Our Process: How a Product Moves From Submission to Shelf

Mr. Checkout runs a five-stage process: submission, distributor selection, pilot distribution, expansion, and long-term growth. This page states what happens at each stage, who is responsible for what, who pays for what, what data you receive, and which outcomes are guaranteed, which are targets, and which are neither.

How to read this page

Three words are used precisely throughout, and they are not interchangeable.

• Guaranteed. Mr. Checkout controls it and commits to it. If it does not happen, that is a failure on our side.
• Target. A realistic planning number based on what the network does routinely. It is an expectation, not a promise, and it moves with category, season and price.
• Not guaranteed. Outside our control. It depends on independent distributors, independent store owners, or shoppers, and no one can honestly promise it.

The short version: we guarantee process, not outcomes. Distribution is earned at the shelf.

Stage 1: Product submission

Who does what

• You: submit the product, pricing and case specifications, and ship samples when requested.
• Mr. Checkout: a review committee reads every submission and returns a decision with a reason.

What you submit

• Product name, company name, a short description and the suggested retail price
• A price list showing landed cost, wholesale price, case cost and suggested retail
• Case specifications: case pack, case dimensions and weight, ti/hi, cases per pallet
• GS1-issued UPC in your own company name, on the unit and the case
• Finished retail packaging, a product photo and a one-page sell sheet
• Documented shelf life and date coding
• Proof of product liability insurance, commonly $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate
• Category documentation where it applies: cGMP and FDA facility registration for supplements, MoCRA registration for cosmetics, substantiation for any claim on the label
• Samples, on request, shipped at your cost

Acceptance criteria

Four tests, applied in this order.

1. Margin structure. The price ladder must hold roughly 20% to 30% distributor margin and 35% to 50% retailer margin on impulse items while leaving a defensible shelf price. Landed cost at or under about 25% of suggested retail.
2. Channel fit. The product belongs in the stores the network services: independent convenience, independent grocery and specialty retail, generally $1.99 to $12 at retail, understandable from the package alone.
3. Retail readiness. GS1 UPC, compliant label, tested shelf life, insurance in force, finished case pack. Not a prototype, not a mockup.
4. Supply capability. You can fill an opening order and a reorder within 30 days without stocking out.

Full criteria and a scorecard you can run yourself are on is Mr. Checkout right for my product.

Who pays for what

• Submission and review: no cost to you. There is no fee to submit a product and no fee to receive a decision.
• Samples and sample freight: you.

What you receive

A decision, and when it is a no, the reason. A rejection on margin or readiness tells you exactly what to fix, which is more useful than a slow maybe.

Guaranteed, target, not guaranteed

• Guaranteed: a human review and a stated decision.
• Target: a decision within about 10 business days.
• Not guaranteed: acceptance.

Stage 2: Distributor selection

Who does what

• Mr. Checkout: matches the accepted product to distributors by category and route, then presents it with your pricing, margins, case specs and sell sheet.
• Distributors: decide, independently, whether to buy it.
• You: answer questions, ship samples, and hold your price list while the decision is being made.

Do distributors independently choose to carry a product?

Yes. Every distributor in the network is a separate, independently owned business that makes its own buying decisions. Mr. Checkout does not own them, does not direct their purchase orders and cannot compel a placement. The same is true one level down: independent retailers own their shelves and decide what goes on them. A pass from a distributor is information, not a failure. Repeated passes on margin mean the price ladder is wrong, and that is fixable before you spend money on it.

Matching criteria

• Store overlap. What share of their accounts are the stores you actually want?
• Category fit. Do they already move products like yours? A distributor learning your category on your money does not succeed.
• Route frequency. Weekly or bi-weekly service restocks the shelf before it goes empty.
• Line count. A distributor carrying 4,000 SKUs will not notice yours.
• Sales model. Do the drivers sell, or only deliver against orders the store already placed?

Who pays for what

• Presentation to distributors: no cost to you.
• Samples to distributors: you.

What you receive

You are told which distributors are interested and you are introduced to them directly. From that point the commercial relationship is yours: you invoice them, you agree terms with them, and you get order information from them without Mr. Checkout standing in the middle. That is deliberate. A distributor relationship you own is worth more than a report you are sent.

Guaranteed, target, not guaranteed

• Guaranteed: your product is presented to matched distributors with complete and accurate information, and you are introduced to the ones who want to talk.
• Target: matching to distributors whose routes already reach your target store type.
• Not guaranteed: that any given distributor buys, how many buy, or how quickly.

