Road 2 Retail

In todays' episode we speak with Rebecca Styn- the Founder of Blind Tiger Spirit Free Cocktails.  She shares her story about how her brand came to be out of necessity due to Covid.  Rebecca also shares an interesting perspective on the value of mentors, building and a network, and offers some unique ideas on fundraising she pursued to help get her brand off the ground.  We hope you enjoy, and learn something, from today's show.  Please subscribe to our podcast at our Road 2 Retail page on LinkedIn, YouTube,  Spotify or iTunes

Episode 21: A Discussion with Ryan Springer- Founding Partner at the Investment firm Midnight Venture Partners   In today's Road 2 Retail episode, we speak with Ryan Springer- one of the founding partners at Midnight Venture Partners. Ryan shares his insights on what a small, emerging or challenger brand should consider as a checklist before approaching a potential investor. In his role as an investor, Ryan shares what he looks for in a brand (and its founder!) before making a financial commitment.  Ryan also offers solid recommendations on what a brand owner should look for in an investor partner.  And finally, Ryan delivers some great ideas on how to best approach a potential investor.  We hope you enjoy this discussion with Ryan Springer.  Please subscribe to our podcast on Spotify or iTunes, and follow us on our Road 2 Retail YouTube channel or LinkedIn.

On today’s episode of Road 2 Retail, we interview Joe Tarnowski the VP of Thought Leadership and Global Media for RangeMe. On this episode Joe details exactly what the RangeMe product is and shares best practices for brands on how to utilize the RangeMe platform to showcase their brands and reach buyers from all types of retailers.  Joe goes into detail explaining RangeMe Premium and RangeMe Sourcing programs. This episode is great for those small and emerging brands that are not yet using RangeMe to reach buyers or submit for category reviews with major retailers. This episode will also be insightful for those brands using RangeMe but wanting to optimize their reach.

On today’s Road 2 Retail episode we speak with John Pinto, the founder of the BoomBoom brand of all-natural nasal inhalers. John shares with us how the brand started, the opportunity he saw in the market as well as the successes and challenges he has faced while building his brand.  John shares his experiences on the following topics:    • How to know you are ready for retail • The challenges of working with a retailer • When to raise money and what to look for in an investor • What he would do differently if granted a 'do over'  Please subscribe to our podcast on Spotify, iTunes or the Road 2 Retail YouTube channel

Taking a price increase on your brand  In today’s episode, we are discussing all of the important aspects of taking a price increase on your brand.  We cover the impact of taking a price increase on the end consumer as well as the steps in the process of executing a price increase. Taking a price increase in today's environment can have potentially positive and negative impacts on your brand as it pertains to the consumer and the retailer. Other discussion points in the episode include: When to take a price increase? How will a price increase affect your price at the retail shelf?  How to communicate a price increase to a retailer and distributor?  What push back from retailers should you expect?  And other watch outs on the details of ensuring the increase is executed in an organized manner.   We hope you enjoy today’s episode. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel, or find us on Spotify and iTunes under Road 2 Retail.

In today's episode we talk about the many important issues to consider and decisions that need to be made when considering initial brick & mortar retail distribution as well as expanding from your  initial distribution.  We discuss classes of trade, demographic match between your brand and the retailer's shoppers, understanding the costs of securing distribution, performance expectations, and how many skus should you launch with.  We also touch on the need to be able to fulfill orders and the cash it will take to produce, ship and market this first order into your retailer.  Lastly, where you go first matters!  Play to your geographic strength if you have one- and expand from there.    We hope you enjoy today's episode.  Please follow us on our YouTube channel, Spotify, and iTunes.

Today we speak with Wayne Bennett, SVP of Retail for ECRM and RangeMe.  Wayne shares with us examples of winning actions taken by small, emerging, and challenger brands over the course of his career that helped build their business.  Wayne also shares some insights into exactly how ECM and RangeMe can help small/emerging brands connect with retailers.  ECRM and RangeMe are the industry leaders in the product discovery, sourcing, and purchasing experience between top retailers and brands from around the world.  They facilitate the buying and selling process by providing both face to face and virtual connections between retailers and brands.  Please enjoy today's discussion with Wayne and we hope you take away some ideas for driving your business.  Please follow us at on our LinkedIn page, Spotify, and iTunes.

Today on the Road 2 Retail we speak with Richard Palmer- Executive Director of Little Big Brands.  LBB is a fantastic branding and design firm that has a long history of doing excellent work for their clients and helping them grow their business.  Today Richard discusses the importance of truly understanding your consumer, how to create a brand personality and voice, and the dangers of cutting corners by not doing research.  Richard also covers some of the key points to consider with regard to a brand's physical packaging structures and how this can become a key competitive advantage for your brand.  We hope you enjoy, and learn something, from today's episode.  Please follow Road 2 Retail on our LinkedIn page, Apple iTunes or Spotify

In today’s episode of Road 2 Retail, the discussion centers around how to handle getting "The Call”.  The call in question is when your buyer calls you and tells you things are not going well, your brand is not meeting expectations, and action needs to be taken.  We discuss the importance of not going into a panic and how to think through and frame your response to the buyer's call or email.  If you understood and captured the buyer's expectations (including what success looked like) at the time of acceptance- you should not be surprised if you are tracking the data.  We will offer you a checklist to consider before engaging with your buyer.  Other points covered include:     • What questions to ask when you do speak with the buyer • Being proactive vs. reactive • Don’t take the call or email personally • What to include in your plan of action • The importance of follow up  Please follow Road 2 Retail on our LinkedIn page, YouTube, or Spotify.