Bread and Jam Getting Ready to Apply

Okay, welcome everybody. As I was just saying, as people were coming on, it's, it's a long time since I've, I've done one of these Food Mentor webinars, so it's good to be back and we will be doing them probably once a month on different subjects. And obviously the great subject of the moment in focus is Bread and Jam, so that's what we're going to be talking about today, getting ready to apply. And as I was saying, for those of you who are coming on, if you've got any questions, let's not make this a formal gig. If you want to ask me something, please just go ahead and unmute yourself. But in the meantime, please keep yourself muted, because otherwise, when the postman comes or any other things, then that might be an interruption. As some of you may be aware, I do have a dog. The postman has been already, so we shouldn't be disturbed by that, but you just don't know. So Let's get started. I think I do know quite a few of you on here, but for those of you who don't know me, about my numbers, I was a buyer for 7 years at Tesco and Boots and worked at Boots actually for a number of years doing other things as well. Was a commercial director for different food businesses selling to retailers, specializing in Tescos, but others as well. Much fun, I got it. And then for the last 8 years, I've been running Food Mentor, working with food startups or startups, SMEs, to grow their businesses with a focus on— hang on, somebody is talking. Could you mute yourself, please? I can't see you. But yes, thank you. Yes, gained a lot of listings for a lot of clients in a lot of different retailers. And pretty much there's a list and the list does go on and we adding to it. At the moment, I am working with the UN, so I have a specific project to help 6 companies from Ghana, the Caribbean, and Eswatini come into the UK. So that's taking up a big chunk of time, and— but I do have some, some time to help other clients, and obviously getting now very involved with Bread and Jam because that's The the highlight for me of the year. So let's move on. So this is a slide. I think if any of you've seen anything I've been posting on LinkedIn, this is a slide I used of some of the listings that we've had. They haven't all come, if I'm honest, from bread and jam, but we have had some. And all of these people have been clients of mine in the past, and we will talk about some of them as we go through this. Those who have been successful in getting listings. So the point of today really is to say, look, if you're thinking about getting a listing in retailers and you've had a look at the list that Bread and Jam have put up, and we'll have a look at that in a second, the whole point of this is to help you do a better application and to give you some guidance. It's, you know, it's not part of the Bread and Jam gig. This is my advice, but I've been successfully working now for however long they've been doing pitches. I sponsored it for the last 2 years. I'm not doing it this year. It's North Star who's sponsoring. Last year we had super success and we got 21 pitches out of this process, and they're the ones I know about. So it was— it works. So, you know, it's— do listen. So we're gonna have a think about who should you be pitching to, because you know, you can apply for them all if you want to, but it's an awful lot of hard work, and you need to have a think about what are the buyers looking for, what's the differences. I, every year, and, you know, I'll be completely open, I'm— by the end of this webinar, I will be suggesting if you want help, I'm happy to give you help. And last year I did write a lot of applications for clients, and we were successful. However, there is such a temptation, you know, I'm human, to just go, oh, I'll just copy that one and I'll just send it, you know, cut and paste, cut and paste. Do not, do not cut and paste. It doesn't work. So we'll talk about how to prepare the best application, what you need to include, and also the importance of pre-selling. So for those of you who aren't aware, actually I have one here. I have written a new book called Virology. And in there I go through what I call my buyer process, and the first stage of that buyer process is building awareness. And at the end, which should come at the beginning, I want to talk about the importance of pre-selling because you've got a month now to raise your awareness. So we'll talk about that as well. So that's what I'm going to talk about. Hopefully that's what everyone is expecting. If you're not, then wait till the end, and if I haven't answered your question on that, you know, the then let me know. But if we get to the section that you're interested in, then ask me. That's true. Okay, and please don't forget to mute yourself 'cause I can hear some more noise. Okay, so the basics. Applications are now open. They opened on Tuesday and the closing date is 10th of July at 10 o'clock GMT. I put GMT 'cause we've— I have quite a few overseas clients now. It is important it will all be GMT. And then the winning pitches will be confirmed on the 14th of July. Now, those of you who may have played this game before will maybe be aware that it doesn't always go to plan. So I have been in a situation where we thought we only had one pitch and then another one came through literally lastminute.com. So be aware that that might happen. The actual pitching will be the 18th and 19th of July at the festival. in London. Again, last year, for those of you who, who may not remember, it was the phenomenally hot weather. It was 42 degrees, and I think on the first day, Accardo decided that it was too hot for their staff to travel, so they didn't come. So they did follow up later. So, um, just want to manage people's expectations. As I say, I'm, I'm not here to represent Bread and Jam, but it's, it's— they do their best, but if the buyers don't come back to them, then it's really difficult. So just— This you know, if you've not heard, they will manage it and I'm sure, you know, they will take you through that process. But don't worry. Things that you do need to be aware of, you do need a ticket to pitch. And one of the things that I do every year is I download all the forms, primarily so I can help my clients fill them in. Because I know the first year I kind of did it a bit