Beth Pomper presented this presentation as part of the 2013 ACORN Conference and Trade Show held in Moncton. Topics covered include wholesale, export and value-added organic production for building strong relationships in new markets.
2. Thinking
About
the
US….
• Posi<oning
Your
Product
for
the
US
Market
–
produce
and
specialty
• Target
Northeast
Retailers
• What
Retailers
are
Interested
In
• The
Road
to
US
Retail….
How
We
All
Get
There
3. Growth
in
the
Perimeter
•
•
•
•
•
Fruit
–
6%
increase
Vegetables
–
1%
increase
Bakery
–
5%
increase
Deli
Cheese
–
5%
increase
Deli
Meat
–
2%
increase
• US
Retailers
all
focusing
on
re-‐vamping
perimeter
of
store
4. Know
Where
Your
Product
Fits
• Understand
your
Produc<on
Capacity
• Prepare
and
Plan
for
Growth
• Start
Regionally
• Visit
the
Market
First
Hand
• Develop
a
Strategic
Plan
to
Market
5. Connect
with
Shoppers
that
Matter
Who
is
buying
your
product?
• Northeast
and
West
US
spend
most
• Adults
age
45
–
50
spend
most
on
vegetables
• Asians
#1
• Hispanics
#2
• 31%
Baby
Boomers
feel
Organic
very
important
• Millenials
(1980
–
2005)
shop
perimeter
• Re<red
–
health
and
wellness
(signage)
6. Where
to
Focus
Atlan<c
Companies
Should
Focus
on
the
Following
Chains
• Wegmans
• Whole
Foods
• Ahold
• Weis
• Wakefern
For
specialty
–
gourmet
shops
or
specialty
retail
7. Northeast
Focus
• Wegmans
–
83
stores
• Whole
Foods
–
340
stores
650
Organic
Op<ons
• Ahold
–
775
stores
Innova<ve
methods
to
get
customers
to
eat
more
fresh
“Fruit
and
Vegetables
–
More
Maaers”
logo
in
stores
• Weis
–
165
stores
• Wakefern
–
250
stores
Private
label
exceed
government
standards
for
healthier
lifestyle
8. Fun,
Trendy,
&
High
Prices
• Up
$1
Billion
–
41%
from
last
year
• Supermarkets
are
now
Des<na<ons
-‐
Wines,
Specialty
Foods,
300
seat
cafes
• More
than
2,000
people
were
in
line
prior
to
Wegman’s
7:00
am
opening
of
new
store
• 1/3
store
devoted
to
prepared
foods
• 70,000
products
• 700
varie<es
of
fruit
and
vegetables
• 52
varie<es
organic
fresh
• 380
Organic
products
–
“Wegmans
Organic”
9. Whole
Foods
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Offering
more
price
promo<ons
in
all
stores
En<ces
young,
trendy,
city
dwellers
Now
moving
to
smaller
suburban
areas
with
smaller
stores
Whole
Foods
currently
has
340
stores,
plans
to
grow
to
1,000
Products
must
be
Clean,
Organic,
Natural
If
product
in
saturated
category
–
Why
do
you
stand
out?
Marke<ng
Muscle
–
Demos
twice
per
month
–
Saturday
Approach
Whole
Food
Regional
Buyers
First
• Englewood
Cliffs,
NJ
Rockville,
MD
10. Retail
Hot
Buttons
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Price
&
Value
(not
low
price
necessarily)
Private
Brands
–
produce
and
specialty
Right-‐Sized
Box
Connec<ng
with
Shoppers
that
Maaer
Health
&
Wellness
Convenient
Customer
Solu<ons
Sustainability
&
Traceability
11. Value
is
not
about
price
-‐
Value
between
price
&
beneMits
• Premium
Coffee
Average
Price
88%
higher
-‐
Dollar
Sales
up
9%
-‐
Unit
Sales
up
3%
-‐
Coffee
Pods
Priced
460%
higher
• Cut
Fresh
Fruit
and
Vegetables
at
Wegmans
-‐
Customers
willing
to
pay
for
convenience
-‐
Roasted
veg
combos
-‐
Minimizes
shrink
–
boosts
profits
for
retailer
12. Specialty
Food
Industry
Spectacular
Growth
-‐
Branded
• Outpacing
most
sectors
in
US
economy
• Sales
of
Specialty
Foods
increased
by
19.1%
• Total
Sales
of
specialty
foods
were
$75.14
Billion
13. Did
you
know…….
