How To Get Into Market of Choice (Oregon)
Market of Choice; I am almost certain that what the founder had in mind while giving it the name was a place that depicts variety. However, when you hear the name “market of choice” either of two things first rushes to your mind: first an open air market with all the rowdiness that comes with it and the plethora of stalls from you to pick from. And second is a market where they sell choices. However beautiful or ridiculously funny these imageries may sound, it successfully leaves an impression in your mind and that is what marketing is about-leaving an impression in the minds of your prospects.
Market of Choice is a supermarket chain based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The company was founded in 1979 with a single store owned by Richard Wrights. in Cottage Grove, Oregon. The store did not out with the name Market of Choice. This name came subsequently, when the company began being run by the founder’s son Rick Wright who had taken it upon himself to reorganize the company. As part of their rebranding, what was formerly Price Chopper Stores transitioned to the name PC Market and finally to Market of Choice. And ever since it has developed to make itself the choice supermarket brand for the people of Oregon.
Market of Choice stores was voted in 2016 to be the best grocery store, natural food store and salad bar in Lane County, in The Register-Guard’s Readers’ Choice awards. The Eugene stores were also voted the winner in the dessert category. The Bend Market of Choice store was voted one of the Best Grocery Stores in Central Oregon in 2016 by the readers of Source Weekly. So much accolades right? It looks as though they have successfully made built themselves a community favorite brand. Market of choice has also taken steps to be an eco-friendly brand. As early as 2008, Market of Choice stopped the use of plastic shopping bags from their stores and opted for eco-friendlier options.
If you are a dealer in natural and organic products, then Market of Choice is the place for you. This is because they deal in conventional groceries, as well as natural and organic products. So, if you are interested in being a vendor for Market of Choice, you can be sure they are as enthusiastic to meet you because they have a welcoming disposition to new items for their customers.
Simply visit the store’s website, click on the Contact us option then click on the Vendor’s option. Proceed to download the New Vendor Profile and the New Product Request Forms on the site. Once you are done filling it, you can submit the forms by sending an email and attachments to newvendor@marketofchoice.com. If that process is complete, you can send samples of your products to their contact address – it’s all on the store’s site. Then cross your fingers and hope they are in interested in your products they’ll get back to you.
How to get your product into Market of Choice
- 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 Market of Choice 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 Market of Choice
There are several ways to get a product placed in Market of Choice. 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 Market of Choice, 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 Market of Choice.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to Market of Choice, 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 Market of Choice would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Market of Choice, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Market of Choice, 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 Market of Choice? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Market of Choice 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 Market of Choice 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 Market of Choice is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and Market of Choice starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Market of Choice already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Market of Choice 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 Market of Choice.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Market of Choice website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Market of Choice.) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Market of Choice. 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 Market of Choice, 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 Market of Choice. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Market of Choice.
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 Market of Choice 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 Market of Choice paperwork.) Often Market of Choice will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Market of Choice, you should contact a buyer at Market of Choice 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 Market of Choice 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, Market of Choice 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 Market of Choice, 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.
Submit Your Product Now
(est. time 3 minutes)