freehand and I filled them in and then unfortunately I didn't get the copy back. So I had— I could— I had no record. So I now— download all the forms, make a copy and fill them in, and then fill in the Google Form. So if you've not had a chance to have a look at it, you go on to the Bread and Jam pitching site and you just enter in all the information. And then this year, after a lot of feedback, you will actually get a copy. So that's quite a positive because last year you didn't, and the years before. When I say you need a ticket to pitch, I have read their kind of terms and conditions. If there are more people in your team, it does say— so say you fill it in and then you want a member of your team to go and do the selling, it does say that that person has to have a ticket as well. So just be aware. What are your chances? I think Last year, I think there were about 200 meetings for 2,000 pitches, so it's about 1 in 10. I think we kind of doubled it last year, but we did put a lot of applications in, but we did get quite a few meetings. So I want also to manage your expectations because last year I was obviously sponsoring the pitch, and then there were a lot of people who didn't get pitches and were very disappointed. So If you're still on the fence and going, well, I haven't got my ticket yet, I'm not sure, go through the whole of this process today, go and have a look at who's there and look at the requirements and decide whether it's something that's going to work for you. There are obviously other ways of going after retailers and, you know, we can talk about that at some other time, but just be aware this is— it's better than the lottery, that's for sure, but it's still going to be quite tough. Okay, so who's there? Sorry, this is a little bit blurry, but I'm gonna go through these in some detail. So one of the things to be aware of with Bread and Jam, and I know there's some people here who've done it more years than they care to remember, but this is only the start. So it does say at the bottom, more retailers to be announced soon. That's true, there will be. They're talking about 25 in total, and there's obviously not 25 up there. So it'll be interesting to see who's added on. So obviously I'm— I just, I was gonna do this webinar in 2 weeks' time, and then when they said they were opening the applications on Tuesday, I decided we needed to do it sooner rather than later. There is 2 viewpoints here about do you do it early or late. I know Tara has said in the past that, you know, they will pass on the applications quite early on, so, you know, if a retailer gets somebody and they go, well, they look good, or they look good and they look good, and then suddenly what you find is actually they haven't got any spaces left. So might be worth just getting in as soon as possible, it does no harm. So that's the link to the ticket. Normally I get a discount code. I did ask Bread and Jam if they were doing them this year, but I haven't had anything yet, so So if you're on the fence and you're still waiting and maybe don't do it till next week, then just drop me an email and I— and if I've got a discount code. In fact, what I will do is I will— if I get a discount code, I've obviously got all your emails, I'll send out the discount. It would be huge. Okay, so before we dig into the who's who, one of the things I do ask is, are you ready? And you know, as I say, last year I ran a whole course on are you ready, getting people retailer ready. But just some things to have a think about. Some of these are basics, and some of you I know are going to be going, well, of course we have a barcode, of course we comply with labeling regulations. But trust me, I've got clients who don't currently because they're coming in from overseas. So The most important one for me is, do you have enough of a brand following? And the reason that I put this in first is— excuse me— is this the right time for you to do this? Because I've worked with brands in the past where we've maybe launched too soon. And so you go onto the shelf and it's great, yay, you've got the listing, but actually it doesn't come off the shelf because people don't buy it because you haven't got enough followers. So have a think about, is your brand big enough to go after the retailers? Retailers that you are working with or want to work with. Second one, and we're going to cover this by retailer in a minute, do you comply with their requirements? So obviously if you're producing in a home kitchen or commercial kitchen, you might have EHO, which is fine for some of them but not many. SALSA, so SALSA's the sort of Stage 1, then BRC Stage 2, and then again, I don't know any of you coming in from overseas, FSSC 22000 is also acceptable. But in some cases you might need to prove the proof of accreditation fairly early. If you're work in progress on that, I would just say work in progress. And then obviously there's some local requirements as well, which we can look at as we go through. As I say, it goes without saying, if you're going on a retail shelf, UK regulations and having your barcodes. Do you know your numbers? Again, this is something that's quite a broad topic, but a lot of people kind of ask me, well, what margin are they looking for? And different retailers are looking for different margins. So As a very general rule of thumb, I would say if it's going direct to a retailer like Tesco's, you want to be thinking around the 40%, but it will depend on category. If you're going into someone via a wholesaler, which would include Whole Foods, Planet Organic, Selfridges, etc., you probably want to be looking at 50-55%. Having said that, I've just had a meeting with somebody this morning, just been listed with Selfridges, And they've agreed what they would say is a 35% margin based on their retail and just put the retail price up. So they're going to make the money back that way. So don't worry too much, but you do need to understand the finances and what you can afford to invest. And then do you have enough cash? I've got 2 clients at the moment who are raising funds purely to fund working capital to create the products. And actually, I've just been talking to somebody who's maybe going to be on Aldi's Next Best Thing, and I think they look for 25,000 to 30,000 units. And when you think about that, for some