Tag Archives: Getting into delis & farmshops
3 key steps to getting your food or drink product listed in farm shops and delis
1. Plan carefully.
It is really easy to get over-enthusiastic and start approaching farm shops and delis before you are ready to sell. Here’s a quick check-list of the things you need to make sure you have in place to help you sell your food or drink product to the farm shop and deli managers:
- Costings – do you have an idea of your rrp (the price the shop will sell your product at) and does your cost price allow the shop to make 40% margin as well as you making a profit?
- Do you know how you will deliver your product – yourself? A courier?
- Is your labelling legal and does it have all the required information on it?
- Have you done shelf-life testing?
- Have you got outer case packaging sorted?
2. How to approach the buyer/shop manager.
- Decide on your approach – are you going to phone to get appointments? Are you going to call on the shops in person with samples on the off chance? (Relish Tip: always make the most of every appointment by doing research and seeing what other stores/sales opportunities might be nearby)
- Make sure you have a hand-out to leave them with all the info they will need to know – price, case size, minimum order quantity, lead time, delivery costs and not forgetting your contact details!
Be knowledgeable – not only about your product – but about competitor products and the wider category. Don’t forget the shop manager might have to make a decision whether to list your product or a competitors – there is only so much space on the shelves!
3. Supporting your listing.
- Once you’ve done the hard work of getting the listing – unfortunately it doesn’t stop there! Don’t forget to tell people where they can get your product (via social media, email lists, website etc).
- Also – offer support to the store – can you do samplings in store for example to help with sales – particularly a good idea at launch to encourage trial and at key seasonal times of the year such as Easter, Mother’s Day, Xmas etc
If you have any questions about this topic we would love to hear from you simply email [email protected] and we will do our best to help.
Good luck!
Don’t forget you can check out our FREE 30-day trial of the Relish Food Marketing Club where there are oodles more resources and mentoring from the Relish team to help you with your food or drink business.
Buy British Trend Gives UK Food Producers a Boost
Following on from my visit to The Great British Exchange in the beautiful countryside just outside Harrogate – a town buzzing with independent delis and gift stores, I’m delighted to introduce a guest blog from Matthew Hopkins, Managing Director of The Great British Exchange who talks about the growing trend of buying British and what it means for food producers.
New figures from The Great British Exchange show that the trend to buy locally produced and British made food products and gifts is continuing.
The company shipped 10,000 boxes of British made product to UK stores and sold 200,000 units on behalf of its network of handpicked manufacturers in 2017.
The latest statistics show that it is helping a growing number of independent food producers onto the shelves of high street stores and supporting a rising consumer trend to buy British.
The GBE actively seeks out the most exciting and innovative British food producers and works with them to make them retail ready.
We sort out the practicalities which make it possible to join the dots between small start-up businesses and big stores. What we are effectively doing is turning the supply chain on its head and if buyers are going to source limited volumes of small batch products from a wide range of different makers there needs to be someone sorting out the logistics.
We are now introducing 15 new British brands to the UK supply chain every week and this is giving retailers a key point of difference as well as supporting some exciting homegrown talent.
Interest in British made and locally produced food products has increased significantly in the past year. We have seen a far higher level of interest in British goods from gift retailers over the past 12 months than previously and a large part of that growth can be attributed to consumer demand for locally sourced and unique food gifts.
As well as sourcing British goods for large retailers such as John Lewis, Dobbies and Forest Holidays, the Great British Exchange works with 2,500 independent stores
The Great British Exchange was launched to offer buyers the newness and variety they crave and make it as easy as possible for them to stock the latest hot British brands.
Many people are great at planning for food and drink exhibitions, sparkle on the stand – but then wonder a couple of months down the line why they haven’t got lots of new customers?
Like most of you are I’m sure; deli & farm shop managers and store owners are busy, busy people and don’t always have lots of time to be asking questions and chasing for the info they need to know about your product before they decide whether to list it or not.
