Service 03
Retail Go-to-Market
Get in front of the buyer, and be ready when you get there.
Kroger, Target, Safeway, Wegmans, DECA — accounts landed and grown from the supplier side, by someone who spent two decades as the buyer. Category reviews, private label programs, new item launches and e-commerce.
Work is led personally by Kent Partida. There is no account team and no junior associate — the person who ran these departments and sold into them is the person doing the work, and the person you call when something changes.
Schedule a free consultationHow the work runs
Four stages, in this order
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01
Qualify
Be honest about capacity, cost structure and food safety readiness before spending a year chasing an account that would break you.
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02
Position
Build the story around the retailer’s category gap, not around your origin story. Price, pack, and the shelf slot you intend to take.
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03
Open
Get to the right merchandiser, at the right point in the review calendar, with the right first ask — which is rarely a national rollout.
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04
Hold
Most brands lose the account in year two, not at the pitch. Plan for velocity, promotion, and the first supply problem before it happens.
Engagements run as a fixed-scope project or a monthly advisory retainer. Scope, timeline and fee are agreed in writing before anything starts.
Straight answers
Questions people ask first
- Can you guarantee a meeting with a national buyer?
- No, and be careful of anyone who does. What is offered is a relationship network built over 37 years, an honest read on whether your brand is ready, and a package the buyer can say yes to. Some accounts open in a call; some take three review cycles.
- We’re regional. Should we be chasing national?
- Often not yet. Regional chains and local programs — the Wegmans-style local beef model is a good example — are frequently the faster, more profitable path, and they build the velocity record a national buyer will ask for anyway.
- Do you help with private label?
- Yes. Private label primal programs were built and rolled out across Kroger divisions from the supplier side. For the right producer it is the fastest way to meaningful volume, with a clear-eyed view of what it does to your brand.
Next step
Talk through your getting into national retail problem
Fifteen minutes with Kent Partida, no deck. Describe the situation and you will get an honest read on whether it is worth an engagement — and what it would take.