Seth Waite

Schaefer

Schaefer is the only buyer psychology consultancy dedicated to the food & beverage industry. We help brands understand why people buy—then turn that insight into marketing strategies that drive sales. Our work supports marketing, brand, and growth leaders across CPG, manufacturing, foodservice, private equity, and every corner of the food & beverage value chain.

YOU MIGHT NEED US IF...
👉🏻 You can’t afford for your go-to-market approach to flop when you’re launching a new initiative.
👉🏻 You want to reach a new, untapped customer segment with an existing product.
👉🏻 You’re expanding and entering a new geographic market with an existing product.
👉🏻 You’re looking to develop and/or market a new product to an existing customer segment.
👉🏻 You’re unsure if a market exists for a potentially new yet-to-be-developed product.
👉🏻 You’re unsure (or unconvinced) where your highest potential growth opportunities lie.


WORKING TOGETHER
✨ A TEAM - Only senior-level talent. No bait and switch.
✨ EXPERTISE - Strategic, hard-working peers with hands-on experience.
✨ WHY FOCUSED - Pursue depth and action anchored in facts.
✨ TOP 1% - Unlike anyone you've ever worked with before.

Partner & Buyer Psychologist

Algrthm

Sold to investor to pursue opportunity more closely aligned with my personal mission.
Artificial Intelligence company focused on developing and researching new A.I. capabilities in real-world authentication of luxury goods and collectibles. Focused specifically on mobile device models that measure perception through multi-sensor, multi-modal methods. Developed 8 new patent-pending technologies.

Founder & CEO |  (Sold to Investor)

UniGroup

ACQUISITION: UniGroup acquired my startup Handled.
INTEGRATION: I was brought in to lead Technology & Growth across the United Van Lines and Mayflower moving ecosystem during the year-long integration period.

Teams reporting to me included: 
- Marketing, Brand, and Creative
- UX/UI & Product Design
- IT, Infrastructure, & Security
- Product Development & Engineering
- Data Science & Business Intelligence
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Chief Experience Officer & EVP (Leading Integration & Transformation)

Handled.

ACQUIRED by UniGroup. Disrupting the moving & storage industry and helping the world feel at home with industry-leading customer experience, product development, and cutting-edge computer vision and AI/ML.

Founder & CEO (Acquired by Strategic)

RevUnit

- Key strategist for corporate vision, M&A, and growth ventures
- Leader of Strategy Consulting practice & services
- Intellectual Property & Tools Development
- Value builder for transferrable assets

Chief Strategy Officer (Prepare for Private Equity Investment)

At RevUnit, my role as Chief Growth Officer includes the following key responsibilities:

- Growth Leader for all RevUnit marketing, sales, and public relations
- Key strategist for corporate vision, M&A, and growth ventures
- Led acquisition of Teamvvork

Product Development Studio
We DOUBLED our growth year-over-year and reached a ranking of #584 out of 5,000 on Inc's 5000 Fastest Growing Privately-Held Companies in America.

Chief Growth Officer (4x Inc 5000 Winner)

Lead all RevUnit marketing & public relations.

- DOUBLED growth every year for 4 years in a row at 95% CAGR
- Developed B2B lead generation for penetrating enterprise via (ABM) Account Based Marketing
- Sold millions of dollars personally and led the execution

Chief Marketing Officer (95% Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth)

RevUnit clients grew to include Walmart, Sam's Club, Mary Kay, Virgin, United Van Lines, and Mayflower.

Marketing & Analytics Lead

Acquisition Integration & New Sales Growth.

Sr. Strategist & Product Owner

SmashMetrics

ACQUIRED By RevUnit -- High-impact ecommerce marketing and product adoption agency. Using customer intent to isolate needs and objections, our industry-leading approach to conversion rate optimization and digital marketing creates more long-term revenue with fewer expenses.

Co-Founder, CEO (Acquired by RevUnit)

DrVita

Led DrVita e-commerce from $30k a month in revenues to over $1.2M in revenues per month in just 4 months. Total site re-platform and built and executed full suite of e-commerce marketing and growth strategies.

Director of Marketing (Jumpstart Growth)

Rockfish Interactive

I led all content strategy and production for Walmart's corporate website redesign, Sam's Club grocery program website & email broadcasts, mom blogger network, mother/baby microsites, and grocery apps. I also led Banfield/Petsmart's SEO & social strategy.

Content Strategy Manager for Walmart & Sam's Club

Journey Digital Media

As Marketing Manager, I lead the company's search engine optimization and marketing projects, including website design, conversion rate optimization, and lead generation.

