Strategic guidance for food and consumer brands ready to grow smarter, move faster, and win in the marketplace.
Growth creates opportunities—but it also creates complexity.
Retailers, distributors, brokers, pricing strategies, promotions, and expansion plans all compete for attention. Knowing where to focus can be the difference between momentum and missed opportunity.
Shelf Wolf helps brands navigate the path forward with clarity, confidence, and practical experience. We combine strategic insight with real-world execution to help brands make smarter decisions and achieve sustainable growth.
Why the Wolf?
Wolves are respected not because they're the biggest or the loudest, but because they're intelligent, adaptable, and purposeful. They lead when necessary, trust the strength of the pack, and move with intention rather than chasing every opportunity. That's the philosophy behind Shelf Wolf. We help brands navigate the complexities of grocery through experienced sales leadership, practical guidance, and a carefully curated network of trusted partners. Our goal isn't simply to help brands grow—it's to help them grow wisely, sustainably, and with confidence.
Why We Exist
The brands that rise above the competition aren’t always the biggest. They’re the ones that make the right decisions, adapt to changing conditions, and move forward with confidence when others hesitate.
At Shelf Wolf, we help brands navigate complexity, uncover opportunity, and build a path toward sustainable growth. Whether you’re entering new markets, preparing for retailer conversations, refining your pricing strategy, managing distribution, or determining where to invest next, we provide the clarity, perspective, and experience needed to move forward with purpose.
Too many businesses find themselves overwhelmed by competing priorities, conflicting advice, and an endless list of opportunities that all seem important. We’ve seen brands spend money in the wrong places, chase the wrong opportunities, and lose valuable time because they lacked clear direction.
Shelf Wolf was founded to change that.
Our mission is simple: help brands make smarter decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and focus their resources where they will create the greatest impact. We believe growth should be intentional. Strategy should be practical. And partnerships should be built on trust.
Our founders
Melissa Coppel
Co-FounderMelissa brings more than 30 years of experience to the team. She started her CPG career in retail grocery, working store-level roles for several years before moving into category management, where she led key categories and strategic projects for seven years. From there, she moved into sales leadership for a leading natural cleaning brand, gaining broad experience calling on accounts across the country. Most recently, she spent over seven years as a Senior Brand Development Manager on a national sales team specializing in emerging brands, building lasting relationships with brands, retailers, and distributors along the way.
Melissa loves getting into the details of execution and understanding what gives a brand its edge in the marketplace. She has a real passion for emerging brands and enjoys putting her experience to work helping them strategize and solve problems.
Melissa lives in Asheville, NC. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and dogs, traveling, cooking, and staying active at the gym.
Co-FounderBen Peters
Ben, co-founder of Shelf Wolf, brings over 20 years of experience to the team. He began his career in retail before moving into a Category Manager role, where he learned to spot winning brands, partner with them for growth, and build out private and control brands. There, he also became fluent in syndicated data and in developing the analysis tools needed to measure success. He later joined the same national sales team as Melissa, where he led brand strategy across a wide range of brands, grew through the ranks, and ultimately led the team.
Ben enjoys building strategy, digging into the data, and managing the sales teams that brands rely on.
Ben lives in Des Moines, IA. Outside of work, he enjoys travel, cycling, home projects, good food, and — someday — making it inside a gym.
With 50+ years of combined grocery experience, we simplify a complex industry through strategic sales leadership, practical guidance, and trusted relationships—helping brands grow with clarity, confidence, and intention.
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