Stage 3: Pilot distribution

Who does what

• Distributor: issues a purchase order, arranges pickup, delivers to stores, sells the item to store owners on the route and decides which stores to try.
• Store owner: decides whether to set it and where.
• You: have the order ready to pick up on time, supply displays, hold price, and answer the phone fast.
• Mr. Checkout: structures and sequences the pilot and stays available to both sides.

How the pilot runs

• Opening order. Small and deliberate, often a few cases per distributor into a defined store count.
• Placement. Where a new item can actually be seen: counter, cooler door, or an in-line facing in the right set.
• Sell-through window. Four to eight weeks on shelf. Long enough for repeat traffic to see it, short enough to act on.

Terms: FOB origin

Pilot orders are sold FOB origin. In plain terms:

• The distributor buys the merchandise. This is a purchase, not consignment.
• Title and risk of loss pass to the distributor when the goods are picked up at your dock.
• The distributor pays the freight and arranges the carrier.
• Because title passes at pickup, damage or loss in transit is the distributor’s claim against the carrier, not a debit against you.
• No returns and no damage allowances are expected from you unless you separately negotiate them in writing with that distributor. Once the distributor owns the inventory, unsold product is their risk. That is precisely why they are selective about what they take on.

Anything that varies from this is a term between you and that distributor. Put it in writing before you ship. How to find a distributor lists the terms to nail down.

Three things measured separately

Placement, delivery and reorders are three different numbers, and collapsing them is how brands convince themselves something is working when it is not.

1. Initial placement. A store agrees to carry the item and it is set on the shelf. Counted in doors. This proves the distributor and the store owner found it credible.
2. Delivery. Cases actually shipped to the distributor and physically delivered into stores. Counted in cases. Placement without delivery is a promise; delivery is the product being in the building.
3. Reorders. A second purchase order for the same item, unprompted. Distributor reorders and store-level reorders are tracked as separate events. This is the number that matters. A store that buys a second case is a store that sold the first one.

Doors, impressions and case counts do not prove sell-through. Reorders do.

Who pays for what

• Freight to the distributor: the distributor, under FOB origin terms.
• Product: the distributor buys it from you at your wholesale price and pays on the terms you agree, commonly net 30.
• Displays: you. Counter placement in independent stores generally requires a counter display unit that you supply. It is the highest-return spend most small brands make, because it buys a position you cannot otherwise ask for.
• Promotional support: optional and funded by whoever proposes it. Mr. Checkout does not fund trade spend, and none is required to run a pilot.
• Damages in transit: the distributor’s claim against the carrier, since title passed at pickup.
• Returns: nobody, by default. There is no return right unless you granted one in writing.
• Samples: you.

What you receive

Because you hold the distributor relationships directly, order and reorder information comes to you from the distributors themselves: purchase orders, ship dates, case counts and repeat orders. Mr. Checkout helps you read that record and put it in front of the next distributor or a chain buyer.

One honest limit: independent retail is not a scan-data channel. Reporting is order-level, not register-level. Any company promising you POS-level detail out of independent stores is describing a channel that does not exist.

Guaranteed, target, not guaranteed

• Guaranteed: a structured pilot with a defined store count, a defined shelf window and a defined measurement, and no hidden charge for running it.
• Target: placement on shelf within about 21 days of a distributor accepting the line, and a readable result 60 to 120 days from acceptance.
• Not guaranteed: sell-through, reorders, a specific door count, or performance in any individual store.

Stage 4: Expansion

Who does what

• Mr. Checkout: takes the pilot record to additional distributors and, where it fits, presents to corporate chain buyers.
• You: keep supply ahead of demand and hold your price list.
• Distributors and chains: decide, on their own calendars.

Criteria, in order

1. Reorders in the pilot doors. Are stores buying it again without being pushed? Nothing else in this list happens until this one is true.
2. Additional distributors. Reorder data is the argument that gets the next distributor to take the line.
3. Wider store counts on existing routes. The cheapest growth available, because the trucks already run.
4. Corporate chain presentation. Chain buyers ask for proof of velocity. The independent record is that proof.
5. Chain set. On the chain’s category review calendar, not yours.

Products that do not reorder do not expand. That is the honest version, and it saves brands from spending into a placement that was never working.

Who pays for what

Unchanged from the pilot: distributors buy and pay freight FOB origin, you supply displays and samples, and any chain-specific costs, such as slotting or distribution allowances, are set by that chain and quoted to you before you commit to them.