of you that's probably a breeze, but for others that's a heck of a lot of investment in terms of creating the products. And also settlement terms. So when they pay you, they ain't going to pay you on a pro forma. So it could be 14, 15 days if you're lucky, 30, 60, or even 90 days. So if you've got maybe a 3-month lead time on, on packaging and you're paying pro forma, you could be waiting an awful long time, maybe up to 6 months for your money. So you do need to think about that when you're picking who do you want to work with, and some are good and some are not so good. And then it's not enough to think about margin. You do need to think about what marketing investment is required as well. And again, different folks, different strokes. There's all sorts of different requirements. Some are easy and some are not so easy. And at the end of the day, the more you put behind marketing, the better it will sell, which is obviously— it does sound pretty obvious, but I was listening to a podcast on Diary of a CEO and Nicola from Deciem was talking about launch and love, and I just love this phrase, and I've just been quoting it all day, where basically if you launch a product, you've then got to give it the love to make it work. And I think that's really critical for any of these. You need to think about what marketing you're going to put behind it, whether it's trade marketing, paying to the retailer, or actually marketing to get it off the shelf. Okay, so that's that. thought process. So who, who have we got and what are they looking for? So as I say, I've, I've grabbed all of the forms and put them into a folder, and these, which is why it doesn't look very sexy, have been taken from that form. And I'm just going to run through each of them. If you've got any questions as we go through, then please do shout. This is the same as last year, actually. So Selfridges are looking for products in all categories, but they're particularly interested in cheese, deli, charcuterie, smoked salmon, health-focused, and vegan foods. The key to remember about Selfridges is they, they want to be first to market, so they will be looking for newness, and that's probably the most practical thing I can say about them. They are not hyped up about exclusivity, so don't worry too much because, as Adrian Boswell says, once it's on my shelf, it's old. So, and that's not necessarily the case, and there's brands there that have been there for hundreds of years, or probably are actually. But yeah, that's basically what they're looking for, new things. So that's Selfridges. So that's a nice good exposure and good start point if you're early on your journey. Whole Foods and Planet Organic, I'm kind of putting them together a little bit. Whole Foods and Planet Organic have been really difficult to get hold of this year. Planet Organic, obviously, for those of you who are not aware, have been through an administration process. They are now back in the game. I think there's 8 stores open. They closed 2 or 3. There, Rene Elliott is back in charge, who founded it, and I think it's going to be a really interesting business. And they, up until recently, have been closed on talking to new businesses, so this is probably the first opportunity that you'll have had to actually sell to them. They have similar requirements. So if we focus— look at Whole Foods to start with, they've also been extremely elusive. I'm I understand they haven't had as many buyers as maybe they should, so it'll be good to see if you can— if Whole Foods is on your list, which I know is on a lot of people's lists, this is a good opportunity. So looking at startups, high-quality, natural and organic, plant-based, environmentally friendly, ecologically responsible, can be ambient chilled or frozen, must-have salsa. So that's the key one, and the reason for this is obviously they don't want to come and audit your factory. It is the due— they see this as their due diligence to make sure that you have the quality. And also don't miss out on looking at this unacceptable ingredients list, and I've put it there. I will share these slides with you, and it's also on the Google Form. But they are quite strict, and there are some odd things on there that you wouldn't think about. So go and have a look and make sure that you're— because there's no point you wasting your time. Don't waste your time, their time, and take up a slot that you can't use. And then Planet Organic, again, I would advise— I mean, I'd advise you to go and look at all of, obviously, everybody's websites to get the information, but they Ideally want organic unless, unless there isn't an organic alternative. I did listen to Brand Growth Heroes, Fiona Fitzpatrick's great podcast where Renee was being interviewed. Go and have a listen to that if you're interested in Planet Organic because you will get some insights into what she's thinking for, for the future. But again, they are gonna be looking for salsa and they're looking for ambient chilled. products. And yeah, it's, it's, it's a, it's a good business. I've got, I've got one client in particular who does extremely well out of— well, did do extremely well out of Planet Organic. And then as you see, there's been a blip and now it's back on again. Okay, who else is on? Cotswold Fair. So Cotswold Fair is wholesaler, B Corp, Very much environmentally friendly. They are— they supply basically all of the independent delis, gift shops, farm shops. They're looking for ambient, chilled, and frozen speciality and fine foods, also looking for a minimum of salsa. If Cotswold Fair is your thing and you are making gift or you have some gift products, this is a little Handy top tip. They are on Range Me at the moment. This has nothing to do with Bread and Jam. They are on Range Me, and if you go on there and you want— they're looking for products for spring next year, spring gifts, and it's free to enter, so you don't have to hand over the big wadgets of cash that Range Me look for normally. So that's just— that's a little bonus top tip for you about Cotswold Fair. But again, go on to their website, see what other products they sell, have a look and see if it's what they're looking for. They only do— well, they do 3, I think it's 3 catalogues a year. The main one, which will be done at the end of this year, which is obviously what