How would I get my product into Royal Farms?
Royal farms are a long established convenience store and fuel supplier, going back as far as the sixties. They pride themselves on their indoor and outdoor seating areas, and their ability to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner from the majority of their stores…where you can also get gasoline, of course. Their vision is to be a quick and friendly restaurant of choice, and they offer something that no other stations do in that they see themselves as much as an eatery as they are a convenience store.
This brand loves freshness so the fresher the produce the better. This could be a USP for you if you capitalize on it correctly. Their most extensive product range is in the amount of food they sell, of which the majority is private label once it has been prepared. Of course you can buy the usual hot and cold beverages or snack foods, tobacco and car essentials in their stores – but if you have been traveling all day and need a pit stop they offer the perfect place…if only because you can grab some dinner while you are there.
All of the coffee sold at Royal Farms is 100% Colombian, the fries are hand cut from fresh, locally sourced potatoes and their chicken is never frozen – and this should give you an idea of the level of product quality that they expect here. This is a firm that prides itself on cleanliness and the brilliance of its food – so any food products you potentially sell to them had better be top notch by comparison. If there is a special aspect to your product that matches this ethos we suggest you promote it. For example, your bacon might be aged or finely smoked, it could come from pigs which are slightly superior in some way… making the most of your Unique Selling Point is the way you will get this brands attention.
Luckily for us, Royal Farms are constantly on the lookout for exciting new produce and always seek to improve upon the ingredients they already use. Don’t get me wrong, they will still test your product to within an inch of it’s life – but at least they are open to new product submissions. If you have it in mind to submit a product to Royal Farms, then here are a few little suggestions we made up to help you along the way:
- You must have the legal right to produce your products.
- You must be fully insured with public liability cover before you submit.
- You must make sure you hold all the current and necessary legal documentation to support your product.
- You really should approach as a registered business in order to be taken seriously.
- We recommend that you visit one of their stores and sample similar products for yourself to see if yours is better.
- Capitalize on your USP.
- We would suggest only sending food products to this brand.
- Accompany your completed form with a free sample sent to the company, just to backup your claim. If your product is as brilliant as you think it is then you have nothing to lose – but everything to gain!
If you have your heart set on submitting a product to Royal Farms you can do so by following this linkhttps://www.royalfarms.com/vendors.
Submit Your Product to Royal Farms Foods
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How to get your product into Royal Farms
- 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 Royal Farms 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 Royal Farms
There are several ways to get a product placed in Royal Farms. 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 Royal Farms, 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 Royal Farms.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to Royal Farms, 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 Royal Farms would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Royal Farms, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Royal Farms, 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 Royal Farms? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Royal Farms 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 Royal Farms 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 Royal Farms is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and Royal Farms starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Royal Farms already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Royal Farms 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 Royal Farms.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Royal Farms website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Royal Farms.) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Royal Farms. 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 Royal Farms, 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 Royal Farms. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Royal Farms.
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 Royal Farms 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 Royal Farms paperwork.) Often Royal Farms will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Royal Farms, you should contact a buyer at Royal Farms 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 Royal Farms 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, Royal Farms 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 Royal Farms, 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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