Whole Foods Market is the latest retailer to host a ‘live-pitch’ event to find new start-ups and product ranges.
Whole Foods’ UK operation will stage the event at its Kensington High Street (London) flagship store, reports The Grocer.
The two-stage pitch starts with brands posting an image of their products on Instagram using the hashtag #WFMLocalPitchDay.
From the first phase, 10 brands will make it through to the second phase, where brand-owners will make their pitch to a panel of WFM buyers.
‘Live-pitch’ events are becoming an increasingly popular way of discovering new talent in the natural food and health sectors. The Holland & Barrett Live Pitch event (pictured opposite) has become a regular fixture at the Natural & Organic Products Europe show in London, where it draws large crowds. Sainsbury’s hosted a similar event for the first time at the show this year.
Brands looking for more general advice on how to secure a listing with WFM, or other large specialist retailers, might also be interested in a workshop being held run by the organiser of the Bread & Jam Food Founder’s Festival. The speaker at Pitching Your Food & Drink Products to Whole Foods Market((London, June 5) is former WFM grocery buyer Emily Christie. The workshop will introduce brands to WFM’s distribution model, discuss the retailer’s sourcing policy, explore label compliancy and help companies fine-tune their presentation techniques.