Social media strategy and roaster enablement for one of Walmart's most ambitious local product programs — bringing 85 independent coffee roasters to shelves across 832 stores nationwide.
Walmart had quietly become home to 85 independent local coffee roasters across 36 metros and 832 stores — but 60% of shoppers had no idea. With strong consumer demand for local products (81% said they'd buy local coffee if they knew it was available) and limited awareness at shelf level, the program needed a social media strategy that could work at national scale while still feeling deeply local.
Rather than just creating content for roasters, I built a system that empowered them to create it themselves. I developed a roaster field guide with clear content frameworks, social spotlight templates, and interview prompts that gave each brand a repeatable way to tell their story — from roasting process videos to founder quotes to in-store availability posts. I then traveled across 6+ U.S. states capturing on-the-ground content that modeled what great local storytelling looked like in practice.
Local products don't fail because of quality, they fail because no one knows they're there. The most powerful marketing a small roaster can do isn't a national ad buy. It's a founder on camera, in their shop, talking about their community. Authenticity at scale only works when you give people the tools and confidence to show up consistently.
93% of surveyed shoppers said in-store social signage would drive purchase, without it social media became our biggest growth driver.
Walmart had quietly become home to 85 independent local coffee roasters across 36 metros and 832 stores — but 60% of shoppers had no idea. With strong consumer demand for local products (81% said they'd buy local coffee if they knew it was available) and limited awareness at shelf level, the program needed a social media strategy that could work at national scale while still feeling deeply local.
Rather than just creating content for roasters, I built a system that empowered them to create it themselves. I developed a roaster field guide with clear content frameworks, social spotlight templates, and interview prompts that gave each brand a repeatable way to tell their story — from roasting process videos to founder quotes to in-store availability posts. I then traveled across 6+ U.S. states capturing on-the-ground content that modeled what great local storytelling looked like in practice.
Local products don't fail because of quality, they fail because no one knows they're there. The most powerful marketing a small roaster can do isn't a national ad buy. It's a founder on camera, in their shop, talking about their community. Authenticity at scale only works when you give people the tools and confidence to show up consistently.
93% of surveyed shoppers said in-store social signage would drive purchase, without it social media became our biggest growth driver.
Walmart had quietly become home to 85 independent local coffee roasters across 36 metros and 832 stores — but 60% of shoppers had no idea. With strong consumer demand for local products (81% said they'd buy local coffee if they knew it was available) and limited awareness at shelf level, the program needed a social media strategy that could work at national scale while still feeling deeply local.
Rather than just creating content for roasters, I built a system that empowered them to create it themselves. I developed a roaster field guide with clear content frameworks, social spotlight templates, and interview prompts that gave each brand a repeatable way to tell their story — from roasting process videos to founder quotes to in-store availability posts. I then traveled across 6+ U.S. states capturing on-the-ground content that modeled what great local storytelling looked like in practice.
Local products don't fail because of quality, they fail because no one knows they're there. The most powerful marketing a small roaster can do isn't a national ad buy. It's a founder on camera, in their shop, talking about their community. Authenticity at scale only works when you give people the tools and confidence to show up consistently.
93% of surveyed shoppers said in-store social signage would drive purchase, without it social media became our biggest growth driver.
Most of these roasters were world-class at their craft and completely overwhelmed by social media. They didn't need a creative director telling them what to post. They needed a framework that made showing up feel simple and worth it.
So I stopped thinking like a content creator and started thinking like a trainer. What does someone need to know to feel ready? What questions should they be answering on camera? What does a good week of content actually look like for a small roaster with no marketing team?
The field guide wasn't just a style guide — it was a confidence builder. And that mindset shift changed everything about how the content performed.
