The first two years of building a CPG brand are often about survival. You’re finding product-market fit, dialing in operations, learning how to sell. But by year three, many founders hit a frustrating wall.

Sales flatten. Ads get more expensive. New customers are harder to reach. What worked early on stops working. You’re no longer brand new, but you’re not yet a household name.

This is what we call the Year 3 Plateau. And it’s not about your product. It’s about your growth strategy.

Here’s what founders need to understand to move from early traction to sustained momentum. Because once you’ve proven demand, the question becomes: how do you scale it?

1. Your Growth Strategy Has to Grow Up Too

In the beginning, hustle drives growth. You’re posting on socials daily, doing founder-led PR, sending samples to every micro-influencer you can find. That’s the scrappy phase and it works.

But eventually, hustle doesn’t scale.

Sustainable growth comes from repeatable systems. That means knowing your acquisition cost, understanding your retention curve, and investing in the channels that convert.

If you’re still relying on organic traffic and word-of-mouth by year three, you’re not just leaving money on the table. You’re building on shaky ground.

2. Paid Ads Aren’t a Magic Wand

When organic growth slows, most founders jump into paid ads. But Instagram and TikTok aren’t silver bullets.

They’re accelerants. If your funnel is leaky or your offer isn’t clear, paid ads will only amplify the problem.

Before you scale spend, ask:

  • Does your landing page convert cold traffic?
  • Are your reorder rates strong enough to support CAC?
  • Is your creative testing process efficient?

Paid ads work best when they pour gas on a fire, not when they try to start one.

3. Retention is Your Real Growth Lever

You don’t need more customers. You need more repeat customers.

Retention is often the difference between a 6-figure brand and a 7-figure one. It compounds. It lowers your acquisition pressure. It drives word-of-mouth. And it makes every dollar spent go further.

According to Harvard Business Review, increasing customer retention by just 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95%.

If your LTV isn’t growing, your business isn’t scaling. Start there.

4. Focus Beats Expansion

When growth stalls, the instinct is to add: more SKUs, more retailers, more influencers, more everything.

But the brands that break through focus ruthlessly.

They double down on their hero SKU. They optimize their best-performing channel. They go deeper, not wider.

You don’t need more complexity. You need more clarity.

Growth Isn’t a Hack. It’s a System.

There’s no single unlock that gets you from early success to long-term scale. But there is a system. It starts with knowing what to track, where to focus, and how to optimize what’s already working.

Inside the Makers Mindset Accelerator, we give you the exact frameworks to do just that. Because smart growth isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what works—on repeat.

Ready to build momentum that lasts?

Inside the Marketing & Growth Techniques module of the Accelerator, you’ll learn how to:

  • Build and test high-converting marketing funnels
  • Track the right growth metrics for your stage
  • Optimize retention, LTV, and paid performance
  • Build a strategy that compounds, not burns out

No application. No gatekeeping.
Just proven growth frameworks, ready when you are.

Enroll now →