you'll be pitching for, plus the gift, and then they do a Christmas one as well. So just so you know, it's not easy to get into them. So again, this is a good opportunity. Little case study to break it up a little bit. Last year, Abel and Co— Cole, sorry— were on, and Claudia, who I've been working with now for about 18 months, Black Mamba, we— she pitched— actually, I didn't do it for her. We pitched to Ocado and Abel and Co, and we've just agreed a listing in Abel and Co. So I mentioned that for 2 reasons. One, I'm sure Abel and Co— well, I'm not sure, but Abel and Co hopefully will be on the list as as it grows over the next couple of weeks. But also just to say that's a year, and yeah, it takes a while, and you'll see that as we go through this. There's a few occasions where it takes a while, and actually those of you who maybe were on this last year or the year before will know my first bread and jam pitch that I did, which was to Costco, took us nearly 3 years to pull off. So— Yeah, it takes a while. Okay, back, back to the main story. So I just thought I would pop this in for you. This is, this is Kantar data. You can get this if you go on to— if you, if you Google something like Kantar UK market share, you'll go straight to this slide. And they do, they read the market, and I always find it useful context. So this is for 12 weeks ending 14th of May, which was the last one that was on there when I, when I screenshot this a couple of days ago. And it's quite interesting because it just gives you an idea of who does what. So there's Tesco's dropping back. So this is year on year from 27 down to 20— sorry, 27.4 to 27.1. Sainsbury's holding their own, Asda okay, Morrison's really have had a bad hit. And obviously, you've got Lidl and Aldi really in growth. Co-op pulled back a little bit, primarily, I think, because of the fact that they were obviously strong in convenience during pandemic, and all that's kind of dropped off. Waitrose have had some well-publicised issues around, around the cost of their products and also availability recently, actually. Iceland pretty much the same. Ocado, same. And then you've got the bits and bobs at the bottom. So I think that kind of also puts it into context because the majority of people that we're looking at here, apart from the retailers I'm going to talk about in this next slide, sit down in those bits and bobs. So, you know, Ocado is a perfect— I know, for Trish, but I've got a— Whoever that is, mute please. Yes, thank you. I've lost my train of thought now. Yes, so yes, Ocado are really fantastic for sort of starting off, but to make it work, you really do need a good amount of marketing investment, but I'll talk about that a bit more in a minute. So Tesco's are up there, they are coming. Some of the applications aren't quite ready yet, so when I went and had a look at this the other day, Tesco's wasn't there. I will update the folder for you so that I've created this Google Drive, and as, as more retailers come on and more application forms come on, I will update it. But I don't know what Tesco's going to ask. Sainsbury's, I think, get the prize for the most complex application form. They have had a Challenger Brand Accelerator program quite a while. This year they're looking for impulse health and wellness. They are looking for exclusivity, and I believe this now, it is a year's exclusivity. So it says that exclusivity for major malts and discounters, and not interested in meat, fish, and poultry, and floral. But the key point for me is if you're already a long way down the line with another retailer, then this is not the approach for you. That doesn't mean you can't approach Sainsbury's because there are other ways of doing it, but through this process you won't get in. As I say, they truly have one of the most complicated forms I've seen in a long time. So they want to know about your team, they want to know who your investors are, they want to— there's a lot there. But actually it does mean they're serious and they're, you know, so go and have a look at it and if you want some help filling it in, then obviously give me a shout. The Co-op have been great actually, and you may have noticed on that first slide when I was sort of talking about some of the successes we've had, we've had a lot of success with clients of mine with the Co-op's, what they call the incubator program, the Apiary. And they are— it's just ongoing, ongoing recruiting. It's a program, so you get mentoring, you get workshops, you get support, a little bit like Sainsbury's, but I think it's probably a lot more intense. And they are looking for suppliers, as most people are these days, cooperating for a fairer world, values, ethics, and principles are key, purpose-led, chilled, frozen, ambient. And remember, it's about convenience. So a lot of the successes that we've had have been convenient. So overnight oats and also goodness has got a listing in there. So think about, does your product fit within these retailers? Because it's quite important. So for example, Tesco. One of my earliest clients, we got into Tesco's, or she got into Tesco's actually before I started working with her, and then we tried to get into other people and they all went, no, you're in Tesco's, we don't want to work with you anymore. So there's There's a little bit of a sequence of events sometimes. So the sex— I'd say a couple of successful stories from Co-op. So goodness, so Yogita and Lauren were on the Retailer Ready Programme last year, and Better Nature have just recently, I think in the last couple of months, launched into Tesco's. So that's— and They have a lot of listings already, so it wasn't their first one, and it seems to be doing well. So other retailers who are on the list at the moment: Ocado, Challenger Brands to get in front of their active customers. That that application form wasn't up when I did this. GoPuff. So we've got GoPuff and Getia, two rapid delivery grocers. They've all been. It's all been a bit quiet on rapid grocery recently, but GoPuff. looking for salsa, and I suspect Getir, who've just merged with Gorillas, who are going to be quite big as well, will also be looking for the same thing. Holland Barrett. Now, Holland Barrett may well be important for quite a few of you on this webinar. They are looking for