Marketing & Lead Generation Expert

Partner at Schaefer / Buyer Psychology for Food & Beverage Brands

I study why people buy what they buy.

As a Partner at Schaefer, I decode the psychology behind consumer decisions in the food & beverage industry. My obsession? Understanding the invisible forces that make someone choose Poppi over 20 other soda brands, or why they'll pay $12 for artisanal ranch dressing.

Started at Sam's Club at 25, running digital strategy for grocery. That's where I discovered the magic number: show someone 7 ways to use a product, and the purchase barrier collapses. We weren't selling chicken. We were selling confidence.

Now I help brands understand what their customers actually want (hint: it's rarely what you think).

My approach is simple: Watch real behavior. Question everything. Find the job your product actually does. Because your competition isn't the brand next to you on the shelf - it's whatever solves the customer's problem faster.

I write daily about:
→ Buyer psychology patterns that drive billion-dollar brands
→ Why some products become movements while others just take up shelf space
→ The hidden strategies behind brands like Oreo ($3B), Reese's ($2.7B), and Fairlife ($6.2B)
→ Real stories from the grocery aisles that reveal how people actually shop

If you're building a food or beverage brand and want to understand your customers better than they understand themselves, let's talk.

Because sometimes your billion-dollar idea isn't your main product. It's the thing customers keep asking for that you're not paying attention to.


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Non-businessy stuff →

• I live in St. Louis and love the outdoors, basketball, and reading all kinds of books
• I’m a serious foodie and built a food influencer account with more than 1 million followers
• My wife and I have 3 beautiful, kind children whom we love to spend time with

--------

Thanks for stopping by.

Founder & CEO |  Exit Coach

I help business owners grow and sell their businesses with no regrets.

The Psychology Behind Trader Joe's 'Everything But The' Empire

Walk into any Trader Joe's. Count how many products start with "Everything But The." Last time I checked, there were seven. And that's not an accident.

Here's what kills me: Most brands try to tell you what's IN their products. Trader Joe's built a $13 billion empire telling you what's NOT.

Everything But The Bagel seasoning launched in 2017. Today it's their #1 selling spice blend. But the real genius isn't the product. It's the psychology...

I watched a customer in my local TJ's (Clarkson location) last month. She grabbed three "Everything But The" products without reading a single label. When I asked why, she said: "I already know what I'm getting. It's everything... but the thing."

That's when it hit me.

Trader Joe's cracked the code on cognitive overload. The average grocery store has 50,000 SKUs. TJ's has 4,000. But here's the kicker: They make choosing easier by subtracting, not adding.

The math tells the story:

1️⃣ Exclusion beats inclusion: Your brain processes what's missing faster than what's present. "Everything But The Bagel" instantly tells you it tastes like a bagel. "Seven Seed Seasoning Blend" tells you... nothing.

2️⃣ Reference point genius: They're not selling seasonings. They're selling familiar experiences in new formats. Your brain already knows "bagel." Now you can have that on avocado toast.

3️⃣ Permission structure: "Everything But The" literally gives you permission to put it on everything. Most seasonings sit in your spice rack. These become your default.

4️⃣ Category creation through naming: Each "Everything But The" product creates its own mental category. You're not comparing spices. You're choosing experiences.

The brutal truth: Trader Joe's didn't invent better seasonings. They invented a better way to think about seasonings.

- While competitors add complexity, TJ's subtracts it.
- While others sell ingredients, TJ's sells possibilities.
- While everyone else fights for shelf space, TJ's owns mental space.

What are you adding that you should be subtracting? 👀

Seth Waite 🥣

Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel seasoning blends

Kosterina sells olive oil for 22x more by changing one thing: the aisle.

$1.89/oz in Whole Foods. 
$42/oz as skincare. 
Same brand.

Here's what kills me:

Every food brand is fighting over pennies in the grocery aisle. Meanwhile, Katerina (Katina) Mountanos looked at her Greek olive oil and asked: Why are we only selling this as food?

She didn't just reformulate. She repositioned.

In Whole Foods: "Premium cooking oil"
On her website's beauty section: "Ancient Greek beauty elixir"

The product didn't change. The customer did.

Food shoppers compare you to Bertolli at $8. Beauty shoppers compare you to face oil at $85. Suddenly $42 feels reasonable.

The math is embarrassing:
- Food margins: 30-40%
- Beauty margins: 70-80%

Kosterina is building an olive oil empire by refusing to stay in their lane. While competitors fought for grocery shelf space, they're building a beauty empire with olive oil.

The brutal truth: Your biggest competitor isn't who makes a similar product. It's the mental category where customers file you away.

