We take your product to the convenience and hypermarket chains: assess it for fit and market potential, then negotiate with the channel, present the product and coordinate the listing details including contract, shelf arrangement and inventory management, with the qualification file, pack specification and supply cadence prepared alongside.
We take your product to the chains
From product assessment to the listing itself. We first assess your plant-based product for fit and market potential, then negotiate with the convenience and hypermarket chains, present the product and coordinate the listing details: contract, shelf arrangement and inventory management.
- Retail market insightAnalysing each chain’s positioning and shopper profile to judge which one your product belongs in.
- Product selection and positioningAssessing which items suit a listing, against shopper preference, packaging and pricing.
- Formula adjustment and packagingFormula, packaging and pricing adjusted to the channel specification
- Negotiation and listing detailsContract, shelf arrangement and inventory management
- Supply chain and logisticsStorage, delivery and replenishment cadence, so an out-of-stock does not cost the renewal
- Brand promotion and marketingExecuting the promotion plan after the listing
Gate one: qualification, not product
Before looking at the product, a chain buyer confirms a few things: whether the plant is certified, whether the certified scope covers this item, whether quality records and test reports are complete, whether there is product liability cover, and whether supply is reliable.
None of that involves taste, packaging design or marketing concept. It is a risk review: the channel is confirming this supplier will not produce a food safety incident or a stock-out in six months. For a channel, one safety incident costs far more than one product it did not stock.
Most proposals are eliminated here, and the reason is usually not explained. A buyer has no obligation to teach you how to complete your file. That is why many brands conclude the product was not good enough when in fact the qualification documents were incomplete.
So completing the qualification file is the precondition for the commercial conversation, not a bonus. This part needs no sales history, which puts a new brand and an established one on the same line.
The arithmetic of the freshness rule
A channel requires a minimum share of total shelf life remaining on delivery. For long-life ambient goods this is barely a constraint. For short-life chilled goods it is a hard one.
The arithmetic is direct: total shelf life minus the required remainder leaves the days in which production, warehousing, delivery and shelf placement must all happen. If that window is not wide enough, the SKU cannot enter that channel however good it is.
And that window still has to absorb reality: line scheduling is not always convenient, delivery involves waiting, and receiving has time restrictions. Once those are counted, a window that looked sufficient on paper often is not.
So the target channel’s freshness rule goes into shelf-life planning during development, not after the product is finished. Sometimes the conclusion is to reformulate for a longer life, sometimes to change channel. Either beats forcing the listing.
What a new brand offers instead of history
When assessing the commercial side a buyer wants to know whether this will sell. A brand with history answers with data. A new brand does not have it, so something else has to stand in.
The most effective substitute is a verifiable product difference. Not the adjective "high quality" but a concrete condition the buyer can judge for themselves: a process difference such as HPP rather than heat, a certification combination, an ingredient origin, or a specification not currently on that shelf.
The second is a clear category position. State which shelf this sits on, what it displaces and what it is measured against, so the buyer does not have to work it out. A buyer sees many proposals a day, and one that lowers their judgement cost gets handled first.
The third is a realistic capacity commitment. A new brand promising large volume counts against it rather than for it, because what a buyer fears is a stock-out. Stating the volume you can hold steady is more credible than overstating capacity.
Gate two: how the commercial side is judged
Past qualification, a buyer looks at four things: which shelf this sits on, what it sells for, how fast it is expected to turn, and what it displaces or complements.
Shelf position defines the competition. The same product in a chilled cabinet and on an ambient shelf faces entirely different items and supports a different price band. Stating the shelf clearly is more effective in a pitch than listing product features.
Turnover is the metric a channel cares about most. Shelf space is finite, and a position given to you is one not given to someone else, so what a buyer is really asking is whether you will sell faster than what is there now. Product quality does not answer that. Positioning and pricing do.
Pack specification is examined here too. Unit size has to fit the shelf depth, case count has to suit the replenishment rhythm, and the barcode has to be scannable quickly. These are hard specs, and failing them means remaking the packaging.
| Plant certificate and scope | Including the scope field, which has to cover this item and line |
|---|---|
| Product specification | Ingredients, specification, storage; must match the label |
| Ingredient list and panel calculation | With correct allergen and vegetarian class declarations |
| Test reports | From an accredited laboratory, parameters per channel requirement |
| Shelf life and freshness statement | Total shelf life and the remaining proportion you can commit to |
| Product liability insurance | Cover amount per channel requirement, usually with a floor |
| Barcodes and carton marking | Barcode legibility, placement and carton marking specification |
| Pallet spec and minimum order unit | Pallet height, case count and receiving window |
The real test starts after the listing
Getting listed is not the end. Renewal is assessed on out-of-stock rate and turnover, and both depend on supply cadence and replenishment responsiveness rather than how good the pitch was.
Out-of-stock is the direct killer. An empty shelf costs the channel the sale and the customer’s goodwill, and empty long enough the position goes to someone else. In practice the first three months after a listing decide whether there is a second term.
Keeping the rate low means the replenishment lead time has to be shorter than the channel’s demand variation. That implies safety stock, and safety stock is a dilemma for short-life chilled goods: too little and you stock out, too much and it expires.
The answer is usually in production cadence rather than stock level: smaller batches more often, so replenishment reacts faster. That raises unit production cost, and it is cheaper than either stocking out or writing off. We plan this leg too, because it involves line scheduling and warehousing at the same time.
A listing is not the finish line. Renewal is assessed on out-of-stock rate and turnover, and both depend on supply cadence and replenishment responsiveness rather than the original pitch. The first three months usually decide whether there is a second term.