Brands: Orders and Promotions - Help Center

Brands: Orders and Promotions

Best practices for selling to retailers anywhere in the US

If you are looking for additional resources to assist with sales growth, please let us know at brands@podfoods.co and we can connect you with consultancies familiar with the Pod platform.

BOX OF INNOVATION

Be ready to rocket into key accounts.

Are you a Pod brand looking to be included in our Box of Innovation and pitched to accounts like Sprouts, Fresh Thyme, Foxtrot, and more? Feel free to fill out this form and our Growth Team will reach out for a call. Please be sure to be logged in to your dashboard to submit the form.

The Importance of COGS, Wholesale Pricing, MOQ, and Initial Promotions

Cost of goods sold (COGS) is the direct cost of producing products sold by your business. Also referred to as “cost of sales,” or "COGS report," COGS includes the cost of materials and labor directly related to the production and manufacturing of retail products.

As a brand, you will want to take into account COGS and Shipping Costs, and apply your desired margins to that number to reach your wholesale cost. Pod assists with this, by offering a general wholesale pricing calculator to help with your calculations.

When your standard margins are understood, you will also want to consider offering promotions. These can be buy-in (new product placement or free-fill) promotions that are applied to first order conversions. Or they can be TPRs (temporary price reductions), which are usually seasonal based on your category.

You may want to increase your wholesale cost by a certain amount (say 25%) in order to ensure optimal margins if a promotion is run. It is better to be a little overpriced from your initial assessment of COGS and shipping costs than to be underpriced.

Please note that certain retailers have specific promo requirements, so please consult with your Category Manager.

Additionally, you will want to have a clear understanding of your MOQ (minimum order quantity). You can learn how to set your MOQ or MOV (minimum order value) in your dashboard here.

A minimum quantity is important because it allows you to set a threshold for two goals:

  1. Optimal margins against cost per order
  2. Placements and SKU variation

Generally, a minimum order quantity should be a balance between what you need to ensure that your above financial goals are met, but it should not be so high such that it prohibits retailers from ordering your product.

It is strongly recommended that if you create a MOQ or a MOV, that you set an initial buy-in promotion with a case minimum that aligns with the MOQ. This will ensure that the retail buyer has the promotion applied to all possible cases.

Lastly, when selling into a new retail account, it is important to note that the retailer likely does not have any sales history of your product to reference, even if they have tried samples. Therefore, the retailer is assuming some risk in bringing on a new product. It is your job, as a brand, to alleviate that upfront risk as much as possible, in order to drive trial of your brand on retailers’ initial orders. This will ensure that:

  1. The retail buyer has a minimal barrier to entry for initial purchase conversion
  2. The retail buyer can offer a minimal barrier to entry for consumer purchase conversion

An ideal way to accomplish this, aside from demos and in-store sampling, is to offer a buy-in promo of at least 50%, or even 100%, off one case per SKU. While this may have a negative financial impact on a one-time order, it may create an incentive for a retailer to purchase your product on an initial fill, because it reduces their upfront purchase risk on a brand-new product. Peace of mind sells.

Pod strongly recommends implementing a 25% off invoice buy-in promotion, at the very least. However, please take into account all of the above when planning for success.

If you have additional questions for sales best practices, please contact brands@podfoods.co and we can provide you with some brokerage recommendations, all of whom are more than willing to conduct initial consultations.

Setting up Promotions

It is best practice and strongly recommended to offer a Buy-In promotion, otherwise known as a New Product Placement deal.

A Buy-In is the industry standard introductory promotion that a brand offers to a retailer and has no end-date since it is only applicable to new retailers ordering for the first time. It is non-repeatable following a retailer's first order.

We strongly recommend all Pod Direct Brands create a Buy-In promotion upon onboarding. This gives retailers incentive to order your product and see how it sells at shelf. Buy-In promotions tend to be at least 25% off invoice. The higher the discount for the initial order, the greater the likelihood of purchase conversion.

Pod will not approve initial promotions for Pod Direct Brands that are submitted as TPRs or are Buy-Ins below 25% off invoice.

Navigate to the Promotions tab on the Dashboard toolbar. Here you can create and monitor your promotions. Submitted promotions are sent to Pod for review and approval to ensure input data is clear and correct. If you have any questions please reach out to your category manager or to brands@podfoods.co.

The process for creating a Buy-In Promo is:

A member of our team will review the promotion prior to approval and publication

Please Note: Promotions still incur a service fee off the regular listed wholesale price of the order

Samples

Samples and Pod Direct orders are very similar processes. When an order or sample is placed, you will receive an email notification. You can also see pending orders and samples within their respective tabs in the Dashboard.

