A new food-and-drink consultancy is bringing more challenger brands into cash and carries for retailers, with each product generating average margins of 30% for stores.
Retail Distribution Management was set up Shane Nimmo, who has previously held senior roles at Halewood Wines & Spirits, InterContinental Brands and Biotiful Gut Health.
Explaining the decision behind company’s establishment, Nimmo said: “Retail Distribution Management was born out of the frustration of seeing good brands fail to treat wholesale and convenience as something other than an afterthought.
“We work closely with key retailers and wholesalers to offer strategies to grow brands in a manageable way, which means no more dusty cases and bottles on a wholesaler’s shelf.”
The company is currently working with four alcohol brands for distribution into wholesale and convenience, including Mahiki Rum, Wrexham Lager and Panther Milk.
Nimmo added the company is also in discussions to add soft drink and dairy suppliers to its list of partners.
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Nimmo told our sister publication RN: “Having previously worked with big and small suppliers, there’s a mindset that everyone wants to be in big supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, but there’s a big disconnect with the 40,000 convenience stores in the UK that sell alcohol and dairy.
“Retail Distribution Management is about creating this education piece that wholesalers have reach and distribution into retail stores. It’s easy for a supplier just to chuck pallets of products into a wholesaler and hope for the best, but it doesn’t work this way.”
Retail Distribution Management has also held talks with major Fed retailers for feedback on products, which are available through Unitas Wholesale’s central distribution network.
Nimmo explained: “It’s about getting the education piece for brands and getting feedback from retailers. For example, I was recently on a call with 20 of the Fed’s most influential retailers and they provided feedback on the design of a particular product.
“We went through several rounds. It’s about creating a hybrid plan for these brands from both wholesalers and retailers. What makes customers come back and continue to purchase products? Just because a retailer purchases a product doesn’t mean their customers will.”
“We aim to give retailers an average of 30% margin on the products distributed into wholesale. If a product can work in 50 stores, there’s no reason it can’t work in 5,000 stores.”
