Category reviews and retailer presentations directly impact food and beverage brands’ future success. These meetings can make or break your year. That’s why creating the best buyer’s pitch should be your top priority.  

Not only is a buyer’s meeting arguably the most important moment for new and established brands alike, but also for retailers of every size. The buyer has a job to do, and so does the individual brand. Both want to create the best, most profitable shelf set possible. So, when retailers and brands work together with the most up-to-date data, everyone wins.  

Foodbevy’s Jordan Buckner sat down with two retail experts, Kelsey Michel, VP of Product at NielsenIQ, and Claire Zwierzchowski, Director of Category and Sales Strategy at Chomps, who gave small brands the ins and outs of earning – and keeping – their place on the shelf.  

You can watch the webinar above, but for now, keep reading for a summary of the most important messages.  

Current Challenges 

The current reality for consumer goods and grocers looks quite different than previous years with new challenges to confront. In buyer’s meetings, food and beverage brands should expect to show retailers why they should be kept on shelf, addressing things like:  

• Diverging preferences in brand choice motivators and mindset of consumers. 
• Increasing prices in response to growing inflation, both the category as a whole and every individual unit. 
• Category SKU reduction as competition grows but shelf space stays the same. 

Brands that successfully keep the buyer’s needs in mind are much more able to surpass the current challenges. Remember, it’s how you work together that will lead to the best results.  

Lessons Learned  

It’s important to remember that retailers are running their own businesses, just like you are. Use every presentation to prove that even the current challenges can be seen as opportunities.  

Here are some lessons shared in the webinar:  

Know your role in the category. 

Retail Measurement Data (RMS) will give you insights on this, answering questions like “How is the retailer performing versus the remaining market?” or “Is my product on the shelf?”  

Never treat any two meetings the same. Take the time to get to know each buyer and adjust based on their background. Then, show your brand will bring something different to attract new customers and grow the category. Use relevant data as a jumping off point to connect with them and ask questions like, “Are you seeing this same information?” or “What challenges do you currently see right now and how can my brand help turn it around?” 

Know your segment performance. 

Retail Measurement Data (RMS) will support this as well, answering questions like “How are my products performing?” or “What is driving growth?” 

Contextualize what’s happening on the macro level, after all this is what the buyer is feeling. Then, hone in on what you’re contributing. For example, global snacking unit sales are down. But Chomps, when categorized as a gluten-free meat snack in stick form, is actually driving performance and overall category growth. With this data, they is able to prove to the buyer that Chomps deserves to be on the shelf. 

Know your shopper. 

Shopper Panel data will help you get to know them better, answering questions like “Are the number of buyers increasing?” or “How often are my buyers purchasing?”  

Shopping behavior has shifted exponentially in recent years, which means you need to take a fresh look at your offering to maximize every trip. For example, shopper data showed that Chomps leads the category in units per trip. With this information, Chomps decided to begin producing larger packs, which helped them sell more units in every transaction. 

With both the current challenges and firsthand lessons in mind, brands can better prepare for upcoming presentations. 

Presentation Principles  

When crafting your presentation, use data to:  

• Tell your story. Remember, data is the tool to tell your story, it isn’t your complete story. Determine what you want to convey and then weave in data points to highlight the most important points.
• Keep it simple. Presentation fundamentals include keeping a slide to one main point and that is true here too. Buyers will see many presentations, so focus on your main points with fewer key data points. You can always build a large appendix if you want to include supporting information.
• Gain more distribution. Help retailers see that you are what they’re looking for with data. Showing how your brand will bring something different to the shelf to attract new customers and grow the category will reassure the retailer you are a good bet. After all, what the consumer is looking for is what the retailer is looking for.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the preparation that needs to go into your upcoming meetings, just know you’re not alone. The Foodbevy and NielsenIQ teams are here to support you as you prepare. Every Foodbevy member has free instant access to the Byzzer platform and run 3 reports that will help you discover your brand’s opportunities and threats. Not only that, the complete Byzzer platform can build your presentation for your next buyer pitch meeting, including:  

• Category review presentation
• Category management presentation  
• Shopper snapshot presentation