This is an exciting time for the plastics industry. It is an important one for the American and global economy as it adds $375 billion and more than one million jobs to the economy. One of the fastest growing sectors of this industry is the flexible packaging market. Experts expect it to increase from $74 million to nearly $100 million over six years. Businesses turn to flexible packaging solutions for modern food packaging, for example.
Tips for pitching new flexible packaging solutions to retailers:
- Create exciting new custom packaging products that add clear value. Heat sealed pouches and wraps are great for keeping food contamination free and fresh. For stores, modern food packaging can translate into profits as foods stay fresh longer. Stores can keep certain foods on the shelf longer giving new products more time to take hold and become popular with their shoppers.
- Make your flexible packaging solutions really new. Your flexible packaging solutions should have some sort of ?wow? factor. If your custom packaging products are really different, they will catch the eye of customers walking by. Innovative plastic packaging such as the flexible pouches that are now used for some soups is different enough that it gets attention. This makes people more likely to buy those products, you do not buy products that fade into the din of everything on the shelf.
- Price is not everything. Do not assume if you have the lowest price, you will be successful with your flexible packaging solutions. Retailers want to get the best price they can, of course, but they have different levels of private label products. If they think you are sacrificing quality to get them some super cheap pricing structure, that does not help you. They may be interested in looking at your operations to get a sense of your manufacturing process. This is a normal practice and should not offend you in any way. Think of that as an opportunity to show just how great your products are and to really explain everything. The more time the retailer wants to spend thinking about your product, the better. They are not going to waste their time on a product they do not like.
- Do your research. Learn as much about the retailer you are pitching as they are learning about your company. Look into their position in the market. Research what kinds of consumers they are trying to reach. Who shops at their stores? What are their shelving dimensions like? Look into how it will be treated and how it will look with the other products on their shelves. Explore merchandising options and how your product will be displayed and where on the shelf it will go.
- Weave your story into theirs. Your company has a unique story. The retailer you are pitching your flexible packaging solutions to also has a unique story. Learn how to tell your story and research what theirs is. Where is there overlap? In baseball, they say to ?go where the ball is.? This translates into ?make what the consumer wants? when it comes to sales. You and the retailer are trying to do the same thing.
