Client Overview
Walker Brothers Kombucha is a thriving beverage brand co-founded by brothers Sam and Luke Walker, along with Caroline Howard. Known for their flavorful, craft-brewed kombucha, the company has expanded from small-batch production to securing shelf space in major retailers like Whole Foods, Fresh Market, and Sprouts. As the company scaled to over $2 million in annual revenue, it became increasingly clear that its financial systems needed to scale with it.
The Challenge: Unclear Financials, Misclassified Transactions, and Leadership Overload
In the early stages, Walker Brothers worked with an accounting provider who wasn’t equipped to support the complex needs of a CPG business. Their chart of accounts wasn’t structured to reflect industry standards, and the team struggled to get accurate, actionable financial insights.
“Our chart of accounts was set up by our previous provider. It really wasn't set up to conform with CPG standards, and they weren't able to account for deductions and things like that,” said Caroline Howard, co-founder and head of Strategy and Operations.
“I was spending hours every month reviewing the books, flagging errors, and managing long email threads just to correct categorization issues.”
As their footprint grew — moving into distribution with UNFI and KEHE and expanding to dozens of retail locations — so did the need for reliable, industry-savvy financial reporting.
“We needed a provider that had a lot of experience with that kind of work,” Caroline explained.
The Solution: Partnering with Accountfully
Referred by a trusted advisor, Walker Brothers turned to Accountfully — a BELAY company with deep expertise in the consumer packaged goods industry and a reputation for delivering clean, clear, and accurate financials.
“Switching to Accountfully was one of the best decisions we ever made,” said Caroline. “We immediately saw a shift in the usefulness of our P&L. Suddenly, our reports actually made sense for how we operate.”
Accountfully brought a structured, strategic approach to Walker Brothers’ accounting needs by:
- Rebuilding the chart of accounts to align with CPG norms and cost structures
- Ensuring accurate financial reporting, including handling of deductions and COGS
- Reducing manual oversight
- Building investor-ready reports that are clean, supportable, and verifiable
- Offering strategic insights through tools like Fathom for performance tracking
The Impact: Time Reclaimed, Trust Built, Growth Supported
The most immediate result? Caroline got her time back:
“Reviewing our books took up quite a bit of my time, and now I can really just trust the work that's done because I've developed the trust in the team and know that they know our business, and they don't need my oversight.”
Instead of focusing on categorization errors and back-and-forth corrections, Caroline and the team can now focus on strategy, growth, and building the brand.
“Now when we pitch to investors, we have financials that are clear, reliable, and easy to verify…That gives us a lot of credibility as a small brand,” Caroline shared.
Caroline offered this word of advice to other CPG founders navigating growth:
“Changing accounting providers is a big lift. Choose wisely — find a partner you can grow with from the start.”
Ready to Scale Like Walker Brothers?
Whether you’re just getting started or scaling into retail and distribution, BELAY’s Financial Solutions — including Accountfully — can help you build a financial foundation designed for growth.
Let’s talk about how BELAY can support your CPG business today.