Why extend your brand now?

• Tell me briefly why your team is considering brand extensions at this moment
• Describe the core audience that loves your current product and how they behave when they buy Options: Primary loyal buyers, Occasional users, New demographic we want to reach, Gift purchasers, Retail shoppers, DTC subscribers, Other
• How many unsolicited licensing or partnership inquiries has your brand received in the last 12 months Options: 0, 1-3, 4-10, More than 10
• List the top three consumer signals or competitor moves that pushed this onto your agenda
• Who on your leadership team will own the decision to launch a licensing program Options: CEO, CMO, Head of Brand, Chief Strategy Officer, General Counsel, Board committee, Other
• What would success look like in the first 18 months for your brand extension program

Where the whitespace feels urgent

• If a rival captures the adjacent category first, what would that cost your brand in awareness, shelf presence, or customer perception
• Walk me through the specific product category or SKU type you think is most at risk or most promising
• Rate your confidence that your brand identity and equity translate to that category Options: 1 - Not confident, 2 - Low, 3 - Moderate, 4 - High, 5 - Very high
• Name three consumer objections you expect when your brand appears in that new category
• What single market signal would make you stop pursuing this extension

What's getting in the way of a clean launch

• Which operational step do you expect will break first when trying to bring an extension to market
• Describe a past launch inside your business or a close peer that struggled, and why it stuck with you
• How often do legal or brand approvals delay new product launches in your organization Options: Almost always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never
• List the manufacturing and quality standards a partner must meet for you to proceed Options: ISO certification or equivalent, Third-party audit reports, Ingredient or material disclosure, Sustainability or ethical sourcing standards, Retailer quality programs, Other
• If no manufacturing partner meets your minimum quality bar within six months, what is your fallback plan

The alternatives you are weighing

• Which alternatives are you actively weighing right now instead of hiring an outside licensing advisor
• Select which of the following options currently have momentum in your organization Options: Another consultancy or agency, Existing creative or brand agency, In-house product team, Independent licensing broker, Retailer partnership model, Private equity or finance-led approach, Do nothing, Other
• What would have to be true about your internal approach for you to keep it rather than switch to an external partner
• Has anyone internally explicitly proposed solving this without an outside partner Options: Yes, No, Not sure
• What single reason would make you rule out doing this internally

Operational readiness and constraints

• What practical constraint could stop an engagement within the first 30 days
• Which internal teams must be available and committed to run workshops and approve materials Options: Brand or marketing, Legal and compliance, Product management, Supply chain or sourcing, Finance, Retail partnerships or sales, Data analytics, Other
• How many hours per week can your team realistically commit to collaborative strategy work during the paid phase Options: 0-5 hours, 6-10 hours, 11-20 hours, More than 20 hours
• Select the types of data and systems we will need access to for research and validation Options: Sales by channel or SKU, Recent consumer research or tracking, Retailer performance or placement reports, Production specifications and tolerances, CRM and shopper data, ERP or inventory system, Other
• Do you have existing license or distribution agreements that limit partner selection or terms Options: Yes, full templates, Partial templates or clauses exist, No templates, Not sure
• Is there any legal restriction or board policy that would prohibit licensing entirely Options: Yes, No, Not sure

How you will measure whether this is worth doing

• Under what conditions would you stop working with an advisor after the strategy phase
• Which KPIs will you treat as non negotiable during the first 18 months Options: Royalty revenue, Number of active SKUs or SKUs placed with partners, Retail distribution points or listings, Quality complaint rate, Time to first revenue, Brand sentiment or NPS, Other
• What target first year revenue or royalty level would make continuing investment a clear yes Options: Under $100k, $100k to $500k, $500k to $1M, $1M to $5M, Over $5M, I do not have a firm target
• Describe who will own royalty reporting and the cadence you prefer for performance reviews
• If a pilot or early licensee misses targets by 50 percent, do you have the authority to pause or terminate that relationship immediately Options: Yes, No, Depends on executive approvals

