How to Get into Dierbergs
Founded in 1854, one of the oldest grocers in the United States, Dierbergs Markets, Inc. operates a chain of grocery stores. The Company retails pet foods and accessories, dairy products, gift cards, prepared foods, produce products, cookbooks, seafood, wines, bakery products, meat products, and specialty products. Dierbergs Markets serves different persons in the United States.
Dierbergs is a supermarket chain based in Chesterfield, Missouri that, along with Schnucks, dominates the St. Louis County grocery marketplace. Operating 25 stores in both Missouri and Illinois, the company can trace its history back to 1854, when a general merchant exchange opened on Olive Street Road, slightly east of where Interstate 270 crosses Olive today.
To enter into business with this retailer, you need a unique selling point. This means that your offers must be different from the commonplace. You must look for something that makes what you sell very different from several products that this retailer sells.
Dierbergs Market competes in the market on three things: price, customer service, and topmost quality. To achieve price, the retailer must get the products at affordable prices from the suppliers. Customer service is with the company. The last part is topmost quality. This is also a point with the supplier. The retailer would sell what the supplier supplies. Thus, to maintain the standard, the products must be of topmost quality. All food items must have passed through several regulatory checks to ensure that they are fit for consumption.
To get your products noticed by this retailer, you need to get on the RangeMe platform as the buyers of the company use the platform to source new products. You can create a free profile to get started. The platform works by getting you connected to potential buyers who would see the range of products you have on your supply dash.
The grocery market in the United States has gotten to the point where it has to be personalized. The sector 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. The company’s stores offer natural and organic grocery products, such as organic produce products; bulk food and private label products; dry, frozen, and canned groceries; meat and seafood products; dairy products and dairy substitutes; prepared foods; bread and baked products; seafood; and beverages.
Dierberg’s Florist & Gifts ranks as the number one FTD florist in St. Louis County, number one in Missouri, and number nine out of 20,000 FTD florists throughout the United States. This is achieved by this retailer because of an established supply system that can be relied on. Thus, this retailer relies on a strong distribution network to get the best to its customers.
How to get your product into Dierbergs
- 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 Dierbergs 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 Dierbergs
There are several ways to get a product placed in Dierbergs. 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 Dierbergs, 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 Dierbergs.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to Dierbergs, 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 Dierbergs would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Dierbergs, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Dierbergs, 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 Dierbergs? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Dierbergs 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 Dierbergs 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 Dierbergs is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and Dierbergs starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Dierbergs already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Dierbergs 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 Dierbergs.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Dierbergs and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Dierbergs) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Dierbergs. 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 Dierbergs, 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 Dierbergs. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Dierbergs.
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 Dierbergs 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 Dierbergs paperwork.) Often Dierbergs will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Dierbergs, you should contact a buyer at Dierbergs 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 Dierbergs 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, Dierbergs 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 Dierbergs, 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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