A guide to getting stocked in retail

During and since the Covid pandemic there has been a crescendo of new players entering the food and drink scene. They fall neatly into three camps: those whose beloved hobby took a more lucrative turn; chefs seeking a new way to express their passion for food; and redundant staff, searching for a tastier way forward in life.

This has made for a landscape that’s even more competitive. If there are X number of chocolate makers, or drinks producers, how on earth can you make your own creations stand out?

Ally Benbow, founder of Get Stocked, says it’s hard (but not impossible) to break the market.

The specialist consultant, who helps start-ups, and advises fledging businesses on their next steps, has been in food all her life, literally. “As a farmer’s daughter, we spent our summers with a paint brush in-hand!”

Ally has worked across the cheese industry, including with M&S, Waitrose and Dairycrest, and was integral to the launch of Happy Eggs – a brand which is now found on shop floors across the UK. Her broad experience gives her a unique perspective on the industry.

Who is the modern speciality food consumer, in your opinion?

I think, for me, lockdown helped an awful lot of people to understand they can get pretty much anything they want via a search engine. Previously to that they would go to their usual retailer, and if they didn’t have something, they would try to find a niche stockist for it. 

The modern shopper is way more savvy. They will search online for the ingredients and products they need. I also think the younger generation are so open to buying locally and buying fresh, knowing the benefits – that fresh products haven’t sat on a truck for days. And, obviously, they are massively about the environment and less food miles, and putting less into the atmosphere. 

I think they are way more switched on than when we were their age. I never would have thought to walk into a shop to look at non-alcoholic spirits, but they are huge. There are so many youngsters these days who’ve never tried drink, and don’t intend to. They quite happily go out, and won’t order alcohol, but they’re not ordering a coke either. They want premium products. They really are thinking about what they are putting in their bodies.

How easy is it to get stocked right now?

With farm shops and delis, they are very very open to trying new stuff. I think they realise they’ve got an opportunity to get as many products as they like in front of people. If they can order one case, they are quite happy to do that and trial the market.

With bigger retailers, if they don’t think the rate of sale warrants them taking a product on, they won’t buy into it. In a way, that can give you more clarity. They will be more open and honest with you. Whereas, if you’ve gone into a smaller retailer, if they’ve stocked your product once and it hasn’t worked, it’s never going to happen again.

It really is a hard market to launch in at the moment. That’s why I think e-commerce shops are where a lot of sales are happening. That’s about PR, social media and getting that flowing, and dealing with customers direct.

I do think, for smaller producers, or producers with quite niche products, that is their initial route to market, rather than knocking on the doors of lots of retailers, unless they want to do the legwork.

Where should new producers start when coming up with ideas?

The brainstorming part is key. And the one thing I would always tell people is ‘if you’re thinking about food, why do you think it needs to be available to people? Does it help cut down on prep time? Is it already widely available?’”

The hardest thing is when someone delivers a product to me and I have to tell them it’s already in every retailer. They will say theirs is better, but I’ll ask if they’ve bought all their competitors products and blind tasted them. 

You have to have an honest approach to what you’re doing. Is your product giving consumers a solution? Is it reducing a time-consuming process for them? People are lazy, and if they can find an easy option, they will use an easy option.

If no one else retails your product, and you have looked for it elsewhere, that is one good tick in the box. But you’ve also got to consider why no one else is selling it. 

What are the biggest obstacles for new producers?

It’s knowledge. If you are a producer you are making something that, generally, is sold wholesale and not as a branded proposition. Just having the knowledge to be able to know where to start is a minefield. I see a lot of start-ups who know what they want to make, but don’t have a clue where to go in terms of getting hygiene certificates, or knowing if they need to get BRC, or register with HMRC. Those are the biggest things they struggle with. It’s so important to know all the boxes you have to tick from the beginning.

What about getting packaging and promotion right?

Definitely think about how many things are in your shelf-ready packaging and getting your message across as best you can on front of pack, trying to keep to no more than 15cms. That’s the one thing buyers will look at. If your packaging is too big, they’ll struggle to justify giving it 2-3ft on shelves.

As for promotion, it’s a great way to get new customers to trial a product at launch, but you do have to factor this in from a cost point of view. Buyers love launch promotions because they stand out, but you really do have to have a rough idea of what the rate of sale is going to be, otherwise you could end up selling 10 times more than you expected on the promotion, leaving you without funds for manufacturing or packaging in future. If you do need to put a block on promotions, be up front with the buyer. Tell them how many units you are prepared to include, and that if you go above this, you need to have a discussion. It’s not an easy conversation to have, but it’s essential.

How important is sampling?

I don’t think it’s as important as it used to be. Years ago most retailers would have wonderful people giving out products, but sampling in stores doesn’t really take place any more. It’s more important in farm shops and at deli counters, and at shows and local events. Offering samples by request via an online platform is a good idea. That can help get people on board.

Which categories do you think are on the rise and fall right now?

I would say ‘healthy convenience’ is starting to rise, but it’s only just scratched the surface. When I think back to my childhood, you’d go to a friend’s house and it would be crispy pancakes and smiley faces for tea. But we have this new wave, and new generation who want convenience but don’t want to put the bad stuff in their bodies, which is good. Those of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s consumed an awful lot of processed food, but it’s just not what people are looking for today. I do think that category is a rising star, along with low and no alcohol, as more people want to go out and have fun, but would prefer to drink lower alcohol so they don’t wake up the next morning feeling awful.

In terms of what’s going down in popularity. As I’ve already said, I think we are leaving a lot of processed food behind. People are finally sussing out how much ‘rubbish’ is in a lot of convenience food. If you think about social media, TikTok for instance, people are quite happy to watch someone do meal prep, or make up a lunch box. These things show how accessible cooking can be, and people love it. That content is a great source of inspiration.

What are some of the best success stories you’ve seen?

Happy Egg was a long time ago, but it was absolutely what the industry needed. It had always been a bit of a dull part of the industry, and I think Happy Egg injected that bit of fun and colour into a space that was all brown boxes. You didn’t really know what you were picking up otherwise – it would just be medium, or large, or barn, or free-range. It’s a phenomenal story to see where they’ve taken the brand from absolutely nothing.

In terms of retailers, I think M&S food halls are very inspiring. I wouldn’t get a trolley and walk around other multiples for inspiration of ‘what to cook this week’. Other places tend to be a means to an end.

I just find their food halls a nice place to go, and farm shops and delis are almost smaller versions of M&S. They’ve all got great stuff, but it’s very much local. You know the eggs are from down the road. They have their place in inspiring the local community.

What are retailers looking for right now?

Most buyers in mainstream stores have targets that are so high in terms of turnover and profit. They want products that are good for new consumers, and a fresh look, but they absolutely are still very much driven on margin, which I understand.

With emerging trends, they want to try products, but they have to be sure about the rate of sale – that it will be justified, and that counts for local buyers too. They will want to buy for a specific region, and to ensure they have profitable products from a 40-mile radius.

Shelves are getting more and more crowded. Rather than years ago when with shelf-ready packaging you could happily do five or six facings, now you’re lucky if you get two.

Make sure you have your two main products in a pack and that’s what customers see on a busy shelf. Exposure, and lack of exposure, is a huge thing. I often talk to producers who think they will have four products on-shelf, and I’m like ‘halve it’. Space comes at a premium.