How to Get Your Product on Shelf in Canada | CPG Distribution
About this episode
Jim Kavanagh shares insights on the costs and strategies involved in getting products on shelf in Canadian grocery stores.
Jim Kavanagh spent 49 years in Canadian grocery as a Sobeys and Metro category manager, a distributor, and now a food broker. He explains what getting on shelf actually costs. In this episode: - Why a $30,000 listing fee can be the wrong move in year one, and what to take instead. - What a category manager is thinking the moment you sit down: what am I removing for you? - Off-invoice programs, free fills, shrink allowances, and the costs founders never model, - How to read a store before you pitch it, including the dust ring trick - Why retailers now demand non-GMO certification instead of accepting the claim on pack, - The signs Jim uses to decide a brand isn't ready for a broker yet Jim founded Brandseed Marketing in 2014 after leaving a senior grocery role at 51. He represents better-for-you brands into Canadian retail and works as a master broker into the US. He turns down brands that compete with each other on the same shelf, which is rarer in brokerage than founders assume. Website - https://www.brandseedmarketing.ca/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkavanagh/ Shelf to Scale is a weekly podcast for CPG and FMCG founders navigating distribution, retail, and…
People in this episode
Host: Devesh Tilokani
Guest: Jim Kavanagh
Topics covered
- CPG distribution
- retail strategy
- grocery industry insights
- product listing
- category management
- non-GMO certification
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Sobeys, Metro, Brandseed Marketing
Places: Canada, US
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