Have you ever wondered what to put in “about us” section in a commercial offer? If you want to become a most wanted supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables retail market in Poland you should be aware what type of suppliers are intensively sought by Polish retailers. That will allow you to present your company in the most positive way and highly increase your chances of success on the Polish retail market.
Good offer of fruit and vegetables
In my last article I shared some insights on most wanted products on the Polish fruit and vegetables retail market. I mentioned that a good product offer should bring some added value for the buyer by addressing his/her needs or problems within the fresh fruit and vegetables category. Information that you may find in that article will help you everytime you send an offer to a retailer – no matter whether you do it for the first time or it is another offer sent.
Unique value proposition – two sources
When contacting the buyer for the first time in order to become a supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables in Poland, a product offer is not the only thing we should be include in commercial presentation. What is equally important is to tell a few words about you as a supplier and present your company properly. Your uniqueness may come from 2 sources: your product offer or supplier profile. The second part is usually worth mentioning at the beginning of the cooperation, when you are reaching the retailer for the first time.
My experience as a category manager
In my last article I wrote that the majority of product offers I received were not of the highest quality. Surprisingly, the supplier profile section in offers was usually much more attractive. Usually suppliers included information about their companies and presented crucial facts about them. Anyway there is always some room for improvement, so in this article you will find out best practices that you may apply to when creating an “about us” section of your offer.
Why is it worth describing you as a supplier?
At first glance, putting “about us” part to your commercial presentation might seem unnecessary. It is retail after all and product price should be most important. Contrary to popular belief, offering the lowest price on the market is not the only step to become a supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables in Poland.
How many problems should the buyer expect?
Experienced buyers within the fresh fruit and vegetables category are very cautious when looking at new commercial offers. They have already seen many fairy tales and probably believed in few. As a result, they ended up without the product on the shelves and with angry bosses and most importantly – customers. Supplier analysis is a perfect tool that allows them to validate how many problems they should expect with a supplier and what is the probability that the supplier will deliver what he/she promised in the product offer.
Direct sourcing – big trend in retail market
A very important reason for inputting the “about us” section into the presentation is a direct sourcing trend within fresh fruit and vegetables category that has been developing among retailers for couple of years. Biggest retailers want to work as close to the producer/grower as it is possible. There are many reasons for that, with cost savings and quality standardization as top two.
What information should you put into “About us ” section
A good start that allows the buyer to match your location with products you offer. That tells him what season he/she might be discussing with you and it will also reveal whether you are offering products from your country or from different countries. Also, location should not only include offices but above all warehouses and production and packing facilities. If you have a new company and your year of foundation is not impressive, then you might omit this part.
Experience with retail
In this section you might tell the buyer whether you have ever worked with any retailer. Working directly with retail comes with certain difficulties and challenges. So if you have previously worked with any retailer before it is worth showing off a little bit. If you have yet to commence cooperation with retailers, you might mention your experience with wholesalers acting as direct retailer suppliers. For example if you have experience in packing and preparing the product according to the retailer quality specification but for the wholesaler – feel free to mention this!
Infrastructure
Boring, but necessary. Mention all equipment that helps you to pack and prepare the product more quickly, more efficiently, more thoroughly than others. By mentioning that you are sending a clear signale to the buyer: my service level will be perfect and there will be no rejections at all!
Quality certificates
Another basic information. From my experience almost always included by the suppliers. Try to put all international certificates. If you want to become supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables in Poland you will most probably need at least basic certificates.
Most wanted suppliers on Polish market
As mentioned before, there is a big trend among Polish retailers to work directly with the growers. Couple of years ago the biggest retail chain in Poland created a special section for working directly with Polish farmers. The same trend applies to international suppliers. Many retailers created global sourcing divisions that search for producers from all around the world willing to start delivering to become suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables in Poland. So if you are a grower with export capacity – Polish retail market will welcome you with open arms!
Cooperatives
Let’s face it – it is usually very difficult for the grower to export the product by himself/herself. Retailers are aware of this fact therefore when they look for partners abroad, cooperatives are usually very preferable partners. One of the challenges of a category manager is to differentiate between a regular trade company and a cooperative. So if you are cooperative and you want to become a supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables in Poland you should be prepared to answer questions like:
- how many growers are associated in your cooperative?
- what is the total surface of field of growers associated in your cooperative?
- what is your growers’ annual total production
A regular trade company, buying on spot and selling to clients, will not be able to answer those questions.
Companies from less-obvious directions
Countries like Spain, Greece, Italy are substantial fresh fruit and vegetables producers and are well known by Polish buyers. Therefore retailers usually already have some supplier base from those regions. It does not mean that you cannot become a supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables in Poland being a company from Spain, Greece or Italy. It only means that you will have to offer more than that.
On the other hand
There are multiple countries with quite a production of fresh fruit and vegetables that are currently gaining more and more popularity among Polish retailers (e.g. Serbia, Morocco, Egipt, South Africa). Products from those origins are well known on the shelves but are usually delivered by middlemen. So if you are a company from one of these countries, I believe this is a right moment for you to start conquering the Polish retail market.
Where to start?
If you read an article and found yourself among the most wanted suppliers on the Polish fruit and vegetables retail market, then it is time to act. If you are not sure what should be your first step on the Polish retail market you may contact me and schedule a free 15 minute consultation. During this time we will discuss:
- what is the potential of your company on Polish retail market?
- which of your products might be the most interesting for Polish retailers?
- what partners you may find in Poland?
- how to organize deliveries effectively