Internal Comms & Meetings

How to write a launch memo as CPG Founders

Internal Comms & MeetingsFor CPG Founders4 apps10 steps~20 min to set up

When you're about to launch a new SKU, a retail program, or a co-packer transition, you need to get your team, your broker, and your retail buyer on the same page fast. Right now that means pulling together a Google Doc from scratch, copy-pasting numbers from three different spreadsheets, tracking down whoever owns the production schedule, and then rewriting the whole thing because the draft you sent to your broker is too detailed for your buyer. Most CPG founders spend 3-5 hours on a launch memo that should take 45 minutes. The bottleneck is almost never the information — it's organizing it, writing it at the right level, and getting it out before the window closes.

Build this on Starch → See the apps used

Internal Comms & MeetingsFor CPG Founders4 apps10 steps~20 min to set up

Outcome

What you'll set up

A launch memo template your team can reuse for every new SKU, retail program, or distribution push — pre-populated from your actual ops data, not a blank Google Doc

A structured internal knowledge base where launch decisions, production specs, and distributor terms live in one searchable place instead of 12 different Slack threads

An AI-assisted drafting workflow that takes your bullet points and turns them into a clean, audience-appropriate memo in minutes — retailer version and internal version, separately

The Starch recipe

Apps, data, and prompts

The combination of Starch apps, the data sources they pull from, and the prompts you use to drive them.

Apps used

Knowledge Management Presentation Agent Email Agent Project Management

Data sources & config

Knowledge Management connects directly to Notion via Starch's scheduled sync, so existing brand docs, SOPs, and previous launch memos are searchable immediately. Email Agent connects directly to Gmail via Starch's scheduled sync, pulling thread history so it has context on prior buyer conversations. Project Management runs natively in Starch with no external connection needed. Presentation Agent (currently in beta — request access to get notified when it launches) will generate polished slide versions of the memo for board updates or trade show decks.

Prompts to copy

Create a launch memo for our new 12oz oat milk SKU launching into Sprouts in Q3. Include: launch date, MSRP, case pack, UPC, co-packer name, lead time, initial PO size, shelf life, and the key marketing claim. Write two versions — one for internal team, one for our broker.

Summarize all the decisions we made about our Q3 Sprouts launch and save them to the Knowledge Base under 'SKU Launches > 2026 > Oat Milk 12oz' so the team can find them later.

Draft an email to our Sprouts buyer attaching the launch memo and asking to confirm the in-store date and initial order quantity. Keep it under 150 words.

Run these in Starch → or paste them into your favorite agent

Walkthrough

Step-by-step

1 Open Knowledge Management and search for your previous launch memos, production specs, and any existing buyer correspondence — Starch indexes your connected Notion pages on a schedule so everything is searchable in one place.

2 Tell Starch what you're launching: type a prompt like 'Create a launch memo for our new 12oz oat milk SKU launching into Sprouts in Q3' and include the key facts (UPC, MSRP, case pack, lead time, shelf life, co-packer, launch date, opening order size).

3 Starch drafts two versions of the memo — one internal (detailed, includes co-packer contacts, production lead times, and margin math) and one external (clean, buyer-facing, focused on the consumer story and logistics).

4 Review the internal version with your ops lead: check that lead times are accurate, that lot-level traceability requirements are noted, and that the production schedule matches what your co-packer confirmed.

5 Create a project in Starch Project Management for the launch: type 'Create a project called Oat Milk 12oz Sprouts Launch, add tasks for: finalize UPC setup, submit item form, confirm first PO date, schedule shelf check 30 days post-launch. Assign to me, due end of Q2.' Starch creates the tasks without clicking through forms.

6 Use Email Agent to surface any open threads with your Sprouts buyer or broker where launch details were discussed — type 'find recent emails about the Sprouts oat milk launch and summarize what was agreed' so you don't miss anything before you send the official memo.

7 Send the buyer-facing memo via Email Agent: type 'draft an email to [buyer name] at Sprouts attaching the launch memo, confirm in-store date and initial order quantity, keep it under 150 words' and review before sending.

8 Save the finalized memo, production specs, and broker terms to Knowledge Management under a consistent folder structure (e.g., 'SKU Launches > 2026 > Oat Milk 12oz') so your next hire or broker can find everything without asking you.

9 Set a follow-up reminder in Email Agent for 7 days out: 'remind me to follow up with the Sprouts buyer if I haven't heard back about the opening PO by [date].'

10 After launch, update the Knowledge Management entry with actuals — first PO size, any spec changes, distributor deduction issues — so the memo doubles as a post-mortem template for the next SKU.

See this running on Starch

Connect your tools, describe what you want, and the agent builds it. Closed beta is free.

