From Online to In-Stores: What I Learned at the Pitch Slam

Last week’s pitch slam was awesome. It was like a live shark tank viewing. The founders presented ~3 minutes on their company and then answered questions from the judges. 

If there’s one thing I took away from it, it’s that getting into grocery retailers is a big deal. It’s an industry benchmark. It’s a measure of your brand’s traction. And it’s something that investors in the food industry look for. 

 

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of food products doing well selling online only. But once they have real momentum, most start to incorporate in-store retail as part of the strategy.

 

As online marketing and ad spend can quickly get expensive, retail offers another pillar of growth.  

 

1. What stores are you in? 
2. How many stores are you in? 

Working with retailers is a great way to get higher volume orders and expose your brand to new buyers.

 

During the pitches, the most common question founders received from the judges was, “What’s your sales velocity?” This was a new metric to me. I’ve heard of it before, but if the presenter didn’t mention it outright in their pitch, the judges made sure to ask about it. 

 

The #1 thing I hear about getting into retail stores is making sure your products move off the shelf. Or else, you risk not being on the shelf for long. Tracking down the right retail buyers and persuading them to carry your product is only half the battle. You then need to drive shoppers to the store and have them purchase your product. That’s the only way to keep the large orders coming in. Otherwise, those orders will be short lived. 

 

Sales velocity refers to how many products you’re able to sell at a single store per day or per week on average. If those numbers aren’t growing or aren’t strong enough for the retailer, they will give that coveted shelf space to another brand. Oftentimes, it will go to a competitor. 

 

Growing relationships with retailers is hard work. But when it works, it can skyrocket your company’s growth. 

 

Now, knowing what I know, retail deserves a place in my long-term strategy. Maybe even sooner than I previously envisioned. However, that doesn’t change anything in the near-term. At launch, I still plan to sell through my website. As soon as I have a grasp of the shelf life of the muffins, I plan to start testing local stores before stepping into a big-box retailer.