> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.retailjourneypodcast.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Category Stagnation: Finding White Space | Getting Your Business Unstuck Pt. 1 | Tarick Gamay - URL: https://www.retailjourneypodcast.com/category-stagnation-finding-white-space-getting-your-business-unstuck-pt-1-tarick-gamay/ - Published: 2026-09-09T11:00:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-09T14:09:36.000Z - Description: Tarick Gamay of DreamPak shares how he retooled a stalled manufacturing pipeline into dry powder stick packs, securing retail commitments before new equipment and pushing unique flavors to compete with national brands. - Author: High Impact Analytics --- A stalled product category will eventually kill your margins if you refuse to adapt. In episode 1 of the Getting Your Business Unstuck series, Tarick Gamay of DreamPak details transitioning a manufacturing pipeline when market demand shifts. When DreamPak saw their liquid concentrate growth flatline, they abandoned their core philosophy to enter the dry powder format. Tarick breaks down the logistics of adding stick packs to an existing facility and the necessity of securing guaranteed retail commitments before buying new equipment. He unpacks how to compete directly with national brands by pushing unique flavor profiles and exploring multi-serve packaging options. For private label operators facing plateaued legacy items, this episode provides a blueprint to retool production without sacrificing margins. Subscribe and share this video with a category manager rethinking their supplier partnerships. What is one legacy product in your lineup overdue for a format change? --- ## More About this Episode ## **Strategies for Getting Your Retail Business Unstuck: Insights from the Frontlines of Private Label Innovation** Every retail business hits a wall at some point. You might experience flat sales, a product category that has suddenly stalled, or a strategic partnership that is no longer delivering the results it used to. The core question is never whether your business will get stuck. Instead, it is entirely about what you decide to do next. As someone who spends every day analyzing retail dynamics and working closely with business leaders, I find that the transition from being stagnant to experiencing explosive growth often hinges on a single pivot. To explore the anatomy of these crucial turning points, we have to look closely at the leaders who have faced that exact moment and found a way through it. Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with Tarick Gamay, the Chief Sales Officer at DreamPak. For those who might not be familiar, DreamPak is a family-founded manufacturer specializing in shelf-stable liquid concentrates and powders. Think coffee creamers, water enhancers, and electrolyte blends, all sold under store brands across the country. Tarick has helped grow DreamPak from its early days into a major player in private label food and beverage manufacturing. His journey offers a masterclass in product innovation, retail partnerships, and the essential leadership trait of self-awareness. **The Evolution of Private Label and the End of Complacency** Historically, the private brand manufacturing space operated under a very specific mandate. The goal was almost always to create a "national brand equivalent." The strategy was simple: look at what the biggest names in the industry are doing, copy the formulation as closely as possible, package it similarly, and sell it for twenty percent less. However, we are living in a world where store brands are no longer just cheap alternatives. Retailers are creating their own highly curated brands that compete on quality, innovation, and aesthetic appeal. DreamPak recognized this shift early. Coming from a technology-driven contract manufacturing background before diving deep into private label in 2020, they brought a philosophy of spotting and shaping the next trends rather than waiting for them to arrive. They embed innovation into their company DNA. They are never satisfied with simply asking where the national brand is going today. Instead, they want to go one step further. This is incredibly relevant when you look at leading retailers like Walmart with their Better Goods line. Better Goods is a perfect example of a retailer walking the talk, offering culinary innovations and flavor profiles that national brands have not even thought about doing yet. By stepping in to supply these elevated experiences, manufacturers like DreamPak remove themselves from the race to the bottom and position themselves as indispensable partners. **Overcoming the "Liquids for Life" Mindset** One of the most fascinating aspects of getting unstuck is realizing that the very principles that built your business might be the exact things holding you back. For DreamPak, this realization came during a major shift in the drink mix category. For years, DreamPak was a dominant player in the liquid water enhancer space. Their company tagline was literally "Liquids for Life." Everything they did revolved around shelf-stable liquid concentrates. But eventually, the liquid enhancer market started to stagnate. National brands were pulling back their marketing spend in the category, and simultaneously, powdered drink mixes were experiencing a massive renaissance. Brands like Liquid IV hit the market and completely changed the landscape, elevating the entire powdered hydration experience. DreamPak found themselves stuck in a mud rut. They were a liquid company in a market that was rapidly shifting toward powders. When a major retailer approached them needing a second supplier for powder stick packs, the company faced a defining choice. Tarick openly admits that he fought tooth and nail to defend the "Liquids for Life" mantra. He believed in what they stood for. However, true leadership requires taking a step back to look at the long-term trajectory of the business. Liquids have limitations. Just as alternative milks experienced a massive boom in consumer perception when they moved from the shelf-stable aisles to the refrigerated section, Tarick realized that consumers viewed modern powders as a highly approachable, premium format for functional beverages. Instead of turning the retailer away, DreamPak leaned into the opportunity. They got in responsibly, secured a commitment from the retailer to guarantee a portion of the business before buying the necessary equipment, and successfully commissioned a powder line. By abandoning their restrictive tagline and embracing a new format, they transformed their business. Today, they are the only store brand supplier that manufactures both liquid and powder formats. This dual capability makes them incredibly nimble. If the market shifts back to liquids, they are ready. If it stays with powders, they are equipped. They gave themselves the entire playground of drink mixes to innovate within. **Capitalizing on the Cost-Per-Serving White Space** Getting unstuck also means identifying the white spaces that national brands refuse to touch. The drink mix market can essentially be broken down into a two-by-two matrix: you have liquids and powders, and within those categories, you have single-serve and multi-serve options. Right now, consumers