Below are examples of fulfilled sample requests. The Brand received a notice of the sample and could see what product and SKU was selected, when the request was made, and to what store.

When these samples are requested it is the responsibility of the Pod Direct Brand to confirm them in the dashboard and then ship out the product. You may use your own shipping service or you may access and print out a Shippo label within the Dashboard.

Once the sample or order is fulfilled, you will be able to confirm shipment and apply the tracking information. The retailer will in turn see that the sample or order is fulfilled within their dashboard and obtain tracking information to expect delivery to their store.

Following Up On Sample Requests

When a sample request comes in, you are provided with the store contact information -- use it! If you are unable to fulfill a sample request for any reason, reach out to the requesting store and let them know the reason.

What To Send As Samples

No need to send full cases. Simply send at least one standard retail unit to fulfill a sample request so the buyer may see what the product will look like on shelf can try for themselves and make the best decision about if and how to support your product. Include your Pod Sell Sheet, any marketing materials and a personal note to the buyer for best results.

Turning Off Sample Requests Notifications

If you do not add a fulfillment date for your sample request you will continue to get emails about said sample request. From your Dashboard’s left-side menu, follow Samples > Specific Sample Request > Select Use My Own Shipping Label > Enter Date.

Orders

Confirming Orders & Getting Documents

Shipping Direct - Packing Slip | Shelf Life | Claims

When orders come in, you confirm the orders and ship or deliver product directly to the retailer with a Pod invoice and packing slip included. Instructions for fulfillment are provided when you confirm. Please note:

Marketplace Best Practices + Retailer Engagement

Store List

The Store List is a central hub which allows you to track and communicate with Pod on your sampling and sales efforts. It is a complete list of all retailers who have ordered in the last 6 months by region.

The unfilled tab indicates retail accounts which have not been filled out by you, the brand.

The filled tab indicates stores which you have engaged with and input information.

You are able to filter the stores based on the columns along the top of the page. The way to engage with the store list and use it to your advantage is as follows:

Note: When selecting and/or reviewing stores by region - Pod Direct retailers are able to only order Pod Direct products. Pod Express retailers are able to order both Express and Direct products. If you are a Pod Direct Brand and looking for a store to pitch on the store list, please select both the Pod Direct and Express regions to understand all available retail accounts.

Growing your retailer base on Pod's marketplace

There are three ways to recommend new stores to order your product on Pod.

Brand Page and Shareable Link

Product Page

SKU Page - Requesting Wholesale Pricing

Store List + Adding New Accounts

Please note that Pod is not a formal brokerage, and we do not guarantee new placements. Therefore, new brand partners should take advantage of our store list via the vendor dashboard and conduct sales outreach on their own behalf. We will gladly support your efforts to scale.

Promotions

Most of our retailer partners are seeking new brands, but the sales performance of any new brand can be variable. One way to reduce the risk to a retailer is by offering a buy-in promotion, and you can submit a promotion directly from your Vendor Dashboard. Please refer to our promotions setup section for more information

Retailer Promotion Guidelines

Working with one or more of our Key Accounts? Review the details for accounts you work with below and commit them to memory and take action based on what is listed here!

RETAILER PROMOTION SUBMISSION

Ready to submit your promotions for a retailer below? Submit promotions in your vendor dashboard under the Promotions section. However, some retailers offer opportunities in addition to or instead of what Pod supports and we have listed these opportunities highlighted like this that requiring sending directly to success@podfoods.co.

DECLINING RETAILER-REQUIRED PROMOTIONS

If you prefer to decline automatic free fills, you must email your category manager and let us know before any orders meeting the retailer’s requirements have been processed**.** If you decline to meet a retailer’s requirements you will not be able to achieve placement in those stores. Review our Cost Calculator to understand how promotions affect your bottom line – the opportunity cost is in your favor! If you do not email us letting Pod know you do not agree we assume you approve and will process orders and credits accordingly.

REQUIREMENTS, PROMOTIONS + MORE BY RETAILER

Bristol Farms

Central Market

Erewhon Market

HABA: Minimum 6 units free fill per approved SKU

Grocery: Minimum 12 units free fill per approved SKU

Fresh Thyme Market

Local Brands:

National Brands:

Good Eggs

Lassen’s Natural Foods & Vitamins

Lazy Acres Natural Market

Safeway and Andronico's

Sprouts Farmers Market

Standard Market

Westborn Market

Still have questions or feedbacks?

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