What does it take to make a candy cane, package it, market it, and distribution?
Today’s post is from our SafeSourcing Inc. Archives
What does it take to make a candy cane, package it, market it, and distribution? All of these involve procurement. Today, the candy cane makes up a significant amount of the $1.4 billion Christmas candy market. In fact, billions of candy canes are made and consumed each year.
We have learned the history of the candy cane in part 1 and what ingredients are needed to make candy canes and how to procure the raw ingredients in part 2, and yesterday we learned how to make a candy cane and package it. Today we will cover how to market your product and how SafeSourcing can help you.
How to market your candy canes?
There are multiple companies out there who will help you in your areas of packaging, production and marketing. These companies can handle all of these areas in house for you or you can hire each area out individually. As with purchasing or procuring anything it is best to do your research.
Typically using a company who serves all your needs in house will be the most cost effective, however it is still worth running a request for proposal to find out who they are, who their current clients are, areas of service they can provide, examples of product they have created, a prototype of an idea for your product, their solution on how to market your product, and a pricing model. Even with this helpful tool, it is still beneficial to interview the company.
An in house company should be able to provide at a minimum:
Brand management:
o Data Management
o Project Management
Printer
Color Lab
Artwork
Proofing
Prepress
Brand Protection
In addition to having the best product, best packaging, and best marketing you need to have the basic business 101 logic to selling your product according toan article in entrepreneur.com
Get the correct buyer: One of your biggest challenges is finding the right buyer within a large organization, so do your homework. If you’re experiencing roadblocks, consider hiring a distributor or manufacturer’s rep who already has established relationships in your industry.
Be prepared: Develop a presentation and have professional-looking sell sheets ready. Your product should also have packaging that’s ready to go.
Know your target: Understand what products they already carry and how yours will fit in. Don’t waste your time pitching to a retailer who’s unlikely to carry your product.
Take advantage of special programs: Some mass retailers, such as Wal-Mart, have local purchase programs that give managers authority to try local items. And other retailers may have different initiatives, such as minority business programs.
Be patient: It can take up to a year or longer before you see your product on store shelves, so don’t get frustrated. And if the final answer is no, try to turn it into a learning experience.
Finally, remember there are other sales channels besides the traditional brick-and-mortar retail store. Catalogs, TV shopping networks and online stores can also be excellent methods to enable you to learn how to market a product online.
SafeSourcing, Inc. can help you source your packaging, production, and prepress services, create and run a Request for Proposal and compress the suppliers pricing by running a Request for Quote. For more information on how we can help you with your procurement needs or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. We have an entire customer services team waiting to assist you today.
We look forward to your comments.
