How To Get Into Crosby’s Marketplace
Founded in 1980, Crosby’s market has been a grocery and convenience retailer. It was incorporated in 1981 and since then it has been serving the community with its awesome retail and customer service. It offers assortment of groceries, deli meats, seafood, meat products, fresh produce, and bakery products. The company is based in Georgetown, Massachusetts. It has locations in Salem, Manchester, Concord, Georgetown, Marblehead, and Hamilton, Massachusetts.
The supermarket business in the United States is one that tries to connect with the individual customer. This means, the supermarkets try to address the needs and interests of individual customers. This is by offering local, international, and metropolitan products. You can get spices, meat, wine, food, and so many other food products from this type of store.
Variety is one essential thing that Crosby’s Market puts into focus. There is hardly an organic product that is not available at the store and the ease of getting products at the store is quite commendable. Their beer selection is awesome. It has been reputed to be the widest selection in the area. The sushi has already been a source of attraction to many people within and outside the area. Apart from the beverage selection, the selection of rare spices, flora collection, local products, meat products, and their pastries and delicatessen, they take large orders for events and dinners.
Customers are highly vocal about the experience in the store. One of the customers noted on yelp.com that “the salad bar is outstanding! I personally am not a fan of buying soups, but everyone who’s ever mentioned to me about their soups is jet raving about the awesomeness of them! Their deli is top-notch as far as “brand name” meats and cheeses go, but you definitely pay that higher price as well. The meat section always is a pleasant surprise for me when I see all of their marinated chicken, beef, pork and turkey. The beer and wine aisle is nearly the whole isle length on both sides, with the exception of a small dairy area in the beginning of the aisle, so they have a really good selection for a small grocery store. If you’re a Ben & Jerry’s fan, like I am, this is your place! They have a good selection of various kinds and often bring in new flavors to try.”
For a distributor, this is an established store that can get your products to move as fast as possible. With the awesome varieties they offer and the established customer base, it can be easily deduced that there are customers already dedicated to what they sell. However, this is a big retailer and there is a high standard for the products they take and thus, it may not be that easy to push your products in there. This is why networking can be very useful.
How to get your product into Crosby’s Marketplace
- Understand you client: Before you spend a lot of time and money creating a product, you should know if anyone will want to buy it. Learn more about Market Research
- Learn if it’s protectable: Know if you can defend your product against cheap copies if it gets knocked off. Learn more about Copyright and Patent your product
- Test your product: Make sure that there’s a demand for your product and the customer understands what you are selling when it’s on the shelf and nobody is there to explain it. Learn more about Product Testing
- Perfect your pitch: Before you speak to decision makers, know your numbers, know your retailer and know your logistics in and out. Learn more about Pitching Your Product
- Don’t do it alone: If you haven’t been successful in retail before, a secret of success is that you can’t do it alone. Having great sales staff, customer support and marketing partners can take you from zero to success faster than if you tried on your own. Learn more about Retail Partnerships
Contact Crosby’s Marketplace Buyer
Do not trust any “list” of buyers.
Typically retail buyers change either companies or positions every few years. This strategy helps retailers know that their buyers are not taking “kick-backs” and are selecting the very best product for the very best position each time.
Buyers are typically held to a very rigorous standard of sell-through volume that they must hit and because of this they are risk averse. Your job as a supplier or vendor is to convince them that the buyers going into the stores not only know about what you’re selling but are actively seeking the product in the store currently.
How to Submit a Product to Crosby’s Marketplace
There are several ways to get a product placed in Crosby’s Marketplace. However, most entrepreneurs only dream about getting their product distributed to major retailers, few actually do it. We have experienced a significant rise in interest since the show Shark Tank started airing on NBC. Mr. Checkout has had the pleasure of working with a few Shark Tank success stories such as KISStixx and 180 Party Cups which are now currently being distributed around the country to stores like Walmart, Target, Kroger, 7-Eleven and more.
If you envision your product would be a good fit for Crosby’s Marketplace, we have a few steps to help you get your product on their shelves.
Here are the 6 steps you need to take to have your product placed in Crosby’s Marketplace.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to Crosby’s Marketplace, you need to ask yourself a few basic questions. Do you need to build demand for your product, or is there already a demand for it? Do you know that Crosby’s Marketplace would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Crosby’s Marketplace, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Crosby’s Marketplace, or do you want to license your product to a manufacturer that will handle distribution?
2. Be prepared to profit.) Does your product offer enough of a profit margin for Crosby’s Marketplace? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Crosby’s Marketplace guidelines for other fees that you will have to build into the cost of your product in order for you to be able to turn enough of a profit to make the effort worth your while. If you work with a discount retailer, they will try to strip your profits down to zero in order to keep their prices as low as possible.
The typical breakdown of margins are: If a products costs $1 to produce, that product will retail for $4. That product that retails for $4 will wholesale for $2 to distributors and stores that purchase direct. Big box retailers like Crosby’s Marketplace may offer to pay $1.25 to the manufacturer if the product costs $1 to produce. That is the typical profit margin.
3. Determine if Crosby’s Marketplace is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and Crosby’s Marketplace starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Crosby’s Marketplace already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Crosby’s Marketplace to see what kind of products they are selling, speak to the manager and see if he thinks your product will sell well in their store. Picture in which zone your product would best fit on the shelf and keep in mind that the most precious asset that these big box stores value are their shelf space. Keep this information in mind when you are preparing your presentation to Crosby’s Marketplace.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Crosby’s Marketplace website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Crosby’s Marketplace.) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Crosby’s Marketplace. Your presentation depends heavily on your strengths as a businessperson as they will most likely ask financial questions and logistics questions.
It’s common for companies to hire a broker to pitch their product to Crosby’s Marketplace, as it will be more likely that your product will make it to the next stage if the individual pitching your product has industry knowledge or a personal relationship with Costco. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Crosby’s Marketplace.
We at Mr. Checkout have experience dealing with brokers and know that there are several retail brokers that have poor business practices that can potentially damage your brand. If you are seeking a legitimate Crosby’s Marketplace broker, please give us a call for a recommendation. It could save you a huge headache and a lot of money.
5. Complete the required Crosby’s Marketplace paperwork.) Often Crosby’s Marketplace will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Crosby’s Marketplace, you should contact a buyer at Crosby’s Marketplace and let them know your intentions. Having a contact inside of the company will potentially move your application more smoothly through the process.
6. Anticipate the need for increased volume.) Having Crosby’s Marketplace agree to stock your product will most likely mean a significant increase in volume. You should be prepared to ramp up your production and informing your manufacturer of this opportunity.
Having production, logistics and distribution to sync is not only difficult, it requires a significant amount of time invested in customer relations. Also, Crosby’s Marketplace may have stipulations in the contract that may penalize you for delays in shipping and production. Have an attorney explain all contracts to you if you don’t understand the terms.
If you’re looking to sell your product to Crosby’s Marketplace, be sure to thoroughly assess the marketplace, carefully prepare for production growth, and take full advantage of resources available to help you grow your business.
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