Food is a commodity. Beauty is an investment.

What category could change your future?

HALF A MILLION LinkedIn members engaged with my buyer psychology posts in the last six weeks. 500,000+ people. All asking the same question: "Why didn't anyone teach us this before?" Here's what kills me: I started sharing these insights because brands kept burning millions on the same mistakes. Products nobody wanted. Messages nobody heard. I figured a few CMOs might find it useful. Instead, I'm getting DMs from founders and BIG Food brand managers, strategists, and insights teams. All hungry for one thing: understanding why humans actually make choices. People want truth over tactics. Psychology over platitudes. To everyone who's been part of this conversation: 

Thank you. Keep challenging the "we know our customers" excuse. Keep putting buyer psychology at the center of everything you build. Because when half a million people care about understanding customers better,  we can finally change how business gets done. 🙏

Every failed product launch has the same origin story: "We know our customers."

I had a revealing conversation last week. A brand told me they decided against buyer psychology work. Not because they went with someone else.

Because they decided not to do it at all.

That's when it hit me: Our competition isn't other consultants. It's the belief that you can succeed without understanding your customers.

Here's what kills me:

Every brand that skips buyer research thinks they're saving time and money. It's always a "we know it's important and will do it later." Meanwhile, they're burning both on products nobody asked for, messages nobody hears, and campaigns that convert nobody.

I watched a snack brand spend $2M launching a "healthier" version because "that's what consumers want." Six months later: discontinued. Turns out their customers didn't want healthier. They wanted permission to enjoy the original without guilt.

$2M to learn what $20K in research would've revealed.

The excuses are always the same:
- "We don't have time" (but you have time to fail?)
- "Budget's too tight" (tighter than a failed launch?)
- "We know our customers" (then why aren't they buying?)

Here's the truth:

You can do buyer psychology work on ANY timeline and budget:
- Got a week? Call 10 customers. Ask what they'd replace you with.
- Got $500? Run a survey. Find out what job you're really doing.
- Got an afternoon? Read your reviews. The answers are hiding in plain sight.

If you've got more time -- do it right.

The math is brutal:

Cost of basic buyer research: less than you think
Cost of launching without it: Your job

Because here's what really happens:

Brands that skip buyer psychology don't make bad products. They make invisible ones. Products that solve problems nobody has. Messages that answer questions nobody's asking.

What's your excuse for not knowing your customer? 👀

You went to your local grocery store to pick up a few items. You left with $147 worth of stuff you didn't plan to buy. Sound familiar? You just experienced the Gruen Effect or Gruen Transfer in action.

Victor Gruen designed the first modern shopping mall, believing stores should "engage and guide" shoppers and that "good design equaled good profits." What he created was a psychological trap that makes you spend more. 

The most extreme version of this is IKEA...
But grocery stores have perfected it as well.

Here's what gets me: 

We think we're in control when we shop. We're not. Every single element is engineered to break down your defenses.

Walk into any grocery store. What's the first thing you see? Flowers. Then produce. All those vibrant colors, fresh scents, and premium displays. It's not about convenience. It's about designed disorientation.

Example: Walmart uses a "race track" aisle that goes around the entire store so you can get anywhere quickly, but the moment you step off the "race track," you're in a maze of clothes, produce, or baked goods.

The psychology is brilliant:

1) Sensory overload resets your brain: That produce section isn't organized for efficiency. It's a maze of colors, textures, and aromas designed to slow you down. When your brain switches from task mode ("get milk") to exploration mode ("ooh, those strawberries look good"), your shopping list becomes a suggestion. 

2) Strategic product placement hijacks decisions: Notice how milk is always in the back? You have to walk past 49 end caps of Oreos, Doritos, and Coca-Cola to get there. Each one positioned at the exact angle to catch your peripheral vision. By the time you reach the dairy, your cart's already half full.

3) The checkout gauntlet seals the deal: Surrounded by candy, magazines, and energy drinks while you wait. Your willpower is depleted. Your brain is tired. That Snickers bar suddenly seems reasonable. After all, you already spent $100. What's another $2?

4) Category confusion creates opportunity: Why is the peanut butter next to jelly but nowhere near bread? Because separated categories force exploration. More wandering = more impulse buys. Trader Joe's takes this further with their "treasure hunt" layout. Nothing is where you expect it.

The brutal truth: Over 50% of grocery purchases are unplanned.

That's not poor self-control. That's excellent store design.

The most successful food brands don't just make good products. They understand the Gruen Effect and position accordingly. That's why Pepsi pays millions for end-cap displays. Why Frito-Lay dominates eye-level shelving. Why Snickers live at every checkout.