Timing and next steps that actually move things

• If you insisted on the fastest reasonable timeline, what would it be and which steps would you be willing to compress or drop
• When would you like the paid strategy phase to begin Options: Immediately, In 2 to 4 weeks, In 1 to 2 months, In 3 to 6 months, Unsure
• Which timing window do you prefer to see the first signed license Options: Next quarter, Within 6 months, Within 9 to 12 months, Longer than 12 months, Unsure
• How soon can your legal team review an NDA and a data access authorization Options: Within 1 week, 1 to 2 weeks, 2 to 4 weeks, More than 4 weeks, Not available
• Which role will act as the day to day project lead we coordinate with Options: Brand manager, Product manager, Head of partnerships, Program manager, Agency lead, Other
• Rate your readiness to commit the budget for the strategy phase today Options: Ready now, Can approve this quarter, Need approval next quarter, Not likely this year
• If we can demonstrate a clear path to first revenue within 12 months, would you be prepared to sign an engagement agreement this quarter Options: Yes, Maybe, No

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW) — Paid Strategy Phase
• Data Access Authorization
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA) — Conditional
• Initial Payment & Invoice Authorization

• Assumptions and Data Intake
• Brand Equity Audit Workshop
• Consumer Insight Synthesis and Whitespace Mapping
• Product Concept Prioritization and Licensee Fit Decision

• Publish the agreed scope and timeline for the Strategy Deliverable and the next recruitment planning checkpoint.
• Quick recap of hypotheses and brand guardrails
• Agree a ranked whitespace category list with the scoring rationale and supporting evidence for each rank.
• Identify the top 2 to 4 categories recommended for product-concept development.
• List the remaining data points required to finalize category scores for the top choices.
• Provide the whitespace map with raw scores, the scoring template, and the evidence used for each category.
• Recap ranked categories and evidence
• Approve the final prioritized list of product-concept briefs to be included in the strategy deliverable.
• Confirm the licensee profile criteria and the non-negotiable deal constraints for recruitment.
• Agree timeline and deliverables needed for the Strategy Deliverable and the recruitment planning stage.
• Finalize product-concept briefs for approved concepts with visual examples and performance assumptions.
• Create the licensee profile and deal constraint checklist to guide outreach and evaluation.
• Confirm scope and success criteria
• Complete a data inventory listing sources available and gaps to fill before the next session.
• Agree a short list of testable hypotheses to validate in the workshops.
• Confirm the exact workshop outputs that will feed the strategy deliverable and the reviewers for each output.
• Deliver a data inventory spreadsheet with links or access notes for each listed source.
• Provide any missing research or grant read access to identified data repositories before the Brand Equity Audit meeting.
• Publish the agreed hypotheses list and the required evidence to validate each hypothesis.
• Recap scope and evidence available
• Deliver a brand equity map that lists core brand drivers and consumer associations.
• Agree the top 5 brand protection criteria that must be enforced in any license agreement.
• Document any legal or third-party constraints that limit category options.
• Produce the brand equity map document with evidence links and examples of acceptable and unacceptable use cases.
• Compile the formal list of brand protection criteria and required quality thresholds for inclusion in license templates.
• Flag outstanding legal questions and request supporting documentation to resolve them before concept prioritization.
• Collect or commission the missing market data items needed to firm up scores for top categories.
• Draft short one-paragraph market rationales for the top categories to inform concept briefs.
• Inventory available data and evidence
• Present draft product-concept briefs
• Synthesize consumer needs and gaps by segment
• Map brand identity and consumer associations
• Validate brand fit and commercial viability
• Identify asset inventory and usage constraints
• Map whitespace candidates and market signals
• Surface initial hypotheses and risks
• Agree workshop outputs and roles
• Decide concepts to advance and define licensee profile
• Score and rank categories by potential and risk
• Surface equity risks and required guardrails

• stakeholders
• gaps
• success_criteria
• current_state
• decision_readiness
• desired_state
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness

• Develop Brand Extension Guidelines
• Create Target Licensee Shortlist
• Conduct Licensee Outreach Campaign
• Perform Manufacturing Vendor Due Diligence
• Negotiate and Draft License Agreements
• Define Product Specifications and Quality Standards
• Implement Brand Compliance Approval Workflow
• Manage Licensee Onboarding and Training
• Establish Royalty Reporting and Payment Processes
• Perform Factory Capability and Compliance Audits
• Run Packaging and Label Approval Reviews
• Operate Ongoing Quality Assurance Monitoring
• Execute Underperforming Licensee Termination
• Support First-Product Launch Coordination

