Pitching and finding brokers

[Judy "the foodie" Asman]

Hi, everyone,

I'm branching into the area of taking specialty foods to market and am at the point where I have more questions than I do have contributions. One day, I hope to know enough to help others through my own learning experiences.

Having said that, I was wondering if anyone can offer tips on finding and pitching brokers. It seems as if there's a limited market for brokers who work with retailers (or so that's what my client and I have been told).

We are hoping to launch the product this summer and I'd like to get some tips on:

1) Finding retail brokers
2) Finding food service brokers (as we'd like to sell to kitchens as well)
3) Determining the most effective marketing materials for the brokers (cut sheets with nutritional info, bios) and so on.

I'm not sure how proprietary this info is but if anyone can direct me to resources, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Judy "the foodie"

[IMKENOBI]

Hi Judy,

First off, go to your local library and get a copy of: "From Kitchen to Market - Selling Your Gourmet Food Specialty," by me.

Then read the section on how to get a broker (we have about 37 pages of new stuff that we are preparing for the 5th edition of the book.)

The challenge you might have is attracting really good brokers. Most will probably have little if any room for a anew product, unless you have a really attractive promotional deal. Ask retailers for names of brokers with whom they deal.

Once you get in front of a broker, she/he will tell you what they need in terms of marketing collateral for their region.

Let me know how this works.

Best wishes for great profits!

Steve

[Judy "the foodie" Asman]

Thanks, Steve,

I will definitely revisit your book for that information. I see now that you've included an extensive list in Appendix E. Looking forward to reading the 5th edition.

Judy "the foodie"