Try it on Starch →

Worked example

Oat Milk 12oz Sprouts Q3 2026 Launch Memo — June 2026

Sample numbers from a real run

MSRP	599
Case pack (units)	12
Opening PO (cases)	200
Opening PO value (wholesale)	84,000
Shelf life (days)	180
Co-packer lead time (days)	21
First ship date (days from memo)	35

Mia runs a 6-person natural beverage brand. In early June 2026 she got a yes from her Sprouts buyer on a 200-case opening order for a new 12oz oat milk SKU. She had the facts in her head — $5.99 MSRP, 12-pack cases at $42 wholesale, 180-day shelf life, 21-day co-packer lead time — but they lived across a WhatsApp thread with her co-packer, an email chain with her broker, and a margin model in Google Sheets. Instead of spending a Sunday afternoon writing the memo from scratch, she opened Starch and typed: 'Create a launch memo for our oat milk 12oz SKU launching into Sprouts in Q3. MSRP $5.99, case pack 12, wholesale $42/case, UPC 123456789012, co-packer NorCal Foods, lead time 21 days, shelf life 180 days, launch date September 8, opening order 200 cases. Write an internal version and a buyer-facing version.' In about four minutes she had a clean two-page internal memo (including a production timeline that flagged the July 18 must-start date given the 21-day lead time and 35-day buffer) and a tight one-page buyer version focused on the product story, in-store date, and first PO logistics. Email Agent surfaced two prior threads with the buyer where she had mentioned a September target, so she didn't have to re-explain the timeline. She sent the buyer-facing memo the same afternoon, saved both versions to Knowledge Management under 'SKU Launches > 2026 > Oat Milk 12oz,' and created a project in Starch with tasks for UPC setup, item form submission, first PO confirmation, and a 30-day shelf check — all in a single prompt. Total time: 40 minutes instead of her usual four hours.

Measurement

How you'll know it's working

Time from buyer yes to memo sent (target: same day)

Opening PO size vs. forecast (cases)

Days of inventory coverage at launch (shelf life vs. lead time buffer)

Number of versions of the memo circulating (should be 1 internal, 1 external — not 7 Google Docs)

Follow-up response rate from buyers and brokers within 7 days of memo send

Comparison

What this replaces

The other ways teams handle this today, and how the Starch version compares.

Google Docs + manual copy-paste from spreadsheets

Free and familiar, but you're assembling the memo by hand every time — no memory of past launches, no connection to your ops data, and the buyer version is always a manual copy of the internal one.

Notion (standalone)

Great for storing finished docs, but it won't draft the memo for you or pull in context from your email threads — you still start from a blank page.

ChatGPT or Claude (standalone)

Good at drafting if you feed it all the context manually, but it has no connection to your actual data, your inbox, or your previous launch memos — you're pasting everything in by hand each time.

Guru or Tettra (knowledge management tools)

Purpose-built wikis that work well for larger teams, but they don't draft the memo, connect to your Gmail threads, or integrate with your project tracker — you'd still need three separate tools.

On Starch RECOMMENDED

One platform — knowledge management, presentation agent, email agent all running on connected data. Setup in plain English; numbers stay current via scheduled syncs and live agent queries.

Try it on Starch →

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does Starch actually know our product specs, or do I have to paste everything in every time?

You paste your specs in the first time, and Starch saves them to Knowledge Management. If you've connected Notion, Starch syncs your existing pages on a schedule so anything already documented there is searchable immediately. After your first launch memo, the second one starts from your saved context instead of a blank prompt.

Can Starch pull in our co-packer lead times and production schedule automatically?

If your co-packer communicates over email, Email Agent can surface those threads so you have the numbers in front of you when you're drafting. If your production schedule lives in a Google Sheet or Notion page, Knowledge Management can reference it. Starch doesn't read your co-packer's internal system directly unless they have a web portal you can log into — in that case, Starch can automate it through your browser with no API needed.

What's the difference between the internal memo and the buyer-facing version?

You tell Starch what the difference should be. A common setup: internal version includes margin math, co-packer name, lot traceability notes, and production timeline; buyer-facing version leads with the consumer story, in-store date, case pack, and UPC. Starch drafts both from the same prompt — you review and adjust before anything goes out.

Is Starch SOC 2 certified? I'm cautious about sharing launch details in a third-party tool.

Starch is not SOC 2 Type II certified today. If your company has strict data handling requirements, that's worth knowing upfront. Most early-stage CPG founders find the workflow value outweighs the risk at their current stage, but we'd rather you make that call with accurate information.

Can I use this for broker memos and distributor presentations, not just retail launch memos?

Yes. The same workflow applies — describe the audience and the key facts, and Starch drafts a version calibrated to that reader. Broker memos, distributor sell sheets, internal post-mortems after a launch, board updates on new SKU performance — all the same pattern. Presentation Agent (currently in development — request beta access to be notified at launch) will extend this to slide decks for trade shows and board meetings.

What if I want to reuse this memo structure for every future launch?

Save your first finalized memo to Knowledge Management as a template. When you're ready for the next SKU, type something like 'Use our oat milk 12oz Sprouts memo as a template and create a version for our new granola 8oz launch into Whole Foods' — Starch uses the structure you've already approved and fills in the new details.