Question

Topic: Other

Getting A Food Item To The Public/market

Posted by Anonymous on 8/6/2010 at 8:26 AM ET 250 Points
I would like to get a snack item out to the public and into the markets. This is a small packaged item that is similar to an 8oz. bag of chips/pretzles. I don't know where to begin or how to get the item into the stores or just out to the public. Do I need any type of license? Being that it is a snack item (food), is there liability? How do I compensate the store for selling the item? Any tips or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 8/6/2010 at 3:17 PM Accepted
    Randall (W.M.M.A.) is correct. Getting retail distribution for your product is a very big deal and can cost several million dollars (in the U.S.).

    Develop a business plan that starts with small local distribution that you can manage yourself. Then as you learn what works and what doesn't, you can beef up the marketing effort to see how well the product will sell when people actually know about it.

    Then you can decide whether you want to expand more broadly or not. There's a lot of competition in the snack food market, as you know. The giant players in that segment are not going to roll over and play dead to give up their shelf space to a newcomer.
  • Posted on 8/6/2010 at 3:22 PM Moderator
    P.S. I am a former director of marketing for Frito-Lay, and I can probably help you once you have some of the basics in place. Do you have investors or a decent stash of cash to get started on this venture?
  • Posted on 8/6/2010 at 6:24 PM Author
    I just want to know how to get my little snack product to the local farmers markets/corner gas stations/etc..... Need to know how to even start. Do I just walk in with a bunch of pkgs. and say, "hey will you sell these for me?"
  • Posted on 8/7/2010 at 7:03 AM Moderator
    Yes, walk in with a bunch of packages and see if the retailer will sell them for you. Suggest a competitive retail price, and give the retailer 35% of that. You get 65%. (You may have to give 40% at some of the small convenience stores.)

    Then check back with the store after 4-5 days and see how many packages sold. Replenish the stock and take back the stale product (if any). Be sure to issue a full credit to the retailer for any product you take back.

    It won't take more than 3-4 weeks to know if you have a viable product. Either it will sell enough to have the retailer eager to have more, or they'll let you know that they don't want it any more.

    Of course, you need well designed packaging that will protect the product, full ingredient and nutrition labeling, and some explanation of what's inside ... perhaps a picture of the product or a window so people can see it.
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