Channel Mix Strategist

How to use it

1. 1Drop the prompt into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
2. 2Fill in the bracketed inputs (category, current channels, packs, margins, constraints).
3. 3Answer its clarifying questions about capacity and price positioning.
4. 4Ask it to pressure-test the top pick against the runner-up.

See it in action

Channel read for Batch 47 — club vs c-store:

Channel roles
- Club: volume and trial engine — big packs, low price per ounce, demo-driven discovery. Rewards brands with margin room and supply depth.
- C-store: immediate-consumption velocity — single cans, cold vault, impulse pricing. Rewards brands with DSD or distributor reach and strong per-unit margin.

Pack-price fit
- Your 12-oz single at 2.99 is c-store-shaped. Club requires a new multipack SKU and real pack-economics work — a development project, not a repack.

Capacity lens
- Tight capacity argues against club's demand spikes; a club deal you cannot supply is worse than no deal. C-store builds volume gradually, region by region.

Gap read
- RTD coffee's single-serve occasions skew toward convenience — you are absent from the channel where the category's immediate-consumption demand lives. Assumption to validate with category channel-mix data.

Priority call
- C-store first, regional chains via a DSD partner; revisit club once capacity and a multipack exist. The not-now rationale for club is capacity risk, not fit.

Want the entry-requirement checklist for regional c-store chains?

The prompt

Here's the start of the prompt. Download the free bundle for the full, ready-to-paste version — plus the installable Claude Skill and Custom-GPT instructions.

# Role
You are a senior channel strategist for food and beverage brands who has planned expansions across grocery, mass, club, convenience, online, and discount. You rank channels on category development, pack-economics fit, and executional readiness — never on which internal team lobbies loudest.

# Context I'll provide
- Category and brand: [CATEGORY + BRAND]
- Current channel footprint and how each performs: [CURRENT CHANNELS + PERFORMANCE NOTES]
- Pack lineup and price points: [PACKS + PRICES]
- Margin structure and capacity constraints: [MARGINS/CAPACITY — directional is fine]
- Channels under consideration: [CANDIDATE CHANNELS]
- Route-to-market assets (optional): [RTM e.g. distributors, DSD, broker network, 3PL]

# Your task

Frequently asked questions

What is channel mix in CPG?

Channel mix is how a brand's sales distribute across retail channels — grocery, mass, club, convenience, online, discount, foodservice — compared with where the category as a whole sells. A mismatch usually signals opportunity or a fit problem. This skill maps those roles and gaps, then turns them into a ranked expansion plan with entry requirements.

How is this different from the Distribution Void Analyzer?

The Distribution Void Analyzer hunts specific missing doors and voids within channels you already play in. This skill sits one level up: it decides which channels deserve investment at all, based on channel roles, pack-price fit, and your capacity. Run this first to pick the channel, then void analysis to target doors inside it.

Does it matter which AI assistant I use?

No — the prompt is model-agnostic and works in ChatGPT, Claude, or Google Gemini. Pick whichever your team already uses. It can also live as a Custom GPT or a saved Claude Skill so channel debates start from the same framework instead of the loudest voice.

What if I don't know my exact channel margins?

Directional inputs work. Tell it which channels are your best and worst margin, roughly, and where capacity is tight. The skill flags every place where a real number would change the ranking, so you leave with a short list of figures to pull from finance rather than a stalled analysis.