The Food Entrepreneurs Journey
All
food entrepreneurs travel down the same path and it consists of 3 steps and
they are big steps:
- Getting Out of the Kitchen.
- Getting on the Retail Shelf.
- Getting on the Consumers Plate. (The plate is a metaphor for the marketing terms of Trial and Repeat Purchase)
Getting on the Shelf is Challenging
Before you know it, your new retail food business will need
to get its product Out of the Kitchen and on the Retail Shelf. Getting on the
Shelf can be the most frustrating step in the process because it has little to
do with "the food"… this is New Product Launch. Surprisingly how your
product tastes is only ONE factor in the buyer's decision making process. Let's
face it, do you think the retail buyer believes food entrepreneurs will present
new products that don't taste good?
Successful New Product Launch
In order to be successful in the launch
of a product, you will first need to effectively pitch your product to a
retail buyer. The retail buyer pitch is more than standard sales pitch and
different from an investor elevator pitch. It must address Merchant Issues and
Marketing Issues in a balanced way. The retail buyer pitch is an expected
component of the food entrepreneur's new product launch plan and requires
significant planning prior to ever speaking with a prospective buyer. Retail
buyers are very busy people and you have to assume you get one shot at the
apple so to speak. So how do you ensure that your pitch will be successful?
10 Critical Elements to Consider in Your Pitch
There are critical elements in developing
your retail buyer pitch[1]
and they vary based on the market you are preparing to launch your product.
Don't be set back by 10 elements since it is far easier to develop than you
think. A number of the bullet points may only be one sentence and you may not
need every component illustrated here in your meeting. This allows you to be
highly prepared since you may only get one opportunity to pitch the buyer.
- Identifying your Retailer Prospects
- Determining the Retailer Action Desired
- Creating your brands Product Positioning
- Features / Benefits (what is in it for the consumer and then the retailer)
- Frame Your Brand to other Brands
- Identifying Your Target Audience
- Market Trends that Support Your Case for Shelf Space
- Competition, both Direct and Indirect
- How Will You Support the Brand?
- What is the Buyer's Reason to Buy? Merchant issues? Marketing issues?
