Looking for Retailers: 5 Tips for Securing Shelf Space for Your Food Product
But if you’ve never pitched your product to stores before, the process can be particularly daunting. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be.
So you understand your audience, you've got a delicious recipe in some nice packaging, and now you're itching to see your brainchild in a retail setting. But if you've never pitched your product to stores before, the process can be particularly daunting. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be.
We picked up some amazing tips from this article featuring Green Mountain Mustard (these guys seem to be filled with infinite wisdom in addition to great condiments). The thesis is this:
No one is going to sell your product for you.
Not your distributor, not your broker, not your social media feed. You're going to sell your product (and you're going to kick ass). This involves a painful and sometimes disheartening amount of phone calls, store visits, sample drop-offs, emails, and follow-ups. Some brands follow up for years to get a product on a shelf - so don't be discouraged when you're making multiple calls, emails and visits to a single buyer.
This kind of pavement-pounding wins elections, and it wins the battle for shelf space. No buyer or wholesale customer wants to see a lazy F&B founder, unenthusiastic about the brand and relying on others to sell their product.
So be the sales person you wish to see in the world. Propose promotions or merchandising tactics, offer to conduct demos, get friendly with staff and managers alike. These tactics become hard to resist, and they bring results.
So you understand your audience, you've got a delicious recipe in some nice packaging, and now you're itching to see your brainchild in a retail setting. But if you've never pitched your product to stores before, the process can be particularly daunting. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be.
We picked up some amazing tips from this article featuring Green Mountain Mustard (these guys seem to be filled with infinite wisdom in addition to great condiments). The thesis is this:
No one is going to sell your product for you.
Not your distributor, not your broker, not your social media feed. You're going to sell your product (and you're going to kick ass). This involves a painful and sometimes disheartening amount of phone calls, store visits, sample drop-offs, emails, and follow-ups. Some brands follow up for years to get a product on a shelf - so don't be discouraged when you're making multiple calls, emails and visits to a single buyer.
This kind of pavement-pounding wins elections, and it wins the battle for shelf space. No buyer or wholesale customer wants to see a lazy F&B founder, unenthusiastic about the brand and relying on others to sell their product.
So be the sales person you wish to see in the world. Propose promotions or merchandising tactics, offer to conduct demos, get friendly with staff and managers alike. These tactics become hard to resist, and they bring results.
So you understand your audience, you've got a delicious recipe in some nice packaging, and now you're itching to see your brainchild in a retail setting. But if you've never pitched your product to stores before, the process can be particularly daunting. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be.
We picked up some amazing tips from this article featuring Green Mountain Mustard (these guys seem to be filled with infinite wisdom in addition to great condiments). The thesis is this:
No one is going to sell your product for you.
Not your distributor, not your broker, not your social media feed. You're going to sell your product (and you're going to kick ass). This involves a painful and sometimes disheartening amount of phone calls, store visits, sample drop-offs, emails, and follow-ups. Some brands follow up for years to get a product on a shelf - so don't be discouraged when you're making multiple calls, emails and visits to a single buyer.
This kind of pavement-pounding wins elections, and it wins the battle for shelf space. No buyer or wholesale customer wants to see a lazy F&B founder, unenthusiastic about the brand and relying on others to sell their product.
So be the sales person you wish to see in the world. Propose promotions or merchandising tactics, offer to conduct demos, get friendly with staff and managers alike. These tactics become hard to resist, and they bring results.
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