natural, healthy, ambient, chilled, and frozen. Chilled is back into Holland Barrett now. They relaunched that last year. I have had success with Holland and Barrett with a couple of clients recently. You need deep pockets, that's all I will say. You do need deep pockets, but they are open to newness, vegan, organic, all good for Holland and Barrett. They have online, they have in-store, there are options to have a combination of both. So again, as you're as your starter retailer, they could well be a really good match for you. The only thing I will say is be aware that they are not big enough to fall under the Grocery Suppliers Code of Practice, so GSCoP, which means some of their approaches to commerciality might be slightly different to the big 5, 4, 6, whatever. The bigger retailers who do come under that. Ocado do, and so do Amazon. And if you're interested, there was an article about who's who's doing well and who's not doing well in treating suppliers, which is on my LinkedIn. I posted about it. I think it was yesterday. Amazon are bottom and M&S are top. But M&S are not in this gig. And there's the success that we had with Keto Eight last year. So she's launched her snacks into there, and it's, and it's going well, actually, but quite the volumes they suggested. But anyway, it's, it's working. And then we have a couple of old, not old ones, but that they're not retailers exactly. So Virgin Atlantic are looking for drinks. So if you see Virgin Atlantic and get excited because you've got snacks, it does say quite specifically drinks only. It doesn't really say much else. And then Wadsworth Group, there's usually a few like this that are just sort of what I call outliers, but it could be very interesting. So they're looking for menu solutions, and there's lots of good information there about, you know, what they're looking for and how you can approach it. So it does sit more within food service, which is not my area of expertise, but If it's, if it's something that fits with you, it might be worth having a go. I don't think they're gonna be as manically popular as probably Whole Foods and Planet Organic usually are. Having said that, and we may well see this data printed later, Planet Organic and Whole Foods tend to field more than one buyer. So it's not as though you're just, you know, there's one buyer for an hour or something that you— there's quite an opportunity. Usually. And then Tom Savano. So James did a power hour with me last year. And I have to be completely honest, I don't know whether this Virgin— I don't think this Virgin Atlantic came from Bread and Jam, but I'm not sure. But he launched recently onto Virgin Atlantic, which was his, his retailer of choice, you know, that's where he really wants to be. So he's really done well with that. And then they've just launched into WHSmith, who I don't know if they're going to be there. But really, I did a deal with WHSmith last year, you really, really need deep pockets for them. Your entry level is £20-30K marketing investment, and it probably won't break even in the first year. Okay, so who do you want to supply? Have a think about this. I talked about it at the beginning, but What's your route to market? And think about bread and jam as part of your route to market launch strategy. It's not obviously the only thing that's available. No, I'm getting feedback. Is everybody muted? No, we're not, because it's gonna really annoy me. Hang on, let me just see. Is everybody muted? That's better. Whatever happened there, that's gone. Okay, so yes, so think about what your route to market strategy is. Who are you really targeting? It's, you know, just because the Wadsworth Pub Group's there, it might not be right for you. If you weren't going to do food service, don't suddenly go, oh well, let's have a go, let's have a go at food service. make sure that it's strategic what you're thinking about. Obviously, are you compliant with their requirements? Have you got what they're looking for? And do you have deep enough pockets? And I do feel, you know, you will find as I'm going to go through how to make the application, and you will find there are some things that I would say, all right, have a go, but, you know, If, if they're saying they're only looking for drinks, don't waste their time and your time by applying for snacks. There are other ways to do it. Get in touch, we can think about other ways. That's my answer. So is everyone else now back, or is it just me? You're getting— you're getting— Because it stopped. Someone went back and now it's going again. Hang on, hang on. See if everyone could mute. Oh, that's better. Maybe that's it. Okay, off we go. Hang on, I've got a couple of questions in the chat. Oh, Annabelle's asking, you mentioned pitch rate, do we know the conversion to pitch to listing? No, it's a difficult one to monitor. Obviously, I know the people that I worked with. I would suggest maybe ask the Bread and Jam guys what success level they've had. So we'll see. see what— but it's— the problem is, and as I said before, what you find is, you know, you might say, well, how was it? But it's not over. You know, if it takes 3 years to get a listing, it might not be over yet. So, you know, you might say, well, the conversion rate was, I don't know, 5%, but actually in a year's time it might be 10%. So it is a difficult one to do. So getting ready to apply. I know I've mentioned this a lot, but I'm going to say it again. Do you fit the criteria? I sat at a presentation, an onstage pitch to Planet Organic, and someone didn't have free-range eggs in their product, and they'd been shortlisted, so the buyer obviously hadn't picked it up. And literally, that was the first thing. That's the end of this conversation. So make sure you fit the criteria. And as I say, with the only thing I would say, and you know, I said there's some flexibility. If you don't have Salsa or BRC or any of the accreditations, have a go with Planet Organic. It's not the end of the world. And I do know that there's products there that don't have Salsa. So it's worth saying Salsa in progress or accreditation in progress or something like that and deal with it later on. I just sort of, you know, let's have at least a little bit of a chance. So the second thing, which is equally crucial, is do your research. And, you know, go and look at