are paying a massive premium for single-serve powder stick packs, often upwards of a dollar per stick. While the convenience factor is high, the cost is a significant burden for the daily user. National brands are highly hesitant to offer economy-sized multi-serve canisters or bulk pouches because they do not want to cannibalize their wildly profitable single-serve stick pack sales. This hesitation creates a massive opportunity for store brands. Consumers are savvy. They know when they are overpaying for packaging, and with the current economic pressures, they are actively seeking value without compromising on quality or functionality. DreamPak saw this gap and developed multi-serve powder solutions, such as jars and stand-up pouches, specifically for their retail partners. Even if an initial pitch for a rigid canister does not land perfectly with buyers, the strategy is to fail fast, rethink the approach, and pivot to a flexible bag format. By focusing on what the end consumer desperately needs rather than protecting artificially high margins, private label manufacturers can capture massive market share. **A Radical Approach to Retail Pricing Strategies** When a business feels financially stuck due to rising ingredient and operational costs, the instinctive reaction is to raise wholesale prices. This often leads to friction with retail buyers and ultimately results in higher costs for the shopper. DreamPak took a radically different approach that highlights what true partnership looks like. During the massive waves of inflation following 2020, DreamPak managed to avoid raising their prices on water enhancers for a specific retail partner in the southern United States. Instead of passing on their increased ingredient costs, they went to the retailer with a creative proposition. They agreed to keep their wholesale price completely flat on the condition that the retailer lowered the shelf price for the consumer from $2.48 down to $1.98. The retailer agreed, and the results were staggering. The lower price point drove a thirty percent lift in sales volume. This increase in volume far exceeded the margin benefit DreamPak would have gained from simply raising their price. It was a massive win for the manufacturer, a strategic victory for the retailer who gained a massive competitive edge in their market, and most importantly, a win for the consumer. When you operate with this level of collaboration, it becomes very easy to see why retail partners are willing to guarantee business and support your expansion into new product lines. **Flavor Innovation and the Clean Label Shift** Another critical way to get a stalled category moving is through aggressive flavor and ingredient innovation. If you walk into a traditional brick-and-mortar store, you often see the exact same flavor profiles repeated endlessly: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, orange, and grape. Meanwhile, e-commerce brands are launching wildly imaginative flavors that excite consumers. To bridge this gap, you have to take calculated risks. Tarik shared a story about discovering a coconut lime flavor profile that he personally became obsessed with. Recognizing that the national brands were ignoring this flavor, DreamPak pitched it to a big box retailer. The buyer initially viewed it as a bottom-tier filler item, simply rounding out an assortment of ten flavors. Within two years, that coconut lime item became the number one selling flavor by a two-to-one ratio compared to the runner-up. It developed such a cult following that consumers were independently calling the manufacturer trying to commission private production runs just to get their hands on it. Beyond flavor, there is a massive shift happening regarding clean ingredients. We are seeing a huge push toward removing synthetic dyes from foods and beverages. National brands are notoriously slow to adapt to these changes, often waiting until legislation forces their hand before removing artificial colors from things like cereals or drink mixes. This lag time is a goldmine for private label brands. By proactively removing dyes, switching to natural colors, or even developing completely clear liquid concentrates, store brands can capture the loyalty of health-conscious parents and shoppers long before the legacy brands pivot. You do not have to look at historical data to innovate. You simply have to stay current with the modern shopper whose expectations are changing rapidly. **Navigating Discontinuations and the Power of Self-Awareness** Not every risk pays off, and getting unstuck sometimes means dealing with the harsh reality of having a product line discontinued. Losing shelf space is a tough pill to swallow for any business leader. The temptation is always to burn the bridge, harbor resentment, and walk away from the retailer entirely. However, experienced leaders know that category managers are not acting out of malice. They are simply trying to make the best decisions for their specific business metrics. When a discontinuation happens, the most profitable move is to maintain a professional, honest dialogue. Keep the buyer engaged. If you have been a good partner who manages your supply chain well, buyers will actively work with you to find a new white space or alternative category to make your business whole again. Sometimes your biggest loss in business becomes the exact catalyst you need to surpass your previous peak. This mindset requires a high degree of self-awareness, which is arguably the most critical tool for getting unstuck. You have to be willing to look in the mirror and acknowledge your organizational blind spots. For instance, DreamPak realized early on that while they were excellent at manufacturing, they did not have the internal analytics or brokerage relationships required to seamlessly navigate the complex systems of massive retailers. Instead of stubbornly trying to do it all themselves, they partnered with specialized experts to handle those specific burdens. Furthermore, as they grew, they had to honestly assess their operational limitations. Servicing a massive big box retailer with three high-volume SKUs requires a completely different skill set than servicing a mid-size retailer with a highly complex onboarding process of seventy-seven different items. Acknowledging that they were not initially good at the mid-size model allowed them to commit to learning it, failing along the way, and ultimately mastering a highly lucrative new revenue stream. **The Path Forward** Getting your retail business unstuck is rarely about making a single, magical product tweak. It is a comprehensive process of challenging your foundational assumptions, whether that means retiring a beloved company tagline, refusing to pass on inflationary costs, or taking a bold risk on a bizarre new flavor profile. The businesses that thrive over the long term are the ones that relentlessly focus on the consumer's pain points rather than protecting the status quo. By cultivating deep self-awareness, partnering transparently with retailers, and boldly stepping into the white spaces that legacy brands ignore, any stagnant business can find its momentum again. The road ahead will always have its share of mud, but with the right mindset, you will always find a way to keep moving forward.