Supply chain management for food and beverage startups: How to think about challenges, solutions and setting up for success

Supply chain management is crucial for any company, but there are nuances specific to the food and beverage category that every founder should know. Nicole Mulconrey, Sr. Inventory Manager – Food and Beverage at Target says understanding the size and scale of the retailer that the brand is going into is a crucial first step to getting a handle of supply chain management. 

Planning alongside your retail partner is key. “It is important to think about initial forecasts and orders and then translate that into production and transportation of those orders,” Nicole explains. From there, advance thinking about securing packaging and how products will flow through the supply chain is an absolute must, especially as calculating the shelf life and expiration dates of perishable items into the supply chain flow and delivery to stores is critical, especially as spoiled or damaged goods can be detrimental to the reputation and performance of your business. That said, aligning with your retail partner early on will help alleviate pain points with shipping and inventory management.  

Open communication with retail partners is another way to ensure success in all aspects of the business for a vendor. Brands should be transparent about their ability to deliver and be frank about the support that they may need to bring their product to life in a larger retailer space – especially as the scale is typically different when a larger retailer orders product versus a smaller retailer. This transparency will allow the retail partner to make thoughtful decisions about how to support you – the vendor. Support from the vendor can often include different types of funding, digital marketing or assistance with the transportation process. Tip: New brands should always ask about what resources are available to them. You never know until you ask!  

For founders, a flexible mindset can also go a long way in setting up a retail partnership for success. It’s also important for brands to be nimble as things can change once the product is live. Once the product is in-store, the retailer may ask for more or less product and if the brand is able to translate those changes into action that continues to meet demand in a timely manner, that’s a huge win.  

For brands looking to tighten up their supply chains, Nicole says the biggest piece to think through is how much time or technology is being invested into their systems and how they can make it run more smoothly in the long run. For example, the unit of measure for a large retailer may not be the unit of measure in which the brand is used to shipping. Talking about those topics ahead of time with your warehouses or distribution centers will save a lot of time and money in the long run. Partnering with brokers to navigate working with large retailers can also be helpful to learn the tools and technology needed to make the process successful for newer brands.  

Another important thing for emerging brands to think about when starting out with a larger retailer is that slow growth can lead to long-term success. “Being open to smaller segmentation of testing allows newer brands to feel good about their end of the supply chain and the retailer to get a grasp on how product is selling, so that they can then eventually expand to a more robust offering. This is a huge win,” Nicole notes.  

No matter which retailer you’re working with, make sure to ask a lot of questions and get as much information and clarification as possible. Supply chain is all about coordinating moving pieces, so the more communicative you can be as a founder with your retail partner, the more confident you both will be about your partnership – and remember that early implementation of the tips outlined here can help you grow and scale your brand with your retail partner in support of your mutual goals.  

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