the stores. Maybe, you know, if you're going for Virgin Atlantic and you've got a drink, getting onto the plane might be an investment in your business too far. But, you know, if you can get anybody you know to go to the to the lounges because one of the— the way Virgin works, just sorry, back a bit, but the way they work is that they ask you if you'll give them free stock to try and see how well it goes in the lounge before you launch. So that's quite an interesting opportunity. So one of the questions on the Virgin thing is, will you give free samples? So if you want to be on that bus, you do need to say yes. And then it's not super loads because I remember when James told me that, I was like, you've got to be kidding. I'm not, you know, I don't think you should give us. Anyway, it wasn't much, it was worth it, well worth doing. Okay, so visit the stores or the pubs or whatever it is, have a think about where would your products sit best. Obviously do all the stuff that you would do, but really clearly make a note of the competition, put your product on shelf and take a photograph, think about it, have a look at what promotions do they run, if they run promotions, are they sampling, Take photos, because if you're successful, and for those of you actually, how is it gonna work? I think for all of you who apply, there is a workshop on the 5th of July, which is run by Bread and Jam, which is delivered by me in conjunction with North Star. So if you are successful, you're gonna need this information anyway. So you may as well get on with it, because it will help you. Work out your application. So be really, really clear about what's there at the moment, what's their motivation, why are they putting products out, what do they seem to like, what's working, what's not working. Go on to Google, go on to LinkedIn. ChatGPT for this does not work because most ChatGPT is not modern enough because I think it stops in historically in September '21, but ChatGPT is another option. Have a look at their website, have a look at their social media, go and have a look at the buyer if you can find out who it is. You won't be told, by the way, before you ask, but again, it's worth going and having a look at LinkedIn. Just know that retailer. And that work is quite a lot. And, you know, for somebody who probably last year, for some clients, might have made up to 10 applications, It's a lot of work. And as I say, when we come to the end of this, I am offering to help people with this. I'm doing 2 visits next week to stores with some other clients actually, but I will be taking photographs. So if you need some help and maybe you're not in the UK, then I can help you on that. Just get in touch. So you know now what's out there. So then the key part, and we'll talk about the questions in a minute, is what is your unique value proposition? Now I have put up here which talks about your unique selling point, and I think, or selling proposition, I think some of the questions are actually about what's your unique selling point, but I like to call value proposition because it's not just about selling, it's actually what value are you gonna create for the retailer. So have a think about what's your brand purpose, what's it doing well, how does it dovetail with what the consumer is looking for. Think about what your competitors are doing, so what's there at the moment and what can you bring to the party that transforms the retailer's life. It is not your job to say, I want— I recommend you delist this one because we'd be so much better, but think in those lines. Go walk in the retailer's shoes. Why should they take the risk of listing you? And you know, you need to stand out because this is a 1 in 10 chance. So make sure that the value proposition you're putting together resonates with what they're looking for, which is why you do all that research, which is why you look at the competitors, and then you take your brand and you go, right, let's tailor this. And that's why you can't cut and paste. It just doesn't work. Some of it does. Okay, so let's have a look at this slide. If you want the question folder, and I will send it out in an email, but there is a QR code. If you click on that, you should go straight through to the questions. If you don't, please put it in the chat. And those of you who've worked with me before or know me, admin is not my number one superpower. So if it doesn't work, we will sort it out. So the questions. These are not all the questions, but I've picked out questions that I think are of interest. So, and I can't remember, I think this was Sainsbury's. In one sentence, what's your brand purpose? So it's a little bit like your elevator pitch, but, you know, if you've done a lot of work on your brand, it should be relatively straightforward. But think about it in relation to them, okay? So even if you've got a mission statement, it needs to be tailored. And then don't do a— try not to do a sentence that's like got 16 different parts to it. Something succinct, something that they're gonna go, That's us, that works for us. The next one which you'll see in— and sorry, just for those of you who've never done Bread and Jam before, every single form is different. There is not one form that's the same, which is a shame really, but anyway, it is what it is. They're all looking for different things, but a lot of them ask this question: please provide a description of your brand and products including USPs or not including USPs. And also some of them ask about the brand and then some of them ask about the products. Obviously the 2 things are different, so make sure you're clear on your brand proposition and you're clear on the USP of your products because the 2, as I say, could be quite different. And some of them have questions and some of them don't. Sorry, some of them will ask you about the brand, some of them ask you about products, some both. How would your product complement what we already offer at Wadsworth? Well, you know where this one's come from. But it's an interesting question, so you need to do your homework and go and have a look at their menus and work out how you can complement what we already offer. So, you know, these quite— the reason that last year I did, I think I did about 10 power hours last year with clients, because you look at these