For emerging consumer goods brands with social impact at their core, external funding can be a critical catalyst for scale. This company specializes in West African pantry staples, including heritage legumes, spiced oils, and sauces. Rooted in cultural preservation and economic empowerment, the founders sought strategic support to pursue competitive state-level funding designed to accelerate local entrepreneurship.

Their objective was to expand production capacity, strengthen brand visibility, and clearly articulate how their sourcing and distribution model delivers value both locally and across global supply chains. Translating that vision into a fundable, evaluator-ready proposal required strategic clarity and disciplined narrative design.
That is where Planneris came in.

Challenge

As a small but fast-growing enterprise, the company faced the challenge of translating a deeply personal founding story and community-centered mission into a clear, outcomes-driven grant narrative. The brand needed to:

• Articulate its economic, cultural, and community impact within Arizona’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
  
  
• Demonstrate operational readiness and a credible path to sustainable growth
• Differentiate itself within a competitive pool of applicants seeking limited funding
  
  

While the founders were passionate and articulate, they needed a strategic partner who could refine their narrative, structure their proposal, and position their story in a way that resonated with funders evaluating impact, feasibility, and scalability.

Collaborative Approach

Planneris partnered closely with the founders to design a strategy that balanced authentic storytelling with data-driven clarity. The engagement included:

• Strategic Positioning: Clarified the brand’s value proposition as a bridge between Arizona consumers and smallholder producers in West Africa. Developed core messaging that positioned the company as both commercially viable and impact-driven.
  
  
• Narrative and Grant Development: Crafted a polished, persuasive grant application that aligned mission, market opportunity, and operational credibility. Integrated metrics related to sourcing practices, job creation, and community engagement to demonstrate tangible outcomes.
  
  
• Impact and Growth Framing: Positioned the brand as a contributor to local economic development, outlining how funding would support capacity building, retail distribution partnerships, and consumer education initiatives.
  
  
• Application Review and Refinement: Led multiple review cycles to ensure alignment with state-level evaluation criteria, including clarity of mission, scalability, and measurable community benefit.
  
  

Throughout the process, Planneris maintained a hands-on, collaborative approach, ensuring the founders’ authentic voice remained central while elevating the submission to meet professional grant and institutional funding standards.

Results

The engagement resulted in a clear, funder-ready grant narrative and strategic framework that strengthened the company’s positioning for growth. Through the process, the brand:

• Developed a compelling, outcomes-driven story aligned with how state and institutional funders assess impact and feasibility
• Strengthened its articulation of operational readiness, scalability, and community benefit
• Built a repeatable strategic storytelling foundation that supports future grant applications, partnerships, and investor conversations
  
  

Today, the company continues to advance its growth strategy with a clearer narrative, stronger positioning, and increased confidence in pursuing competitive funding opportunities. This engagement illustrates how the right balance of strategy and storytelling can elevate a mission-driven brand and unlock long-term growth potential.

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