How To Get Into Obrien’s Market
Founded in 1978 when it opened its first store, O’Brien’s Market is one of the topmost grocery stores that serve the Modesto, California, area. The store has a wide range of health food products. In this way, the store has been able to cater to the needs of customers and the community at large.
Founded by Chuck O’Brien, this store is one of the most popular choices for customers in need of groceries at their local area. The grocer is popularly known for providing a wide array of wines and cheeses. The finest cheese is particularly found in the Dale Road store. The company is committed towards meeting the needs of its clients, especially in terms of providing the healthiest food options at affordable prices.
In furtherance of its goals towards ensuring that its customers are healthy, the grocer features a section that sells all-natural food items.
On it offerings, the store is a supermarket and it ensures that the customers get nothing short of the best in grocery, food items and household items.
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; seafood; and beverages.
The uniqueness and the innovativeness of O’Brien’s Market 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: “The staff here is just so friendly and accommodating I wish that I could tip them. I go shopping and run errands for work and end up here quite often and it’s doesn’t bother me one bit. I almost always have more than one transaction and as annoying as I’m sure it is they never let it show. I’m so thankful for this market and all of the employees I have come across.”
One thing that is commendable about this store is the O’Brien’s Market mobile application. With this app, customers can order food online and get their products at the store. This shows the forward-thinking management that the grocer has. All in a bid to make it easy for shoppers to get their food needs.
On the local sourcing of food products, O’Brien’s Market 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 Obrien’s Market
- 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 Obrien’s Market 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 Obrien’s Market
There are several ways to get a product placed in Obrien’s Market. 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 Obrien’s Market, 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 Obrien’s Market.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to Obrien’s Market, 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 Obrien’s Market would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Obrien’s Market, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Obrien’s Market, 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 Obrien’s Market? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Obrien’s Market 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 Obrien’s Market 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 Obrien’s Market is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and Obrien’s Market starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Obrien’s Market already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Obrien’s Market 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 Obrien’s Market.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Obrien’s Market website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Obrien’s Market.) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Obrien’s Market. 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 Obrien’s Market, 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 Obrien’s Market. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Obrien’s Market.
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 Obrien’s Market 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 Obrien’s Market paperwork.) Often Obrien’s Market will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Obrien’s Market, you should contact a buyer at Obrien’s Market 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 Obrien’s Market 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, Obrien’s Market 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 Obrien’s Market, 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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