Develop Brand Extension Guidelines

• Do you want the guidelines to include guarded product claims and forbidden ingredient lists tied to each SKU family? Options: Yes, No
• Which product-category artifacts should be captured (for example: master artwork, approved ingredient lists, target retail price band) for each proposed extension? Options: Master artwork, Ingredient lists, Target price band, All of the above
• How many initial product concepts (by SKU or concept brief) should the guideline set cover in the first delivery? Options: 1, 2-3, 4-6, 7+
• Who will provide the current brand assets we need to reference (logo vector files, trademark usage policy, current packaging dieline) and what format will those assets be in? Options: Vector artwork (AI/EPS), High-res PNG/JPG, PDF dielines, Not available yet
• What is your target delivery date for the guideline document and the first sample approval checklist (number of weeks)? Options: 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6-8 weeks, Custom timeline

Create Target Licensee Shortlist

• Provide the list of priority product families (by SKU group or UPC prefix) you want to place first to guide licensee targeting.
• Identify the manufacturing capabilities that are non-negotiable for shortlisting (for example: wet-fill beverage line, co-packing for dry goods, certified cold-chain capability). Options: Wet-fill beverage, Dry-pack co-packing, Cold-chain, Contract labelling, Other
• Specify geographic restrictions for licensees tied to distribution (for example: North America only, EU and UK, APAC region), including any market-launch sequencing preferences. Options: North America, EU/UK, APAC, Global
• Which commercial thresholds should be used to qualify targets (for example: annual COGS capacity in units, minimum private-label experience, existing retail relationships)?
• How many candidates should be included in the short-list per product family (preferred shortlist size)? Options: 1-3, 4-6, 7-10

Conduct Licensee Outreach Campaign

• Describe the outreach channels you authorize for initial contact (email campaign to procurement contacts, targeted trade-show outreach, broker introductions) and any channels you decline. Options: Email to procurement, Trade-show follow-up, Broker introduction, Industry association lists
• Who on your team will be a named reviewer for proposal materials during outreach and what role will they play in screening (technical, commercial, brand-compliance)?
• When do you want outreach to begin relative to guideline delivery (immediately, after pilot samples, after NDA execution)? Options: Immediately, After guidelines delivered, After NDA execution, After pilot samples
• What standard outreach materials should we include with supplier contact (capability brief, sample request form, NDA template, brand guideline summary)? Options: Capability brief, Sample request form, NDA template, Brand summary
• What is the minimum responsiveness SLA you expect from prospective licensees during outreach (for example: response to RFI within 5 business days)? Options: 2 business days, 5 business days, 10 business days, Custom SLA

Perform Manufacturing Vendor Due Diligence

• Which technical documents must each vendor supply as part of due diligence (for example: certificate of analysis, master production record, finished-goods COA)? Options: Certificate of analysis, Master production record, Finished-goods COA, All of the above
• List the specific quality certifications or audits that are required to qualify a manufacturer for your category (for example: ISO 9001, food-safety scheme, GMP), and name any that are disqualifying if absent.
• How many historical production references (customer names and SKU examples) should a vendor provide to be considered qualified? Options: 1, 2-3, 4+
• Who will own the vendor due-diligence questionnaire review and final approval on your side (role or individual)?
• Indicate any mandatory compliance checks you require (for example: allergen controls, CoA lab tests, country-of-origin declarations) and their acceptable thresholds.

Negotiate and Draft License Agreements

• Specify which commercial terms are negotiable versus fixed for your licensing deals (for example: royalty rate band, minimum guaranteed units, territory exclusivity). Options: Royalty negotiable, Minimum guarantee negotiable, Territory fixed, Other
• What is your preferred royalty reporting cadence and the required supporting fields on reports (for example: SKU-level net sales, units sold by channel, deduction types)?
• Who on your legal or commercial team will be the signatory for licensing agreements and who must be copied on term-sheet approvals?
• Which termination triggers do you insist on (for example: repeated quality failures, late royalty payment beyond 60 days, unauthorized sub-licensing)?
• What contract templates or clause libraries will you provide for redline (for example: master license, QA annex, IP usage schedule)?

