Moving Fast Without Losing Focus: How Greenhouse Turns Insight into Category Leadership | Customer Story | Cashew Research

Moving Fast
without losing focus

How Greenhouse is turning consumer insight into stronger category leadership and sharper decisions.

Functional BeverageVisit site

In conversation with Nicole Casciato, Director of Sales Strategy at Greenhouse and Lindsay Ho, VP Marketing

As the functional beverage category evolves, brands are increasingly expected to make quicker, more informed decisions without large research budgets or extended timelines. By using consumer research, Greenhouse is acting with greater speed and confidence while reinforcing its leadership in the category.

“Research helps validate what’s real with consumers versus what’s just industry noise.”

Lindsay Ho

VP Marketing

Q: Before working with Cashew, how were research and consumer insights handled at Greenhouse?

Nicole: We relied heavily on external data and internal assumptions. But we didn’t have a true read on some of the shopper metrics that I’m used to. Coming from larger CPG companies, I was used to having access to extensive shopper studies. Those were things we simply didn’t have yet at Greenhouse. One of my goals was to position Greenhouse as a thought leader within the functional beverage category, not just another brand selling products.

“I wanted Greenhouse to become the undisputed thought leader for the functional beverage category.”
Nicole

Q: What triggered the need for more formal consumer research?

Nicole: The biggest catalyst was planning work with retailers. That was the moment we realized we needed deeper shopper insights.

Q: Why are these insights especially important in the functional beverage category?

Lindsay: This category moves incredibly fast. There’s always a new ingredient, trend, or wellness conversation happening. Research helps validate what’s genuinely resonating with consumers versus what’s just industry noise. It also helps us prioritize. We have a lot of ideas internally, and research helps us focus on the ones that matter most.

Q: How did the experience differ from traditional research processes you’d used before?

Nicole: The biggest difference was speed and collaboration. In larger organizations, research can take months and involve multiple teams. Here, we were able to move quickly, collaborate directly on the study design, and get answers back fast. The process also felt approachable. The Cashew team helped guide us through building the right questions without overcomplicating things.

Q: Did the faster turnaround change how your team approached decision-making?

Nicole: Definitely. In large organizations, too much data can sometimes slow decisions down. At Greenhouse, we still need to move quickly. What Cashew helped us do was find the middle ground. We now have enough insight to make smarter decisions without losing momentum. The opportunity is finding that sweet spot where you can still move fast, but with much greater confidence behind your decisions.

“We still need to move quickly, but now we can move quickly with stronger insight behind us.”
Nicole

Q: Has the research impacted conversations with retailers and customers as well?

Nicole: We have been able to move from more transactional conversations to more strategic conversations with our retail partners.

“Research helped shift retailer conversations from transactional to strategic.”

Nicole Casciato

Director of Sales Strategy

Q: For growing brands that haven’t invested heavily in research before, what advice would you give?

Nicole: Start with one business question you genuinely need answered. Don’t try to answer everything at once. Focus on one important challenge where better consumer understanding could create impact. Once you see the value of those insights, it becomes much easier to build momentum internally.

Q: What’s the biggest mistake brands make when approaching research?

Lindsay: Not knowing what they’re actually going to do with the answer. Research should always connect back to a business decision. Otherwise, you end up collecting information that’s interesting, but not actionable.

“You need to know what business decision the research will influence before you start.”
Lindsay

01.

Uncovered key growth drivers in functional beverages

02.

Accelerated access to actionable consumer insights

03.

Equipped retailers with stronger category narratives

04.

Enabled faster, more confident decisions

05.

Built a scalable foundation for ongoing research

Customer story hero