What does a Food Broker Do? A Food Broker (often also called a ‘Sales and Marketing Agency’, or SMA) is an outsourced sales agency that will help introduce your product to retail buyers at brick-and-mortar retailers or foodservice operators. Foodservice operators includes places like Restaurants, Universities, Hospitals or other venues that serve food – read […]
News/Blog
Thought leadership pieces and industry insights from MSource Idea's founder, Lionel Binnie.
Should You Hire a Food Broker?
Your product is awesome and you want to get on store shelves quickly. Maybe you’re already selling direct-to-consumers online, but want to get your product in front of the vast majority of shoppers who usually shop in physical stores, rather than online. Note: an omnichannel strategy where you use both – e-commerce plus in-store, often […]
New Food Product Launch Strategy? Start Online
Many small start-up food and beverage and consumer products companies contact us looking for ways to get their products into the hands of consumers. Some hope to see their new food product stocked on shelves of grocery stores; others are seeking ways into the non-commercial foodservice sector, selling in high-traffic, niche channels like airport kiosks […]
Family, Friends and Angels: How to Fund Your Early Stage Business
Businesses in the startup stage may turn to close relationships the founder has, such as family and friends, to bring a product or business idea from the drawing board to create a testable concept. If all goes well, you’ll find yourself needing more funds, to build inventory, do tradeshows, public relations and other marketing […]
The 4 Purposes Retailers Must Choose from to Stay Relevant
In a recent article, consultant Doug Stephens outlines four purposes for brick-and-mortar retailers in an eCommerce era. He suggests retailers need to pick at least one of these purposes to remain relevant. Here, I explore the purposes and add a fifth. Stephens explains that retailers have always acted as a conduit to connect brands to […]
Foxes, Hen-Houses, and other ECommerce Fables
Over 20% of Grocery Retail is likely to move online by 2026 according to a recent Supermarket News article. That’s big news, but equally big is that the vast majority of online grocery shoppers prefer click-and-collect over home delivery. Seventy-six percent of respondents said they favor in-store (44%) and curbside (31%) pickup, compared with 24% preferring delivery. Consumers don’t like to pay for home delivery, […]
The 5 Stages of Growing a Food and Beverage Business
The new caramel-pecan brownies are winning raves with their crunchy, moist deliciousness. That chipotle-lime salsa touches taste buds you didn’t even know existed. Congratulations! You have a product that needs, no, demands, a place in every food shopper’s heart and pantry. Read on to learn how to make that happen. Whether you are an established […]
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Food Brokers
I recently interviewed a colleague about the food marketing industry. Our conversation was focused on clarifying the topic of Food Brokers, also known as Sales and Marketing Agencies (SMA’s). John founded his own SMA which he and his partners successfully sold to Acosta recently. Acosta is one of the largest SMA’s in the U.S. I hope the interview will shine some […]
Guess We Still Like Shopping, Huh?
This was going to be one of those ‘insightful’, goose-bump-inducing, pieces until I realized how gob-smackingly obvious it is, but still worth saying. So at the risk of sounding like hotel.com’s dorky avatar, Captain Obvious, here goes. What we still like about physical retail Covid showed us, funnily enough, what we like about physical retail. […]
4 Great Omnichannel Retail Service Providers
At the recent NGA (National Grocer’s Association) conference, I spoke with a group of parallel but different companies that help independent grocery retailers get their e-commerce up-and- running. Shop Hero, Rosie, Local Express and EGrowcery, while different, all provide tech, web design and product images, inventory tie-ins, and linkages to delivery services. Together, these service bundles jump-start retailers to a high-level of e-commerce; for both delivery and click-and-collect. With these services […]
