What Walmart wants from food entrepreneurs

NEW YORK – The goal of food and beverage startup founders is to establish a retail footprint. Most start with regional independent retailers, learn and then continue trying to add distribution. But buyers from Walmart Inc., Bentonville, Ark., who spoke at the Summer Fancy Food Show taking place this week, said founders should not ignore the world’s largest retailer as an option.

Gabriela Caceres, senior merchant for Walmart, said one of the biggest misconceptions new brands have is “coming into Walmart is going to erode their brand equity.”

“Maintaining everyday low price does not mean we are going to erode what you built,” she said. “We are here to serve all of America.”

Dee Charlemagne, senior director of emerging brands merchandising for Walmart, said, “Launching at Walmart doesn’t mean launching in store. Think about your digital presence with Walmart. How your product shows up digitally is just as important as how it shows up on shelf in our 4,600 stores.”

The online presence of new brands is paramount. Currently one out of every three Walmart customers shops online. Caceres said she expects that number very soon to be one out of every two Walmart customers.

“Don’t think of us as the big 4,600 store retailer,” Caceres said. “We can be niche. We could test a product in as little as 50 stores. We can do it regionally. We want to set you up for success.

She added that, “We don’t launch and forget. Retail is detail. Before we align on any launch, we are going to work on expectations; what success looks like in a specific category.”

It’s a partnership, the speakers said. A startup must be on call and ready to pivot if expectations are not being met.

“Evaluate your business every week,” Caceres said. “There are a lot of avenues (we can use) to drive traffic to your brand. You have to be in the business from a weekly standpoint.”

Avenues may include sampling. It also may include improving a brand’s online presence.

“You have to be intentional with where you launch and how you launch,” Charlemagne said. “Think of the retailer as a partner. It’s not just transactional.”

Caceres added, “We really want to see your brand grow. We can do this collaboratively.”

From left, Dee Charlemagne, senior director of emerging brands merchandising for Walmart, and Gabi Caceres, senior merchant, discuss how food entrepreneurs can work with the retailer.

| Source: Sosland Publishing Co.

So, what’s trending now at Walmart? It should be no surprise that better-for-you continues to be a hot spot.

“Global is also on fire,” Caceres said. “(But) product mixes look very different in Miami than they do in Dallas. We focus on bringing culturally relevant brands to customers. They really want to explore bold flavors.

 “We curate an assortment (of products) that is relevant across everyone, because again, we serve all of America. We have premium shoppers. Premium and value do exist in the same space. If the value is there for the customer, price is not an issue.”

Founders must know their target customer and communicate who their audience is to the merchant. Reaching that customer needs to be intentional.  

At the end of a test run, the three things that are most important to Caceres are unit velocity, sales metric trends from week to week and how a brand shows up online. Brands need to ensure consistency and authenticity. They also need to be ready to pivot and improve, she said.

“Know the consumer you are serving as the merchant needs to know who they are selling to,” she said. “And the brand connection (you have) helps me understand what roll you have in the set.”