Condiment brand case studies retail: what to ask

What to take away

The first listing, in detail

Ask who made the introduction, how long the process took, what was asked for, what was rejected, and what the buyer required that the brand did not have. Name the buyer, too: a national natural-foods chain such as Whole Foods, a grocery chain such as Kroger, a distributor such as UNFI or KeHE, or a single specialty shop. A sauce maker's first listing at a neighborhood grocer is a different story from a spice blend that goes straight into a national chain. The answers are specific, memorable and unusually transferable.

Most brands hit the same requirements in this order: insurance, coding, allergen documentation, case pack and a delivery route — and the study should name each one. That means product liability insurance at the limits the buyer sets, with a certificate of insurance on file; GS1 identification, the UPC on the retail label and the case GTIN on the shipper; allergen labeling under FDA rules (FALCPA, and the FASTER Act for sesame); the case pack; and the delivery route. That order is not accidental, and it maps onto the questions a buyer settles before a jar of sauce or a tin of spice goes on the shelf.

Then ask what the listing cost. Listing fees, promotional commitments, demo hours, and free fill all belong in the answer, and founders routinely forget the last two. Write down which of those the figure includes, because a price with no definitions attached cannot be compared with anything.

Retail disclosure duties

A case study on retail should state which disclosure rules applied.

The rule here is COOL — Country of Origin Labeling, at 7 U.S.C. 1638, with the retailer requirements at 7 CFR Part 65. AMS explains in its country of origin labeling questions and answers that retailers in physical locations and those selling remotely, such as online, must identify the country of origin of covered commodities. Food service establishments including restaurants, cafeterias and food stands are exempt from those labeling requirements.

Two lessons follow. Selling online does not remove retail disclosure duties, and the same product can carry different obligations depending on whether it is sold in a shop or served in a venue. COOL also covers listed commodities rather than most processed foods, so a sauce, spice blend or condiment brand often sits outside it and falls under ingredient and finished-food labeling rules instead. A case study that skips this is missing part of why a brand made the choices it did.

Ask about the second listing too. The first one is often the result of a personal connection, which makes it a bad model for anyone else. The second and third listings show whether the brand built a repeatable route to buyers or simply got lucky once, and that distinction is the whole point of the chapter.

Program support in the background

Growth stories frequently involve public support somewhere. It is worth asking rather than assuming.

USDA's summary of local and regional foods in the 2018 Farm Bill describes support for regionally produced food through direct to consumer outlets such as farmers markets and intermediated outlets such as farm to institution, local retailer and restaurant sales.

It notes that the Local Agriculture Market Program consolidated and expanded earlier programs. Name them in the study: the Farmers Market Promotion Program, now part of LAMP at USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Value-Added Producer Grant, which USDA Rural Development administers. A condiment brand that used either one looks different on paper.

Ask whether the business applied for anything, whether it received anything, and what the money was actually spent on. A grant funded piece of equipment changes the cost story completely.

The framework for the study as a whole is in the case study guide, and the buyer's side of these same questions is set out in our retail stocking checklist.

Common questions