Building Wholesale Relationships & Positioning for the US Market
- 1. Positioning for the US Market Beth Pomper ACORN Conference November 20, 2013
- 2. Thinking About the US…. • Posi<oning Your Product for the US Market – produce and specialty • Target Northeast Retailers • What Retailers are Interested In • The Road to US Retail…. How We All Get There
- 3. Growth in the Perimeter • • • • • Fruit – 6% increase Vegetables – 1% increase Bakery – 5% increase Deli Cheese – 5% increase Deli Meat – 2% increase • US Retailers all focusing on re-‐vamping perimeter of store
- 4. Know Where Your Product Fits • Understand your Produc<on Capacity • Prepare and Plan for Growth • Start Regionally • Visit the Market First Hand • Develop a Strategic Plan to Market
- 5. Connect with Shoppers that Matter Who is buying your product? • Northeast and West US spend most • Adults age 45 – 50 spend most on vegetables • Asians #1 • Hispanics #2 • 31% Baby Boomers feel Organic very important • Millenials (1980 – 2005) shop perimeter • Re<red – health and wellness (signage)
- 6. Where to Focus Atlan<c Companies Should Focus on the Following Chains • Wegmans • Whole Foods • Ahold • Weis • Wakefern For specialty – gourmet shops or specialty retail
- 7. Northeast Focus • Wegmans – 83 stores • Whole Foods – 340 stores 650 Organic Op<ons • Ahold – 775 stores Innova<ve methods to get customers to eat more fresh “Fruit and Vegetables – More Maaers” logo in stores • Weis – 165 stores • Wakefern – 250 stores Private label exceed government standards for healthier lifestyle
- 8. Fun, Trendy, & High Prices • Up $1 Billion – 41% from last year • Supermarkets are now Des<na<ons -‐ Wines, Specialty Foods, 300 seat cafes • More than 2,000 people were in line prior to Wegman’s 7:00 am opening of new store • 1/3 store devoted to prepared foods • 70,000 products • 700 varie<es of fruit and vegetables • 52 varie<es organic fresh • 380 Organic products – “Wegmans Organic”
- 9. Whole Foods • • • • • • • • Offering more price promo<ons in all stores En<ces young, trendy, city dwellers Now moving to smaller suburban areas with smaller stores Whole Foods currently has 340 stores, plans to grow to 1,000 Products must be Clean, Organic, Natural If product in saturated category – Why do you stand out? Marke<ng Muscle – Demos twice per month – Saturday Approach Whole Food Regional Buyers First • Englewood Cliffs, NJ Rockville, MD
- 10. Retail Hot Buttons • • • • • • • Price & Value (not low price necessarily) Private Brands – produce and specialty Right-‐Sized Box Connec<ng with Shoppers that Maaer Health & Wellness Convenient Customer Solu<ons Sustainability & Traceability
- 11. Value is not about price -‐ Value between price & beneMits • Premium Coffee Average Price 88% higher -‐ Dollar Sales up 9% -‐ Unit Sales up 3% -‐ Coffee Pods Priced 460% higher • Cut Fresh Fruit and Vegetables at Wegmans -‐ Customers willing to pay for convenience -‐ Roasted veg combos -‐ Minimizes shrink – boosts profits for retailer
- 12. Specialty Food Industry Spectacular Growth -‐ Branded • Outpacing most sectors in US economy • Sales of Specialty Foods increased by 19.1% • Total Sales of specialty foods were $75.14 Billion
- 13. Did you know……. • Most specialty food sold at retail -‐ $59.74 Billion • 41% of specialty food manufacturers reported more than a 20% increase in their sales last year • Dynamic, growing industry in spite of recession
- 14. Important Product Qualities • Organic • • • • • Kosher Gluten Free All Natural No/Low/Reduced Fat/Cholesterol Sustainable Convenience claims losing importance in specialty. People want to cook like a chef at home and care less in this category about a product being microwavable, for example.
- 15. The Road to US Retail How we all get there………
- 16. Steps to Enter the US Market • • • • • Target Market Product Pricing Market Entry Strategy Ac<on Plan • Best to do a regional approach. Branded – work with regional distributors.
- 17. How Do I Start For Produce? • Best start in Northeast • Produce wholesalers supply all major retail chains and independents • Cri<cal to establish personal rela<onships with both wholesaler and produce category manager • Choose wholesaler based on services offered to retailers
- 18. Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market • World’s most sophis<cated wholesale fresh fruit and vegetable market • 700,000 square feet – 48 acres – bigger than 14 football fields • Fully refrigerated, fully enclosed – maximizes shelf life • Temps in merchant’s individual warehouses adjusted to each commodity
- 19. PWPM Merchants and Customers • 24 Wholesalers • Unit space rarely available – lifelong opera<ng commitment (40 year lease) • Services customer in 500 mile radius daily • Hunts Point Market in NYC is not enclosed – region switched buying preferences to Philadelphia
- 20. Procacci Brothers • Best wholesaler for Canadian organic products in Philadelphia • Full Traceability in every item handled -‐ 3rd party inspec<ons • Private Label and Custom Re-‐Packaging and Labeling in Eco-‐ Friendly styles • Eliminates shrink and reduces back room labor for retailer • Promotes store brand or your brand – increasing brand loyalty • Owns cold storage and distribu<on facility
- 21. Wholesalers Handling Organic • Procacci Brothers phone: 215-‐463-‐8000 www.procaccibrothers.com All fresh fruit and vegetables • Color & Sons phone: 215-‐389-‐3335 www.color.com carrots, onions, beets, turnips, apples • TM Kovacevich phone: 215-‐336-‐3160 www.tmkproduce.com vidalia onions, dried and premium fruit
- 22. Specialty Steps to Market • Visit the Market -‐ Walk the Summer Fancy Food Show -‐ Tour Specialty Retailers – all in walking distance • Assess the Compe<<on/Pricing -‐ Can you be compe<<ve? -‐ Take retail price and work backwards • Determine your fit….specialty for retail, gourmet, food service
- 23. Specialty Steps to Market • Start in Northeast • Establish Rela<onships with Category Buyers • Work with Regional Distributors (Associated Buyers, Avenue Gourmet, Davidson’s, Steiner) • Join Specialty Food Associa<on -‐ Unparalleled access to buyers -‐ Mentoring programs -‐ Diversity Program
- 24. Thank You Beth Pomper 4745 Twinbrook Circle Doylestown, PA 18902 Phone: 267-‐893-‐8799 bpomper@comcast.net