Food & Beverage

See how Food & Beverage businesses — from breweries to bottlers and food manufacturers — gained financial clarity, improved cash flow, and built sustainable growth with Palmer’s Strategic Advisors.

Restaurants

Turning Chaos Into Cash Flow

The Coastal Fork

Challenge:

Rapid growth led to inconsistent bookkeeping, late vendor payments, and no cash flow visibility. Despite strong sales, the owner struggled to meet payroll during slower months.

Solution:

We performed a full financial clean-up, built a 13-week cash flow forecast, and implemented a daily cash tracking system.

Results:

  • Gained full visibility of cash 90 days ahead

  • Reduced vendor payment delays by 80%

  • Owner began reviewing weekly Profit Scoreboard calls

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Profitability Through Menu Engineering

Ember & Oak Steakhouse

hallenge:

Strong top-line sales but inconsistent profits — no clear understanding of which menu items were most profitable or where food costs were slipping.

Solution:

We created a menu profitability model tied to COGS tracking, introduced weekly variance reviews, and linked financial KPIs to labor scheduling.

Results:

  • Food cost reduced by 5.6%

  • Identified 8 unprofitable menu items

  • Average profit per cover increased 9%

  • Owner now uses KPI dashboard for monthly decisions

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Franchise Growth with Financial Discipline

Sunrise Bowls Café

Challenge:

Franchise expansion was creating accounting chaos — no consolidated reporting or visibility into store-level performance.

Solution:

We developed multi-entity reporting, standardized chart of accounts, and consolidated monthly leadership reviews.

Results:

  • Monthly close reduced from 20 to 5 days

  • Store-level profit reports now automated

  • 2 new franchise units launched using forecast model

  • Improved franchisee cash flow by 15%

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Breweries & Distilleries

Scaling Without Running Dry

Gulfline Brewing Co.

Challenge:

High sales volume but cash flow instability due to slow-paying distributors and inventory overproduction.

Solution:

We implemented a production-to-cash flow model, identified slow-moving SKUs, and built a rolling 13-week forecast tied to production batches.

Results:

  • Cut inventory holding costs by $64K

  • Improved cash flow predictability

  • Gross margin up 6% via SKU mix optimization

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Funding Expansion With Confidence

Harbor Barrel Distilling

Challenge:

The distillery wanted to scale distribution but needed financial clarity for investor funding and debt approval.

Solution:

We created a 3-scenario financial model, identified capital requirements, and prepared a lender-ready financial package.

Results:

  • $900K SBA loan approved

  • Expansion timeline modeled accurately

  • Monthly cash runway visibility achieved

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Alcohol & Beverage Manufacturing

Production Meets Profit

Coastal Craft Beverages

Challenge:

Strong demand but no clear understanding of true cost per SKU or channel profitability.

Solution:

We developed a SKU-level profitability dashboard, linked production costs to margin analysis, and ran three distribution pricing scenarios.

Results:

  • Identified 4 underperforming SKUs costing $120K annually

  • Improved gross margin by 8%

  • Reallocated spend to top-performing products

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Preparing for Retail Distribution

Floridian Kombucha Co.

Challenge:

The business wanted to expand into regional grocery stores but lacked a financial model to forecast distributor pricing and marketing spend.

Solution:

We built a full financial forecast, modeled distributor commissions, and helped structure their pricing for sustainable margin.

Results:

  • Secured regional retail contract with Publix

  • Forecasted break-even accurately within 2 months

  • Improved EBITDA margin by 4.2%

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Managing Cash Through Scale

PureStream Beverage Group

Challenge:

Rapid expansion caused severe cash strain — big receivables, tight vendor terms, and poor production timing.

Solution:

We developed a daily cash flow model, renegotiated vendor terms, and implemented forecasting discipline across departments.

Results:

  • Stabilized cash reserves at 2.5x monthly burn

  • 21% reduction in short-term borrowing

  • Leadership now reviews Scoreboard monthly

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Retail & Package Food Brands (CPG)

Getting Retail-Ready With Confidence

Tide & Table Foods

Challenge:

Great product traction, but profitability was unclear with new retail accounts. COGS and promotional costs weren’t tracked accurately.

Solution:

We rebuilt their financial model to include retailer fees, slotting costs, and true landed margin per SKU.

Results:

  • Improved true margin understanding by 14%

  • $60K in unprofitable promo spend identified

  • Leadership now pricing confidently for growth

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Managing Growth Through Distribution

SaltMarsh Snacks

Challenge:

Distribution expansion caused delayed receivables and inventory stockouts. The founder lacked a cash planning system.

Solution:

We implemented inventory forecasting tied to AR schedules and developed a distributor payment tracker.

Results:

  • Cash planning improved 90 days forward

  • Inventory stockouts reduced 75%

  • Owner gained weekly cash visibility

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From Cottage Brand to National Retail

Bloom & Barrel Foods

Challenge:

Expanding into national retail created complexity — co-packer costs, marketing spend, and logistics challenges made cash unpredictable.

Solution:

We created a multi-scenario forecast, automated KPI dashboards, and established monthly CFO review meetings.

Results:

  • Raised $500K in growth capital

  • Gross margin improved 6%

  • Forecast variance now within 3% month-to-month

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Scaling a Viral Snack Brand With Financial Structure

Petez Pop

Challenge:

Petez Pop exploded in popularity online, opening multiple retail locations and shipping nationwide. But behind the rapid growth came messy accounting, unpredictable cash flow, and no clarity on which SKUs or channels were actually profitable.

Solution:

Palmer’s Strategic Advisors performed a full clean-up of retail and e-commerce accounting, consolidated reporting across Shopify, Square, and wholesale operations, and built a margin-by-channel dashboard. We also developed a 6-month rolling forecast to manage inventory and cash during seasonal demand spikes.

Results:

  • Clean financials within 30 days

  • Identified $140 K in low-margin product lines to discontinue

  • 9 % increase in blended gross margin

  • Cash forecast accuracy improved to within 5 %

  • Founder gained clear visibility into retail vs. online performance

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