questions, you go, I don't— I'm not sure. And some of you will be just absolutely fine, you've been doing it for ages and it's been fine. So But some of these do need a bit of crafting because you want to stand out. This is the thing. This is, this is competitive, very competitive. Why would you be beneficial to retailer X? There's a couple of these. And it's, it's a tough question, actually. It depends what they're looking for. I mean, at the end of the day, why do retailers exist? It's to sell stuff. I don't think To sell stuff is probably the right answer. But think about what it is about your brand which will bring value to them. And there's lots of different answers here. So it could be about, it could be about sales, it could be rate of sale, it could be newness, it could be innovation, it could be footfall, it could be people. You know, we have 43,000 followers, we're going to bring those people to you. There's all sorts of different reasons why you could be beneficial, and we just need to pick the one that we think is appropriate, or 2 or 3. Which actually, I think I do say it in the next slide, but be succinct. I have seen pages written on applications, and I'm honestly not sure, I haven't checked, but I don't think, you know, the number of words is is limited. And just something else to say that I do a lot of analysis on buyer personalities. They tend to have red personalities, which means they tend to have short attention spans. So long essays will not crack it. Does your product tap into new or upcoming trend? If so, what? That one I think probably would be relatively good for all of you. If you're struggling with what are new and upcoming trends, I would head over to Food People. Again, if you want that, if you don't know who they are, I'll dig out their email address. Email address, well, I have that as well. The website's quite useful. Would you offer exclusivity? So this is my favorite question, or one of my favorite questions, because normally I would say no. But if they're asking, then I think you could say something like, yes, but it depends on the situation. I don't think— unless, um, unless you're applying to Tesco and you're already in Sainsbury's, which obviously means you can't offer exclusivity, and then you would explain it, I would go for yes. it's a straight one. And then you can negotiate later. It doesn't mean you're going to do it, it just means you could. Have you approached retailer X before? That's a fact. So, and people often ask me, well, should we, shouldn't we, should we, shouldn't we? If you've approached them before, then say yes. And then the last one, which is a bit of my favorite, do you have any additional comments? They don't all have that. That's— that is a golden opportunity for you to say something. And I'm not saying you just fill it up with rubbish, but if there's not been an opportunity to talk about your, I don't know, your followers or your marketing plans or something that's really— or your awards or something really pertinent that's not come out in the rest of the form, stick it in there. And if you think you've covered everything you possibly can, there must be something else you can say. That is a golden opportunity. And I know some people just don't bother filling it in because it's like, no, I just think I've said it all. It's all— this is your one opportunity to make a good impression, I suppose. Okay. So I pulled this one out and I will tell you the story of this. So I did work with Good Grain and she wrote some of them and I wrote some of them. And This is the one I wrote, I think, and it's very factual and it's very cold, and it was for Whole Foods. And as you'll see on the next page, she got a listing, although she has— she got it— when did she get it? Beginning of the year. And then she wrote another one, and she wrote it and it was incredibly passionate and it was um, for Planet Organic. And I was like, oh, and she said, yeah, I put it in already. And I went, oh, it's so long and it's so passionate. And it's— anyway, she got a list, she got a pitch for that as well. So it's interesting. Um, and people do ask me, well, you know, what's the tone? What do we— my advice would be do the tone that, that works for your brand, um, whatever that might be. But if when you're ready and you've read the questions and you've gone through it, Draft your responses, put it onto the, the Google Forms that I've downloaded, make sure you're tailoring and be as clear and succinct as possible, but also let your brand shine through. And you know, this looks like a fairly basic application. This crafting, this took a lot of time actually, certainly more than the power hour that I'm suggesting you might be looking for anyway. You might have it all done and ready. And there is the lovely Good Grain and Whole Foods looking very happy. And then, as I say, make sure you upload it on the website, keep a copy. But as I say, they will send you a copy hopefully this year, but I just like to make sure that I have it because if you do get the pitch and you get that in the email on the 14th and you go, oh my God, then it's going to be quite exciting. And you need to remember what you said because it's going to be so long ago. Well, maybe you will remember, but anyway. And as I say, first come, first served. I don't know whether that's true or not, and I suspect it depends on the retailer, but the sooner you get it done, the better, and it's out the way. But don't stint on your research. Do the research. Do the work. And if you can't get to the stores for a week or 2, it's not going to be the end of the world if you put it in a bit later. So that's my advice. What are you going to do once you put your application in? And right at the beginning I talked about the B in buyer, which is all around building— sorry, raising brand awareness. The buyer is going to see your application. They do see all applications. Applications, Bread and Jam don't field them or filter them in any shape or form other than to take them out if you haven't put your Eventbrite number on. So just a warning, make sure you've got your ticket and you've put the number on it. But I really would be thinking about your trade press. So build your social media following and make sure that you're doing the trade marketing effectively. Something actually which I've