This piece is the short version of what we teach in Women on the Shelf. If you’re a woman producer preparing to approach a supermarket buyer, read this first.
1. Get your compliance right
Before anything else: make sure your product is fully compliant with UNBS standards, has a clear barcode, a legible ingredient list, and an accurate net weight. Buyers routinely walk away from the most delicious product in the world because the label is wrong.
2. Price for the shelf, not for the market stall
Supermarket margins are different. Your pricing has to include the retailer’s margin (often 20–35%), promotional spend, and the realities of slower cash cycles. If you price for the market stall, you’ll either lose the buyer or lose money.
“The winning pitch is not ‘my product is the best’. It is ‘here is why stocking me makes you more money than the alternative’.”
3. Know your category
Walk into the store. Find your shelf. Spend an hour there. Note the competitor products, their pricing, their promotions, their packaging. Your pitch has to be specific to the gap you fill in that exact category.
4. Prepare for the ask
Buyers will ask: MOQ? Lead time? Payment terms you can accept? Promotional support? Returns policy? Have clear written answers to all five before you sit down.
5. Follow up like a professional
Most rejections are actually “not right now”. Follow up every 6–8 weeks with a short update (new SKU, award won, press coverage). Half our Women on the Shelf graduates landed their first retail account on the fourth or fifth touch, not the first.
Book a consultation
If you’re a CWEN member, book a Women on the Shelf diagnostic with us. 90 minutes, one-on-one, and you’ll leave with a concrete plan.
