Distribution Used to Signal Success. Now It Only Exposes Whether a Brand Works: A Conversation with Chris Maffeo, Founder and Managing Director, MAFFEO DRINKS

Chris Maffeo does not start with marketing. He starts with the plumbing.

MAFFEO DRINKS is an advisory and knowledge platform built around a single argument: brand building in the drinks industry is a commercial chain problem before it becomes a consumer moment. The brands that come to Chris for help have usually already spent money on packaging, storytelling, and distribution. They come because none of it is working. The product is listed. The story is told. The velocity is not there.

After more than 120 podcast episodes, clients across multiple continents, and a research platform used by practitioners in 111 countries, Chris has seen enough versions of this failure to know exactly where it starts.

The Model That Stopped Working