Sarah's company is one of the biggest food producers in Asia and has been active in Europe for 30 years. However, their presence at European retailer was not significant.
The company decided to focus on local retailers market in order to bring Sarah's company's products to the shelves of the European retailers.
With their renewed focus on retail business development, Sarah was passionate about her company's mission to open up the market of the local retailer. She was determined to make sure that their products were well represented and could be easily accessed by the consumer.
Sarah has taken the steps necessary to successfully sell her products to a retailer. First, she defined the target markets she wanted to sell to: the Netherlands and Belgium. Then, she contacted the appropriate purchaser and found the right person to speak to. Lastly, she prepared a concept presentation for the retailer and planned a meeting. Sarah is confident that the retailer will be impressed with her product and the meeting will be successful. In the next article, Sarah will write a tip about the sales pitch to help other entrepreneurs in the same situation.
Albert Heijn is the leading food retailers in the Netherlands and Belgium, with a 37% market share in 2022 according to NielsenIQ. With over 1,200 stores located in both countries, Albert Heijn is the perfect partner for retailers looking to sell their products. The store offers a variety of promotions, making it an attractive option for retailers. Albert Heijn is also committed to sustainability, making it a great partner to work with. With its extensive reach and commitment to sustainability, Albert Heijn was the ideal choice for Sarah's company.
She put in a lot of effort to make the case for their product and show why it was a better choice for the Albert Heijn shelves than the competitors. She put together a comprehensive presentation that highlighted the quality of the products, the competitive pricing, added values, the authenticity of the product, their dedication to providing the highest quality, and their marketing strategy. She also offered to manage Albert Heijn as one of their key accounts and prioritize them in our work process.
Thanks to her hard work, she could convince the category manager that their product was worth getting one meter shelf space at their stores.
Sarah highlighted bellow points at her sales pitch:
1. Added values: no MSG, all natural ingredients, no artificial colors, no preserves
2. Authentic Asian food, not European Asian food
3. Key account management: We manage Albert Heijn as one of our key accounts and give them priority in our work process.
4. Dedication: We are committed to provide Albert Heijn with the highest quality products
5. Competitive pricing: We offer competitive pricing to Albert Heijn in order to make it easier for them to make a profit.
6. Promotion & marketing: We working together with Albert Heijn for the best marketing and promotion strategy.
7. Flexible terms: We are open to discussing longer terms in order to give Albert Heijn more time to pay for the products.
After a brain-storming meeting with a cross-function team including QA, marketers, production managers, and account managers. Sarah made a project plan using a Gantt chart. A Gantt chart is a very useful project management tool that illustrates tasks completed by each person in the team over a period of time in relation to the time planned for the work.
A Gantt chart included following steps:
1. Checking the ingredients and food regulations that comply with Dutch regulation
2. Preparing the label design and languages to comply with Dutch regulation
3. Draft design confirmation by the retailer
4. Sample production and send a sample to the retailer.
5. First production and shipment
6. At warehouse of the retailer.
7. Social media and home page online marketing planning
8. Cooking demonstration planning at Albert Heijn 300 shops
9. Offline cooking workshop event with loyal consumers
Sarah's team's dedication to their mission of selling the company's products to the local retailer ultimately paid off and her company's products were successfully displayed at Albert Heijn after nearly a year preparation. Sarah's ensured Albert Heijn with a comprehensive marketing plan using traditional and digital marketing methods, as well as engaging with customers directly to ensure that they are aware of the product and its features.
The team was looking forward to continuing their relationship with Albert Heijn and building a long-term partnership with them.
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