How To Get Into Xtramart
- 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
How To Get Into Xtramart
Submit Your Product to Xtramart Foods
Skip the cold outreach. Mr. Checkout presents products to corporate chain buyers and also works a network of thousands of independent retailers that build real reorder proof. Tell us about your product below and a real person will read it.
The competitive advantage of this retailer is that its stores are located near the rural communities. These are places where there are strong affinities in the neighborhood and customer loyalty can be very strong.
Drake Petroleum Inc. operates the XtraMart convenience stores and is a wholesale fuel distributor. Most Xtra Mart c-stores are located in close-knit rural communities where each store serves as a sort of town center.
Slow but steady growth is the norm for XtraMart. The company has added new stores with Xtra Café Coffee and Dunkin’ Donuts, and several locations are under development.
Store sizes vary and most have eight gasoline pumps, though some stores on larger lots have as many as 14. Most stores have a proprietary Deli Joe’s foodservice offering, and about 10 have a car wash.
This retailer has remained a fixture and a point of fascination to the community its stores operate in. Due to the awesome varieties and the steep low prices on offer, traffic at each store keeps increasing. Also, the innovative addition of branded products such as Xtra Café and a couple of others have brought it more customers.
Though it was though that its acquisition would reduce the originality of the brand, it has only made it much better.
The retailer’s offerings at the stores include: dairy, frozen foods, pet foods, general merchandise, health and beauty items, household products, produce, and meat.
The grocery 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. Thus, as a vendor, you should be looking at getting varieties to the retailer.
There are many vendors in the industry. However, being distinctive stands you out. Take a cursory look at your offerings and see what you can offer differently. If not different, go back to the drawing board and see how you can rebrand or bring out a distinction. Distinctiveness can help you carve a niche for yourself in the marketplace.
You can gain the attention of a top official who can take interest in your products and get it tested by other persons in charge of procurement. As the grocery offerings of this retailer are quite large, there is room for a lot of products to be supplied. If your products are quite popular in the local market, it will be easy for you to easily pitch to this retailer. You have to bring your product to top quality to help you with the pitch of the product.
The company also gets products from local sources as long as it is in full compliance with its quality standards and pricing guidelines. The retailer prides itself in its USDA compliances. This has made the customers trust the brand over the years as they are sure to get the best in quality from this retailer. It is vital for the vendor to ensure that all guidelines, down to labor guidelines are met.
Contact Xtramart
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 Xtramart
There are several ways to get a product placed in Xtramart. 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 Xtramart, 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 Xtramart.
1. Start with the right questions. Before you try distributing your product to Xtramart, 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 Xtramart would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Xtramart, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Xtramart, 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 Xtramart? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Xtramart 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. Retailers like Xtramart = 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 is the right store for your product. The relationship between you and Xtramart starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Xtramart already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Xtramart 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 Xtramart.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Xtramart website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Xtramart. Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Xtramart. 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 Xtramart, 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 Xtramart The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Xtramart.
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 Xtramart, please give us a call for a recommendation. It could save you a huge headache and a lot of money.
5. Complete the required Xtramart paperwork. Often Xtramart will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Xtramart, you should contact a buyer at Xtramart 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 Xtramart 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, Xtramart 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 Xtramart, 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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