How can I get my product in to stores?

Question

I know someone who wants to market their own brand of BBQ sauce and get it into grocery stores. Any suggestions would be great.

Answer 1

There are tried and true methods to do this, and you can hire consultants to help you, but there's one method that worked for someone you may know. You may want to try it. Col. Sanders started by selling his chicken basically door-to-door. Whever people are barbequing, there's a need. Start showing up and offering free samples to people in their back yards. Sooner or later, word will get out and the local stores will be receptive or even seek your product out.

Answer 2

Most major chains only accept goods from distributors. This works for any kind of product. If you can professionally produce and package it, you would need to research a distributor and have it sent to warehouses where it can be picked up for deliveries to various stores. If that doesn't sound obtainable, try going to various local independent grocery stores, delis, etc. and see if you can work something out where they put a few bottles on their shelves. However, I'm not sure how they will feel if the product needs to be FDA approved.

Answer 3

It's hard to get space in large grocery stores...large stores rent their shelves and they are not cheap... There is mama/papa corner stores...but the problem is liability. what if someone gets sick on your product? They dont want to lose their livelihood over few sales of BBQ. May I suggest your friend try's farmer's markets and flea-markets... That's a start!