Define Product Specifications and Quality Standards

• What SKU-level technical specs must be defined for each extension (for example: target fill-weight, acceptable pack counts, shelf-life in days, storage temperature)?
• Which specific test methods or acceptance thresholds do you require for finished-goods release (for example: microbial limits per gram, allergen swab ATP threshold, pH range)?
• How many production pilot runs and pilot sample approvals do you require before authorizing full-scale manufacture of a SKU? Options: 1 pilot run, 2 pilot runs, 3+
• Specify any mandatory packaging attributes tied to specification (for example: child-resistant closures, tamper-evident seals, recyclable material targets).
• Which SKU-level documentation will be the authoritative source for specs (for example: product specification sheet, master batch record, bill of materials)? Options: Product spec sheet, Master batch record, Bill of Materials, Other

Implement Brand Compliance Approval Workflow

• Provide the sequence of approval gates you require for sample approval (for example: technical QA sign-off, brand creative approval, legal sign-off on claims).
• Which artifacts should be captured at each gate as evidence (for example: lab COA, finished-goods photo, signed approval form)? Options: Lab COA, Finished-goods photo, Signed approval form, None
• Confirm the single quantitative acceptance criterion that will clear the final gate (for example: COA within spec, sensory score above X, pilot defect rate below Y%).
• How will approvals be tracked and archived (for example: PDF approvals saved to a shared folder, entries in a workflow tool with timestamps)? Options: Shared folder PDFs, Workflow tool entries, Email approvals
• Who is authorized to issue a temporary waiver for a minor spec deviation and what documentation must accompany any waiver?

Manage Licensee Onboarding and Training

• What onboarding materials must be delivered to each licensee before first production run (for example: brand guideline PDF, approved artwork package, product spec sheet)? Options: Brand guideline PDF, Approved artwork package, Product spec sheet, All of the above
• Which training topics should be included in the licensee program (for example: label-claim compliance, allergen control processes, packaging artwork application)? Options: Label-claim compliance, Allergen control, Artwork application, QA sampling protocol
• Confirm the acceptance criteria for onboarding completion that permit a licensee to move to commercial production (for example: passed factory audit, two approved pilot lots, staff training sign-offs).
• How many vendor staff should be trained per site and in what format do you require training records (for example: attendance roster, signed slide deck, recorded session link)? Options: 1-3 staff, 4-6 staff, 7+ staff
• Which party will maintain ongoing training refreshes and who pays for recurring training after year one? Options: We maintain and pay, You maintain and pay, Shared cost

Establish Royalty Reporting and Payment Processes

• Which report fields are mandatory on licensee quarterly royalty statements (for example: SKU-level net sales, units sold by channel, customer-level discounts applied)?
• What payment methods are acceptable for royalties (for example: wire transfer with remittance advice, ACH, platform invoice) and any currency constraints? Options: Wire transfer, ACH, Platform invoice, Other
• What is your preferred payment cadence and late-payment penalty threshold (for example: net 45 with 1.5% monthly interest after 60 days)? Options: Net 30, Net 45, Net 60
• Who on your finance team will reconcile royalty statements and what contact information should we use for remittance queries?
• Confirm the acceptance evidence that will validate a licensee's royalty report (for example: audited sales extract, EDI file, retail sell-through report).

Perform Factory Capability and Compliance Audits

• Which factory audit scope items are required for your category (for example: sanitation controls, traceability to raw-material lot, preventive maintenance records)?
• How many previous audit reports (and what lookback period) should a factory provide during assessment? Options: Last 12 months, Last 24 months, Last 36 months
• Specify any regulatory regimes that must be demonstrated at the factory level (for example: local food-safety registration, import-export compliance filings).
• Where will on-site audit findings be documented and who will receive the formal audit report (for example: shared audit portal, emailed PDF to named contacts)? Options: Shared audit portal, Emailed PDF, Both
• What follow-up timeline do you require for corrective-action completion after a nonconformance is raised (for example: 30 days, 60 days)? Options: 30 days, 60 days, 90 days