just thought about, one of the questions that comes up a lot on the applications which I haven't mentioned is category. What's your category? It's really important that you get the right category, so go to the retailer and have a look, either have a look in store or online, because they all call them different things and it's a nightmare. So you might work in ice cream and they might call it frozen desserts. It's a rookie thing, but I just think it looks really professional. And the reason it's reminding me here is if you're doing hashtags and they're looking for frozen desserts, maybe frozen vegan desserts, make sure that you're using the hashtags that they might be looking for. Update your LinkedIn. Those of you who've been to webinars of mine in the past will know I am very passionate about LinkedIn and getting it right. So go and have a think about your company page, your personal page, start writing some good stuff about your brand, about its place in the market. I don't know, you could even do some fun stuff like take a photograph of your brand on the shelf of Planet Organic and post it and tag them. And, you know, it's happening more, so it's not quite such an unusual thing to do, but I think it's quite worth it. And it doesn't have to be on LinkedIn. You could do it on. I've seen some successful Instagram campaigns doing that. Get some PR coverage if you can. Great opportunity, say you've just got a listing, stick that out there, put it out and see if you can get some coverage. Grocer, specialty food magazine, etc., etc., all worth doing. Work your network, you know, Bread and Jam is an amazing networking opportunity, but just Make sure, find out if you can find out who the buyer is. Find out who knows him or her. You know, have a look at my LinkedIn. Please do. Actually, I haven't. I usually say link in with me. If you're not linked in with me, and I know most of you are, do link in with me because I am linked in with an awful lot of buyers. And if I'm not, I'm linked in with someone who is. So work your network. Promote yourself as a founder. One of the things that Lauren has done very well from Otsu is She speaks quite a lot, and she's out there. So it's well worth being that person who speaks, that person who is the story. And it's interesting, actually. I was listening— I don't know if any of you listen to Making— I think it's called Making the Cut with Davina McCall's podcast, which is lovely, actually. I listen to it when I'm walking the dog. And They were talking about, oh, you know, the about us is really important. We really want to know who owns the brands. And I just thought that was, that was really interesting. So I just mentioned that as, as the founder. And then get on some podcasts, you know, go and see if you've had some successes, apply to some of the podcasts that are available. I mentioned Fiona, Hungry is another one, and there's there's lots of others, for goodness sake. Actually, I think I'm recording next week, so there's lots. Get yourself out there. It's good profile raising. And even, you know, the Bread and Jam Agenda isn't totally locked down yet, if you've seen the festival guide. So if you've got something to say, have a look at the guide and say, well, actually, I could be— I could sit on your panel for that. It's just fantastic. fantastic profile raising. So all of these things before the 14th of July, which obviously is when we might find out. So I have been hinting I'm going to flog you something. Last year I did a lot of Power Hours, and I've kind of packaged them a little bit differently this year. So I've got 2 proposals. One is done with you, so you write the applications, but what I do is I do a power hour with you, and I'm kind of fattening it a little bit this year, so I'll also be there in the background with mentoring support. So if you then get a pitch or you want me to have a look at what you've written, I will give you that support as part of that power hour, which is a 2-for-7. And then if you want done for you, so I wrote— gosh, I can't remember how many I wrote last year, but I wrote quite a few applications for people. Done for you is a little bit different. It is quite a jump in price, but there's a lot of work involved because I need to do a workshop with you to really understand your business. I then go and do the competitor research for you, write and submit the application— I can submit the applications for you actually physically doing that, or you can do them yourself. And then you get the support, and then part of that package is the bonus hour. So if you get an— if you get a pitch, we can use it on that and I can coach you on how to pitch, or you can use it on future strategy. If you don't get any pitches at all, then we can talk about how you can go after other things and do other things like Product Guru or applying directly. So if you want to book, that's on my website, virology.co.uk/breadandbeer. jam. And I think you would find it really beneficial. As I say, we doubled the success rate and we got 21 pitches last year that I managed to find out about anyway. So, okay, so it's all been very, very quiet and well behaved, and there's some people who were successful last year which we've talked about. Any questions? Anything People want to ask. I've got a couple of messages. Okay. Anybody else got anything they want to ask before we close off for the day? Oh, very quiet. No. Hello, John. Yes, Karen, but I'll send you an email and get in touch through LinkedIn rather than ask it specifically now. Okay, no worries. But very good, very informative, and definitely looking to do something. Well, I hope that has been useful. Thank you, James, for everybody. And as I say, if you've got questions or anything, then feel free to drop me an email. You've got The email karen@foodmentor.co.uk. And as I say, remember, 5th of July will be the workshop, and if you apply, you will get an invitation. It won't be like last year where your only successful applicants get the workshop. It'll be everybody, so that'll be quite fun. Okay, thank you very much for your time. Glad it was useful. And yes, Get in touch if you want to work with me. Very happy to help with a Power Hour or, or even do it for you. All right. Thank you very much. Have a lovely weekend, and I will speak to you all soon. Thank you.