The honest version of this page: we are a retention agency, we appear on this list, and you should weigh our entry with the same skepticism you would apply to any agency ranking itself. The list is worth having anyway because CPG email is consumables mechanics plus a channel problem most agencies have never faced: your customer can buy the product somewhere you cannot see.
How this list was put together
A practitioner's list, not an aggregation: agencies whose work we have seen and rate from operating in the same market. Nobody paid to be here, there is no ranking order, and our own entry carries the same fit note as everyone else's.
Agencies we rate for CPG brands
Magnet Monster
A Klaviyo Elite Master partner running full-service retention across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and direct mail, with 300+ DTC brands behind them and real subscription depth. The scale and process fit for an established CPG brand running retail and DTC in parallel, where the program needs mature workflows more than experimentation.
Underground Ecom
A UK-based Klaviyo Elite Master partner and Klaviyo's Agency Partner of the Year EMEA 2025, with a data-led model that ties actions to projected revenue. A fit for growth-stage CPG brands that want reporting rigor while scaling, and for founders who want to see the business case for every initiative before it runs.
Retention Harbor
That is us. We build Klaviyo retention systems for DTC brands, CPG among them, with the bundle-aware flows, per-SKU replenishment timing, and subscription attach architecture described in our CPG setup guide. Retention only: if you want paid media in the same engagement, a full-service shop fits better. The right conversation with us is a brand that suspects its list is driving retail sales it cannot see and wants the direct channel to earn its keep.
Fit by stage, roughly
- Under $3M DTC revenue: a focused retention shop or fractional specialist. The account needs architecture, not a big-agency process layer.
- $3M to $15M: the sweet spot for everyone on this list. The program needs building and running simultaneously, and the subscription attach work pays for the retainer.
- Over $15M with heavy retail: weight toward scale and process (Magnet Monster's profile), or an in-house lead with a specialist retained for architecture and audits, per our in-house vs agency guide.
The questions that expose a generalist
- What should our DTC channel offer that our retail shelf cannot? A real answer names bundles, exclusives, and subscription value, not loyalty platitudes.
- How would you learn our reorder cadence, and how would flow timing use it per SKU?
- Where in the lifecycle would you pitch subscription, and what is the save sequence when someone cancels?
- How do you measure email honestly when a share of our repurchases happen on shelves you cannot see?
- How do you avoid training the list to wait for discounts in a category with thin margins and retail price integrity to protect?
Run the 30-minute self-audit before any calls, and take the fuller question set from the food and beverage selection guide, which overlaps heavily with CPG.
How to run the process
- Week 1: run the self-audit, write down your three biggest problems, and say nothing about them yet.
- Week 2: calls with two or three agencies from this list, same questions to all, judged on specificity rather than deck polish. Note whether their diagnosis matches your private list.
- Week 3: proposals. A good CPG proposal names your subscription platform, references your retail footprint, and sequences architecture before volume. A bad one could have been written for any brand.
Terms worth checking before signing
- You own the account and the flows. Everything is built in your Klaviyo, under your login, and stays if you part ways. Any agency resisting this is planning to hold your program hostage.
- Scope names numbers: how many flows built or rebuilt, how many campaigns per month, who does design.
- Out clause at 60 to 90 days. Long lock-ins protect agencies from their own results.
- Reporting terms defined up front: which attribution window, clicks or opens, and DTC-cohort measures given the retail blind spot.
What to include in your first inquiry
Five facts sharpen every first call: monthly DTC revenue, list size, your retail footprint (which chains, roughly what share of total revenue), subscription platform and attach rate if any, and your top SKUs with their consumption cycles. A consumables operator will build the call around cadence and channel mix. A generalist will build it around a campaign calendar.
Frequently asked questions
What does a CPG retention agency cost?
The standard mid-market range, roughly $6,000 to $12,000 a month. Prefer flat retainers in this category: revenue-share models reward volume, which is exactly the wrong incentive against thin margins and retail price integrity.
Do we need an agency that has run brands with retail distribution?
If retail is a meaningful share of your revenue, yes, strongly. The channel-mix problem changes offer strategy, measurement, and what email can honestly claim credit for, and agencies without that experience misread all three.
What should the first 30 days look like?
An audit of flows and list health, an event-mapping pass on the subscription platform, cadence analysis from your order data, and a bundle and subscription offer review. Campaign volume before that work is backwards.
How fast should results show?
Flow revenue inside two months, subscription attach trending by the end of the quarter. Distrust anyone promising a step change in month one.
Sources
- Magnet Monster. Klaviyo Elite Master retention agency.
- Underground Ecom. Klaviyo Elite Master partner, EMEA Agency Partner of the Year 2025.
- Sleepless Media. DTC vs retail for CPG brands.