How to get your product into United Pacific
United Pacific (also known as United Oil) is a chain that operates more than three hundred stores across five states in America. They are a big name in convenience store and fuel supply, and have a wide reach for any would-be product. With over fifty years of experience in their field, this combination of franchised store and company owned locations provide an excellent portal into the world product supply. Could it be the right fit for your product?
United Pacific/Oil operates convenience stores under three titles; We Got It! Food Mart, My Goods Mart and Circle K. They are also an authorized distributor of certain brands of fuel, so they supply it to other fuel stations as well as operating their own. They take pride in their employees and ensuring their happiness – they even believe it is as pivotal to success as consumer happiness is. This is a firm that encourages networking to a certain extent, because this is how they are likely to distribute their own fuel. There is a little more leeway than one would usually expect with regards to how seriously they will take you.
United Pacific have a range of goods such as hot and cold foods, snack products, pre packaged foods, hot and cold drinks, fuel and fresh goods. All food that they sell must go through testing before it reaches the plate – and if you want to sell them a product their range is predominantly food based. They will expect a high quality product that doesn’t cost the earth to produce, of course, the more return that they get the better. Although they do encourage suppliers to make contact they also have a more limited product range than a lot of convenience stores. However, they are also a lot less likely to run out of fuel due to their excellent distribution network.
If you think your product will meet up to this brands high expectations then there are a few things you should consider:
- This brand is more likely to buy a food product than anything else.
- All food products must meet FDA standards before they are submitted.
- You should have public liability insurance in place before you apply.
- You can contact any of United Pacific’s individually branded stores through their website, or you can use the link below, which will take you to their overall corporate offices.
- Once you have made contact you will be assigned a spokesperson – this is whom you should deal with from now on.
- Examine the goods within all three stores before submitting your product, just to make sure that yours is better than anything similar that they already sell.
- Ensure you have the legal right to production.
- Submit products – not ideas!
If you think your product would be a good fit for United Pacific then you can apply to establish a professional.
How to get your product into United Pacific
- 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 United Pacific 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 United Pacific
There are several ways to get a product placed in United Pacific. 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 United Pacific, 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 United Pacific.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to United Pacific, 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 United Pacific would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with United Pacific, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to United Pacific, 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 United Pacific? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check United Pacific 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 United Pacific 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 United Pacific is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and United Pacific starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If United Pacific already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local United Pacific 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 United Pacific.
If your company is minority or women owned, check United Pacific website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to United Pacific.) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to United Pacific. 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 United Pacific, 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 United Pacific. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to United Pacific.
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 United Pacific 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 United Pacific paperwork.) Often United Pacific will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by United Pacific, you should contact a buyer at United Pacific 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 United Pacific 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, United Pacific 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 United Pacific, 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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