What Retail Buyers Want - Part 1

Each quarter TRKR talk to retail category buyers to find out what’s currently important to them and, more specifically, what they expect from food & drink manufacturers when they pitch to them…

i) Evidence of a value proposition

What’s a Value Proposition? To a retail buyer it’s “why will a consumer choose you, over the other options available to them?” 

The same retail buyer might also ask “why should I choose to put your product on the shelf, in place of competing products?”

This is important to the buyer because generally they won’t have extra shelf space for your product – another product will have to come off the shelf first. Your job is to convince them a) what that “victim sku” is, and b) why your product will sell more/provide more margin/attract new customers. They have interest in replacing like with like.

“NPD often fails as it’s creating a ‘me too’ version. There is no compelling reason to choose one product over another”

Tesco buyer

”If a product fails in the first year it’s because the product is not right. It doesn’t fill a gap or is actually just another version of something that’s already out there and better.” Asda buyer

So you’ll need a compelling argument – ideally backed with evidence of consumer insight or data.

The trouble is that many manufacturers aren’t able to articulate this to buyers. They either don’t have a VP, or just don’t know what it is.

Some examples? 

• Seltzers Value Proposition is being a convenient, low calorie alternative to the more calorific alcohols and RTDs. Huge appeal to those watching their weight but still wanting to drink

• Belvita were the first biscuit brand to offer “breakfast on the go” by combining a more healthy biscuit with a yoghurt filling

• Knorr Stock Pots were a more convenient option to stock cubes as you don’t have to dissolve them in water first

The common theme here is that they all did a different “job” for the consumer…but more on that another time.

Of course you can also stand out for your branding and marketing, being local, more sustainable…anything that gives the consumer a real reason to choose you.

How can TRKR help?

We work with food & drink clients to identify their VP, either with existing or potential new products. We then test this with large scale (1,000+) consumer insight to provide confidence to the team and real evidence to retail buyers.

If you’re free for 30 minutes to run-though the TRKR What Retail Buyers Want report, please email mark@trkr.co.uk