Getting your business’ product stocked in stores

Getting your products stocked has long been one of the hardest parts of starting up a business. With an increasingly competitive market, the contest between different brands has never been so gruelling, as buyers are inundated with meeting requests and sales pitches from eager suppliers.

Even before contact is made with retailers, business owners need to make sure their product is labelled, branded and packaged to perfection, to give them as good a chance as possible to secure the deal and supply their goods to that seller.

In today’s world, having a great product is only half the battle. As well as branding and packaging, you need to choose manufacturers wisely and be confident that you are negotiating the best possible contract with these manufacturers.

Once production is sorted, the next major hurdle for many businesses is approaching retailers and pitching to their buyers. Their time is precious and it can be incredibly difficult to pin them down and book in a sales meeting. And even when businesses have secured deals with retailers, there is the added problem of negotiating contracts and orders, as well as safeguarding against late payments.

These guides aim to provide useful information and advice for businesses trying to get their products stocked:

• Branding packaging and labelling
• Choosing a manufacturer
• Approaching retailers