with Smartfish's category expertise and brand-building approach, but operates at a substantially larger scale with global offices.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Smartfishgroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/SmartfishGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smartfish-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 Smartfish Group