What you receive

Direct relationships with each new distributor, and the presentation materials and introductions on the chain side.

Guaranteed, target, not guaranteed

• Guaranteed: that a product with a real reorder record is taken to more distributors and to chain buyers who review its category.
• Target: regional chain decisions commonly run 6 to 12 months, national chains 12 to 24, from first presentation to set.
• Not guaranteed: a specific chain, a specific store count, or any date. Anyone who promises you a named chain by a named date is selling you something.

Stage 5: Long-term growth and support

Who does what

• Mr. Checkout: helps track reorder performance, coordinates marketing and trade-show presence, flags category and pricing shifts, and keeps introducing the line to distributors as routes and territories open.
• You: run the business. Supply, pricing, packaging changes and trade spend are yours.
• Distributors: reorder, or do not, based on how the item moves.

Who pays for what

• Ongoing network support: no separate fee to you.
• Your marketing, displays, samples and trade spend: you.
• If an optional program is ever offered that carries a cost, it is quoted in writing before anything starts and nothing is charged until you approve that quote. If you are ever unclear about what you are being asked to pay for, ask for it in writing first.

Guaranteed, target, not guaranteed

• Guaranteed: continued access to the network and a straight answer about what the numbers say.
• Target: steady growth in reordering doors for products that sell through.
• Not guaranteed: revenue, retention on any shelf, or protection from being replaced by a better-performing item.

Who pays for what, at a glance

How Mr. Checkout is paid

Mr. Checkout is compensated through the distribution margin, not through fees charged to brands. There is no charge to submit a product, no charge to receive a review decision, and no charge for the introductions and presentations described on this page. Your costs in this channel are the ones you would have in any channel: making the product, samples, displays and your own marketing. Those are itemized in the real cost of getting a product into retail.

What we do not do

• We do not take title to your inventory. Distributors buy from you directly.
• We do not take rights to your brand, trademarks or formulation.
• We do not set your prices. You publish a price list and hold it.
• We do not guarantee placement, sell-through or any named retailer.
• We do not provide register-level scan data, because independent retail does not generate it.

Ready to be reviewed?

Submit your product with pricing, case specs and a photo. A real person reads it. Or call 1-800-367-0076.

Questions brands ask about the process

Do distributors have to carry a product Mr. Checkout accepts?

No. Every distributor in the network is an independently owned business that makes its own buying decisions, and independent store owners control their own shelves. Acceptance means your product gets presented properly to the right distributors. It does not oblige anyone to buy it.

Who pays the freight on a pilot order?

The distributor. Pilot orders are sold FOB origin, so the distributor arranges and pays for transportation and takes title and risk of loss when the goods are picked up at your dock.

Will I be charged back for damages or returns?

Not by default. Title passes at pickup, so transit damage is the distributor’s claim against the carrier, and unsold product is the distributor’s risk because they bought it. Any return right or damage allowance only exists if you agree to it in writing with that distributor.

What does Mr. Checkout charge a brand?

Nothing to submit, nothing for a review decision, and nothing for the distributor introductions and chain presentations. Mr. Checkout is compensated through the distribution margin. Any optional program that carries a cost is quoted in writing and requires your approval first.

Are placement, delivery and reorders measured separately?

Yes, and they are three different numbers. Placement is doors that agreed to set the item. Delivery is cases physically shipped and delivered. Reorders are unprompted second orders, tracked separately at the distributor level and the store level. Only reorders prove sell-through.

What data do I actually get?

You hold the distributor relationships directly, so purchase orders, ship dates, case counts and reorders come to you from the distributors themselves. Reporting in this channel is order-level, not register-level. There is no POS scan data in independent retail.

How long does the whole process take?

Typically 60 to 120 days to a readable result: a review decision, weeks to place through a distributor, then four to eight weeks of shelf time before reorders become meaningful. Chain expansion runs on the chain’s category review calendar, commonly 6 to 12 months regionally and 12 to 24 nationally.

What is guaranteed?

Process, not outcomes. We guarantee a human review with a stated decision, accurate presentation to matched distributors, direct introductions, a structured pilot with defined measurement, and no fee charged to you for any of it. We do not guarantee that a distributor buys, that a store sets it, that shoppers pick it up, or that any chain takes it.

Related reading: how the network works, is Mr. Checkout right for my product, how to find a distributor, and the real cost of getting a product into retail.