Quick Checklist Before Rolling Out a New Flavor or Label This Season

Launching a new SKU should be exciting—but if you’re not prepared, it can become chaotic fast. I’ve seen it happen too many times. A label gets rejected, a vendor misses a delivery, marketing assets fall behind, or worse, your team launches a product without realizing the margins don’t work. By the time founders come to us, they’re already scrambling to clean up a mess that could’ve been avoided with just a little more planning.

At BBG, we support CPG brands and wineries through product rollouts all year long. We know what tends to slip through the cracks and how costly those oversights can be. As a token of goodwill, I’ve pulled together the same winery product launch checklist we use with our clients to help you roll out your next flavor or label smoothly—without breaking your budget, your team, or your reputation.

Let’s walk through the five key checks to complete before your next launch hits the floor.

1. Confirm Your Financial Readiness

I always tell founders that launching a new product without running the numbers is like driving blindfolded. You might get where you’re going—but not without hitting something on the way.

Before you commit to new packaging or run production, get clear on your margins. That means building a full SKU-level financial model that includes:

• Ingredient and packaging costs

• Co-packer or bottling fees

• Freight (both inbound and outbound)

• Digital ad spend or promotional giveaways

• Storage or handling costs

• Discounting for wholesale or launch promos

Let’s say you’re adding a Provence rosé to your lineup. It tastes beautiful, the label looks great, the campaign is queued up, and you’re ready to go—until you realize the bottle you selected is heavier than your standard mold. Suddenly, your freight costs climb, and your breakeven point moves. Without that level of margin analysis upfront, you could find yourself discounting just to move inventory that no longer pencils out.

2. Align Inventory and Supply Chain

It doesn’t matter how exciting your new label is—if you can’t fulfill orders on time, your rollout risks turning into a liability.

Inventory planning should happen before your launch date is even locked in. That includes:

• Confirming lead times for ingredients, packaging, and labels

• Verifying vendor capacity for small-batch or seasonal runs

• Aligning production timelines with fulfillment capabilities

• Forecasting demand by channel

Perhaps you’ve got a limited-run pumpkin spice flavor planned and fall is already here. But your lid supplier has a 5-week lead time, and the PO goes in too late. The product arrives halfway through the season—still good, but missing half its window. It sells, but not nearly enough to justify the promo spend or production run.

Map backward from your intended launch date. Build in buffer time for vendor delays or quality checks. If you’re using a new supplier, get those samples and specs finalized before you place the first order.

If you need help setting up those timelines, our operations team works closely with founders to identify where supply chain gaps might trip you up.

3. Review Compliance and Labeling

Here’s where I’ve seen even the most experienced founders get burned. Labeling is easy to overlook—until it’s the reason your product can’t be sold.

For wineries, TTB approval is non-negotiable. That includes submitting your COLA in advance and reviewing any claims or vintage statements that might trigger a delay.

For CPG brands, FDA rules apply. You’ll need to validate your:

• Nutrition panel

• Ingredient list (and allergen disclosures)

• Claims (“natural,” “organic,” “gluten-free”)

• Barcode or UPC formatting

• Net weight and placement

Perhaps you’re finalizing the packaging for a new line of California Pinot Noirs. The artwork is done and the flavor is stunning—but your updated ingredient list didn’t include a new allergen. If that label goes out as-is, you're risking a regulatory delay or worse. That’s the kind of oversight that turns a one-week launch slip into a full quarter of lost momentum.

You can avoid those setbacks by:

• Submitting labels early

• Using a compliance checklist specific to your product type

• Reviewing packaging line-by-line with your designer before going to print

For quick reference, I often send clients to the TTB’s labeling FAQ and the FDA’s food labeling guidance. But if you’re not sure where your label stands, BBG can review it with you to flag red flags before they become expensive mistakes.

4. Lock Down Your Promotional Strategy

The launch isn’t just about product—it’s about visibility. And the marketing prep should be happening in parallel, not as an afterthought.

You’ll want to confirm your promotional game plan long before your new flavor rolls out. That means working through:

• Creative assets such as photography, social media graphics, and email headers

• Email campaign timing

• Landing pages or product pages

• Paid ad campaigns and copy

• Promo codes, influencer outreach, and press kits

Imagine you’ve nailed every ops detail, but your marketing team doesn’t get final assets until a week before launch. That delay derails influencer outreach and cuts your paid ad prep time in half. The result? Less traffic, lower conversions, and a launch that never reaches its full potential.

Get your marketing and operations teams in the same room early. Set a shared launch calendar and lock creative timelines before physical inventory arrives.

And don’t forget, your promo plan has to match your supply plan. If you’re only producing 500 cases, don’t run a giveaway with national reach unless you’re prepared for stockouts.

5. Sync Sales Team and Channel Partners

The moment your new label goes live, your sales team should be ready with pricing, specs, and inventory details in hand. I’ve seen amazing products fall flat because distributors were confused or reps weren’t looped in early enough.

Make sure your revenue-driving partners have:

• Case dimensions and weight

• Pricing tiers (wholesale, distributor, DTC)

• Sell sheets and product FAQs

• Promo timelines and launch positioning

• Delivery dates and availability timelines

Let’s say you roll out a seasonal label but forget to flag it to your wine club coordinator. The team misses the inclusion deadline, and members start emailing to ask why the new bottle wasn’t in their shipment. It’s not a crisis, but it’s a friction point—and it’s avoidable when sales, marketing, and ops share a pre-launch checklist.

Internal sales teams need talking points and onboarding time. External partners—like distributors and brokers—need clear instructions, printed materials, and a reliable timeline.

Give your team the tools to make your launch successful. If that kind of cross-functional prep feels overwhelming, we’ve helped brands use simple calendars and shared docs to keep everyone on the same page during high-pressure rollouts.

Launch with Confidence by Following a Proven Checklist

You don’t need to make your next product launch harder than it has to be. When you walk through each of these checkpoints—financial planning, inventory alignment, compliance review, marketing readiness, and sales coordination—you set your team up to launch with confidence.

At BBG, we only work with wineries and CPG brands, using our combined industry knowledge to provide finance services, operations services, and accounting services. It’s saved more than a few launches from veering off track. And it’s helped founders protect brand credibility when it matters most.

If you’re planning a new flavor, label, or seasonal drop, we’re here to help you get every detail right—before go-live day arrives. Reach out, and let’s make sure your next launch is strategic and as strong as the product you’ve worked so hard to create.