Run Packaging and Label Approval Reviews

• Which label claims must be pre-cleared for each SKU (for example: 'gluten-free', nutrition-fact declarations, allergen statements) and what supporting documents will you require?
• What versioning control do you require for dielines and artwork proofs (for example: enforced file-naming convention, approval stamps on PDFs)?
• How many packaging iterations are allowed in the approval cycle before additional fees or timeline impacts apply? Options: 1 iteration, 2 iterations, 3 iterations, Unlimited
• Which print tests or pre-production checks do you require (for example: color-match report, barcode scan test, final UPC confirmation)? Options: Color-match, Barcode scan, UPC confirmation, All
• What is the maximum approval lead time you will allow between submission of final artwork and signed approval to meet a production window? Options: 5 business days, 10 business days, 15 business days

Operate Ongoing Quality Assurance Monitoring

• Which ongoing QA metrics do you want monitored at the SKU level (for example: incoming defect rate, out-of-spec COA percentage, customer complaint rate per 10k units)?
• How frequently do you require QA reports from licensees (for example: monthly COA summary, weekly defect log)? Options: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly
• What is the acceptable threshold for product defects or nonconformances that will trigger a remediation workflow (for example: defect rate above 1% over two consecutive months)?
• How should samples for third-party testing be sourced and tracked (for example: retained production samples with lot number and chain-of-custody form)?
• Which escalation path do you require for quality incidents (for example: immediate notification to brand lead, 24-hour incident report, factory corrective action plan)?

• Go-live Health Check
• First Performance Review
• Acceptance Gate Review
• Quarterly Operational Review
• Annual Brand Compliance Audit

• Enhancement backlog is prioritized with next-quarter deliverables agreed.
• Restate acceptance criteria and numeric targets
• Formal acceptance decision is recorded against the Implementation Scope targets with signatory evidence or conditional acceptance terms.
• Remediation plan and reassessment date are documented for any failed criterion.
• Publish the acceptance minutes that record pass/fail per criterion and include links to supporting evidence.
• Create a remediation register for any failed items that includes remediation steps, verification tests, and reassessment dates.
• Schedule follow-up verification audits or reconciliations required for conditional acceptance items.
• Licensee performance dashboard
• Operational gaps are assigned remediation steps with dates to move metrics toward targets recorded in Implementation Scope.
• Reconfirm success criteria and owners
• Update the compliance tracker with audit findings and assign verification deadlines for each corrective action.
• Produce a reconciliation exception report that lists disputed royalty items and the resolution plan.
• Publish the prioritized enhancement backlog for licensee review and internal planning.
• Comprehensive compliance summary
• Annual compliance outcomes are accepted or have documented remediation plans tied to Implementation Scope targets.
• Program-level policy or protocol changes are agreed and scheduled for implementation.
• Publish the finalized annual compliance report including trend analysis and agreed policy changes.
• Create a program-change rollout plan for any updated quality-control protocols with milestones and verification checks.
• Schedule follow-up audits to verify closure of systemic issues identified in the audit.
• Deployment, onboarding, and audit schedules are validated as complete or have documented remediation steps.
• All immediate blockers are documented with owners and target dates for closure.
• Publish an onboarding status summary that lists which licensees completed sample approval and which have outstanding items.
• Schedule the first internal compliance audit for any licensee with outstanding quality checkpoints.
• Circulate royalty reporting templates and first-report deadlines to all active licensees.
• Present first-period performance vs targets
• Clear, timebound corrective actions are agreed for any metric not meeting targets recorded in Implementation Scope.
• Decision on whether additional audits or sample inspections are required before the acceptance gate.
• Produce a corrective action tracker listing each metric gap, remediation step, target date, and verification method.
• Initiate targeted compliance audits for licensees with sub-threshold quality compliance rates.
• Request first royalty report submissions from any licensees with missing reports and log expected receipt dates.
• Present outcome data against each criterion
• Year-over-year trends and root causes
• Deployment and onboarding validation
• Diagnose root causes for deviations
• Quality audit findings and corrective actions
• Royalty reporting and reconciliation status
• Early quality-control checks
• Document pass or fail per criterion
• Agree corrective action plan
• Policy and quality-control updates
• Initial royalty reporting setup validation
• Confirm readiness and timeline for acceptance gate
• Formal acceptance decision and signatory capture
• Enhancement requests and backlog prioritization
• Approve annual compliance report for records
• Open issues, escalations, and closure plan
• Blockers and immediate remediation
• Agree remediation plan for any failed criteria