When you make a grocery product, the first place to market it might be in a local farmer’s market or fair. If your product is a success at your farmers market and fair, you may want to get your product onto your highly anticipated grocery stores with welded wire mesh shelves to broaden your customer base and to widen your customer audience throughout supermarket shelves. You will learn about grocery stores where your clients are most likely to shop through market research. Consider reading some industry publications, like Supermarket News to stay informed about trends in the grocery business, and also to find out about sales opportunities.
1. Contact your insurance agent to buy products liability insurance. Products liability insurance protects your business from liability, which may arise if a client gets injured by your product. Retail buyers need proof of insurance before they agree to buy your goods.
2. Connect the Uniform Code Council to obtain a Uniform Product Code manufacturer’s number for your product. UPC symbols appear as bar codes on product labels, and help to monitor inventory and sales throughout the retail supply chain. All big grocery stores, and many small stores, require a UPC on goods they market.
3. Create a website for your product. Remember to include pictures of your goods, and to add any important information about the weight and size of your product if applicable. Try to upload some of your best photos or videos showing how to use the item, or how the item may look once out of the packaging. Include information regarding your ordering process and an order form for wholesale buyers on your site to make the application process easier for all who want to buy your product.
4. Create marketing brochures that describe your product. Focus on particular ingredients, or characteristics that distinguishes your product from other similar products in the marketplace. Include your website and other contact information on the booklet so that curious wholesale buyers can easily learn more about your product, and can get to know your overall brand identity. This is extremely important if you want to sell your product for supermarkets and retail chains of your liking’s
.
5. Call managers of grocery stores in your area.
Request managers for appointments to demonstrate your product, as local vendors may want to organise a time to sit down and discuss their product with a manager. Some independent grocery stores post info regarding open calls for sellers on their sites. Bring copies of your booklet, order forms along with your business card to leave with supervisors after meetings.
6. Visit sites of big chain grocery stores to discover if they have vendor programs for small companies. Start looking for contact information for a seller relations manager, or a senior buyer to ask for instructions about how to send samples of your product, and advertising materials. Prepare to travel to meet with buyers in person to discuss your product. Try to practice your sales pitch to convince buyers that their clients will want to put your product onto their welded mesh panels display in their supermarket. Broadly, you will need to show buyers your merchandise sold successfully in neighborhood grocery stores or perhaps at the farmers market, to give them an idea of how much you’re selling and how wanted your product really is in the surrounding community.
7. Register for a seller or wholesaler membership with trade organisations like the Natural Grocers Association, or the National Products Association for opportunities to network with buyers and other producers. Register for a table or booth in a NGA or NPA sponsored trade show to display your merchandise, and draw orders from buyers, and to get your product out there.
