Top tips to pitching your food produce to retailers

Maybe you've started by selling your food produce direct to customers at markets and food festivals, but what about making sales via supermarket chains?

Before you approach any retailers, make a list of appropriate brands where you think your product could work well.

When you have an opportunity to meet a buyer, consider the following pitching tips provided by Sainsbury's Food Buyer Paul Morgan who'll be speaking at our Food Exchange event:

1. Always come prepared with your facts and figures well researched - this doesn't necessarily need to be on paper - but in your head

2. Don't present long winded PowerPoint presentations - buyers have a short attention span! By all means talk through background, but not in too much detail initially

3. Make sure you know who you are presenting to - Do thorough research on the retailer beforehand

4. Always listen to what the buyer is looking for and think about ways you can meet demands

5. Show us what your capabilities are and how you are different i.e. what can a small supplier offer that a large supplier can't

6. Check to see if the buyer would like a pre-read of the presentation

7. Try to inject some charisma into your presentation - don't present in a monotone fashion!

Meet the buyers!

We are giving start-up food businesses the opportunity to meet food buyers from high street chains such as Sainsbury's at The Food Exchange event on 26th March, which is taking place at The Bakery in Central London.

The event is aimed at giving start-ups the ingredients they need to get to the next level, through inspiration from people who've done it - like Jimmy Cregan, founder of Jimmy's Iced Coffee, practical pitching tips direct from supermarket buyers, packaging, branding and marketing tips - as well as useful names for the contacts book!

Purchase your ticket:

Photo Credit: Food Exchange panelists, Claudi & Fin pitching at the 2013 Sainsbury's PitchUp event