They're not selling snacks. They're selling interrupted intentions.

The psychology behind the greatest cookie comeback story never told.

Picture this: Two chocolate sandwich cookies sit side by side. One commands 90% of the market. The other barely clings to existence on Amazon. Yet here's the twist that would make any marketer's head spin... the underdog came first.

This is the story of Hydrox and Oreo, and it's a masterclass in how psychology, not product superiority, determines market dominance.

In 1908, Sunshine Biscuits launched Hydrox... America's first chocolate sandwich cookie. The name combined hydrogen and oxygen to evoke purity and cleanliness. Four years later, Nabisco brazenly copied the concept and called it Oreo.

Today, Oreo generates $3.1 billion annually. Hydrox? It's fighting for shelf space at Cracker Barrel.

What happened here isn't about taste. Blind taste tests consistently show people prefer Hydrox's more chocolatey cookie and less sweet filling. This is about the psychology of perception, and it's a lesson every brand needs to understand.

Let's start with the elephant in the room. "Hydrox" might have meant purity in 1908, but to modern ears, it sounds like something you'd find under the kitchen sink.

Meanwhile, "Oreo" rolls off the tongue. It's playful, memorable, and it sounds like food.

1️⃣  𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲: Your brand name creates an instant emotional response. Hydrox triggers associations with chemicals and cleaning products. Oreo triggers... nothing specific, which lets the product create its own associations.

2️⃣  𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲: Price signals quality. Oreo raised its prices to become the premium option. When consumers see a higher price, their brains automatically assign higher value, even when the products are nearly identical. Making Hydrox the "cheap knockoff."

3️⃣  𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲: Defensive positioning can make you look weak. Hydrox kept talking about impostors and that they were the original. When you constantly remind people you were first, they wonder why you have to keep saying it. Meanwhile, Oreo is focused on fun: "Twist, Lick, Dunk."

4️⃣  𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲: Availability bias is real. If consumers see Oreo 10x more often than Hydrox, Oreo becomes the "normal" choice. Hydrox becomes the weird alternative they've never heard of.

5️⃣  𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲: Nostalgia without innovation equals stagnation. Consumers don't care who was first – they care who's best right now. Think Double Stuf, limited editions, brand collabs, etc.

Being first means nothing if you can't own minds.
Being better means nothing if you can't communicate value.
Being original means nothing if you sound like toilet bowl cleaner.

The brutal truth: In business, the best product rarely wins. The best-positioned product does. And if your brand name makes people think of hydrogen peroxide instead of happiness, you've already lost the war.

Mayo vs Miracle Whip. 

Ask someone if they prefer mayo or Miracle Whip. Watch how fast it gets personal.

I grew up in a miracle whip household.

Miracle Whip's story started in 1933 at The Chicago World's Fair. While America was drowning in the Great Depression, Kraft unveiled a spread that would split families for generations. They called it Miracle Whip, and it wasn't mayonnaise.

Here's what kills me: 

Miracle Whip is technically "salad dressing."
But that technicality created a phenomenon.

Kraft developed Miracle Whip as the cheaper alternative when families couldn't afford real mayo. They added sugar, spices, and that secret tangy zip. It was supposed to be the substitute you settled for.

Instead, something unexpected happened. People didn't just tolerate it. They preferred it.

The psychology is fascinating:

1️⃣ 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆: Depression-era kids grew up with Miracle Whip as their only option. When they could finally afford mayo, they stuck with what mom made. Poverty food became comfort food.

2️⃣ 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹: While mayo plays it safe with eggs and oil, Miracle Whip went bold. That sweetness hits different dopamine receptors. It's not better or worse. It's distinctly itself.

3️⃣ 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽: This isn't a preference. It's a declaration of identity. You're either Team Mayo or Team Miracle Whip. There's no middle ground.

4️⃣ 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀: Whatever your parent put on your sandwiches becomes your baseline for "right." Everything else tastes wrong. Kraft accidentally created generational brand loyalty through economic hardship.

The brutal truth: Miracle Whip succeeded by failing to be mayonnaise. 

It carved out its own category. Created its own tribe. Turned a limitation (less oil) into differentiation (more flavor).

Today, the Miracle Whip vs. Mayo battle rages in every grocery store. Families argue. Relationships end. All over a spread that legally can't be what it was trying to replace.

Sometimes the best products aren't the ones that nail the brief. They're the ones that miss it so spectacularly they create their own category.

What's your household?
Mayo or Miracle Whip?

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