Independent Retail News Sept 2004
Retailers riding the band-wagon of the new public interest in healthy eating and provenance are seeing sales figures rocket. 97% of retailers taking part in British Food Fortnight have increased their sales by up to 30% - with an average sales increase of £655 per store - as a direct result of the event.
Here are some suggestions of how you can encourage your local to take part and stock British produce not just during the Fortnight but year-round.
Request a meeting with the owner of your local shop –perhaps offer to take them for a meal in your local pub.
Explain to them why it is in their commercial interest to stock more British produce. Points you may like to make include:
- They will attract new customers
- They will increase sales from existing customers who will use more of their weekly spend in their shop
- They will establish a point of difference between their shop and those that stock only mainstream brands
- The demand for quality, fresh, regionally-distinct, fully-traceable food is increasing.
Remember, you are a sales person not just for your own products but for other producers in the area and indeed across the country. As a rule, encourage the shop-owner to source local first, regional second and country-wide third.
Offer some suggestions to the shop owner about where to source the produce. Many shop owners do not have time – or the knowledge – to seek out new products. Ideally go armed with a list of suggested products – try and suggest a representative sample across all categories:dairy, meat, vegetable and fruit. If you are able to provide telephone numbers for where they can source them that would be even better.
Many local shops would like to sell cuts of local meat and fresh dairy produce but are unable to do so because they do not have a chill-counter. Consider teaming up withother farmers and producers in your area to sponsor a chill-counter for your local shop – or even your local post office. A chill-counter costs approximately £1,400 but most suppliers offer lease arrangements with payments of about £140/quarter over three years. See Yellow Pages for details of local suppliers.
If you are introducing your own product to the shop, offer to go into the store during opening hours to conduct a tasting and meet customers to explain to them why they should buy your product.
Create your own point-of-sale material – brightly coloured labels, shelf-markers and posters will make your product stand out in-store. These need not be expensive to produce. A clearly hand-written label describing your farm and your produce – or a simple one produced on your home computer (children are very good at this!) - is an excellent way to make your product stand-out in-store.
Check-list of things you can encourage your local shop to do
- Increase their stock of British food by sourcing local first, regional second, country-wide third
- Offer regular tastings and promotions to highlight new products
- Encourage producers to come into their store to conduct tastings and to meet their customers
- Position a board either in their window or outside the store telling customers that tastings of local products are being offered today
- Consider installing a chill-counter so they can sell fresh, delicatessen-type food.
