How To Get Into Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage
Founded in 1955, this retail chain has 152 stores in 19 states. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. is an expanding specialty retailer of natural and organic groceries and dietary supplements whose products must meet strict quality guidelines. The grocery products sold by Natural Grocers may not contain artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners, or partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oils. The Company sells only USDA certified organic produce and exclusively pasture-raised, non-confinement dairy products. Natural Grocers’ flexible smaller-store format allows it to offer affordable prices in a shopper-friendly retail environment. The Company also provides extensive free science-based nutrition education programs to help customers make informed health and nutrition choices.
Products include vitamins, dietary supplements, natural and organic food, organic produce and natural body care products. The company has a manifesto entitled “What We Won’t Sell and Why” which includes artificial colors and flavors, artificial preservatives, irradiated food and meat raised using artificial hormones and antibiotics among others.
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. 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; and beverages.
The uniqueness and the innovativeness of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage set it apart. It isn’t like the normal food chain where things are dull and not interesting, customers have enjoyed this food chain and they have written about it online. A customer noted on yelp.com that: “Super clean, organize, huge, and they have everything you would need. The prices are feasible and not so expansive and they have quality when it comes down to the goods. In addition, I like how they give small samples of fruits. Thanks to those samples I ended up buying almost every fruit they had.”
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.
On the local sourcing of food products, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage has been on the forefront of selling locally sourced food products and imported food items. Their wine, spice, and produce selection make them a leader in the retail and grocery business niche. This store has been in the business for years and has its established sourcing angles. Its constant support of local products has helped it cement its brand in the community as people can easily resonate with it.
How to get your product into Natural Grocers
- 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 Natural Grocers 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 Natural Grocers
There are several ways to get a product placed in Natural Grocers. 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 Natural Grocers, 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 Natural Grocers.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to Natural Grocers, 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 Natural Grocers would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Natural Grocers, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Natural Grocers, 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 Natural Grocers? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Natural Grocers 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 Natural Grocers 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 Natural Grocers is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and Natural Grocers starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Natural Grocers already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Natural Grocers 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 Natural Grocers.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Natural Grocers website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Natural Grocers.) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Natural Grocers. 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 Natural Grocers, 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 Natural Grocers. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Natural Grocers.
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 Natural Grocers 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 Natural Grocers paperwork.) Often Natural Grocers will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Natural Grocers, you should contact a buyer at Costco 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 Natural Grocers 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, Natural Grocers 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 Natural Grocers, 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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