• Most
specialty
food
sold
at
retail
-‐
$59.74
Billion
• 41%
of
specialty
food
manufacturers
reported
more
than
a
20%
increase
in
their
sales
last
year
• Dynamic,
growing
industry
in
spite
of
recession
14.
Important
Product
Qualities
• Organic
•
•
•
•
•
Kosher
Gluten
Free
All
Natural
No/Low/Reduced
Fat/Cholesterol
Sustainable
Convenience
claims
losing
importance
in
specialty.
People
want
to
cook
like
a
chef
at
home
and
care
less
in
this
category
about
a
product
being
microwavable,
for
example.
16. Steps
to
Enter
the
US
Market
•
•
•
•
•
Target
Market
Product
Pricing
Market
Entry
Strategy
Ac<on
Plan
• Best
to
do
a
regional
approach.
Branded
–
work
with
regional
distributors.
17. How
Do
I
Start
For
Produce?
• Best
start
in
Northeast
• Produce
wholesalers
supply
all
major
retail
chains
and
independents
• Cri<cal
to
establish
personal
rela<onships
with
both
wholesaler
and
produce
category
manager
• Choose
wholesaler
based
on
services
offered
to
retailers
18. Philadelphia
Wholesale
Produce
Market
• World’s
most
sophis<cated
wholesale
fresh
fruit
and
vegetable
market
• 700,000
square
feet
–
48
acres
–
bigger
than
14
football
fields
• Fully
refrigerated,
fully
enclosed
–
maximizes
shelf
life
• Temps
in
merchant’s
individual
warehouses
adjusted
to
each
commodity
19. PWPM
Merchants
and
Customers
• 24
Wholesalers
• Unit
space
rarely
available
–
lifelong
opera<ng
commitment
(40
year
lease)
• Services
customer
in
500
mile
radius
daily
• Hunts
Point
Market
in
NYC
is
not
enclosed
–
region
switched
buying
preferences
to
Philadelphia
20. Procacci
Brothers
• Best
wholesaler
for
Canadian
organic
products
in
Philadelphia
• Full
Traceability
in
every
item
handled
-‐
3rd
party
inspec<ons
• Private
Label
and
Custom
Re-‐Packaging
and
Labeling
in
Eco-‐
Friendly
styles
• Eliminates
shrink
and
reduces
back
room
labor
for
retailer
• Promotes
store
brand
or
your
brand
–
increasing
brand
loyalty
• Owns
cold
storage
and
distribu<on
facility
21. Wholesalers
Handling
Organic
• Procacci
Brothers
phone:
215-‐463-‐8000
www.procaccibrothers.com
All
fresh
fruit
and
vegetables
• Color
&
Sons
phone:
215-‐389-‐3335
www.color.com
carrots,
onions,
beets,
turnips,
apples
• TM
Kovacevich
phone:
215-‐336-‐3160
www.tmkproduce.com
vidalia
onions,
dried
and
premium
fruit
22. Specialty
Steps
to
Market
• Visit
the
Market
-‐
Walk
the
Summer
Fancy
Food
Show
-‐
Tour
Specialty
Retailers
–
all
in
walking
distance
• Assess
the
Compe<<on/Pricing
-‐
Can
you
be
compe<<ve?
-‐
Take
retail
price
and
work
backwards
• Determine
your
fit….specialty
for
retail,
gourmet,
food
service
23. Specialty
Steps
to
Market
• Start
in
Northeast
• Establish
Rela<onships
with
Category
Buyers
• Work
with
Regional
Distributors
(Associated
Buyers,
Avenue
Gourmet,
Davidson’s,
Steiner)
• Join
Specialty
Food
Associa<on
-‐
Unparalleled
access
to
buyers
-‐
Mentoring
programs
-‐
Diversity
Program
24. Thank
You
Beth
Pomper
4745
Twinbrook
Circle
Doylestown,
PA
18902
Phone:
267-‐893-‐8799
bpomper@comcast.net
