How to approach a shop to sell your product: visits, emails and a script

Updated 3 November 2026 · DELLI

To approach a shop to sell your product, pick shops that already sell things like yours, find out who buys, then visit at a quiet time on a weekday with a sample and a one-page trade sheet. Introduce yourself in under a minute, offer a taste, and ask for one small next step. This guide covers how to choose shops, whether to walk in, email or phone, what to bring, when to go, a short script for the shop floor, an email sample, and what to do afterwards.

1. How to approach local shops to sell your product: choose the right ones

The shops most likely to say yes already sell something close to what you make, at a similar price, to customers who would like it. Start with ten to twenty shops within easy delivery distance, so you can visit, drop samples and deliver without the cost eating your margin.

For each shop, check four things before you go:

• Fit. Do they stock your category? A deli with a cheese counter suits chutney. A farm shop with a local producers shelf suits almost any local maker.
• Price. Look at the prices of similar products on their shelf. If yours would be the most expensive by a long way, they need a clear reason to take it.
• A gap. Note what's missing: no chilli sauce, no gluten-free biscuits, nothing made within 20 miles.
• The buyer. In a small shop it's usually the owner. In a bigger farm shop it may be a manager for each section. Ask a member of staff, or check the shop's website and social bios.

Write one line per shop saying why your product belongs there. That line becomes your opening sentence, in person or by email. For more ways to build the list, see our guide on how to find stockists.

How to approach a grocery store

An independent grocer, greengrocer or convenience store is approached the same way as a deli: find the owner and offer a taste. Grocers often stock lines that sell week in, week out, so show how your product sells regularly, not only at Christmas. Bring your case size and how often you can deliver, because shelf space in a small grocer is tight and they won't want to run out.

Supermarkets work differently. They have category buyers and their own supplier requirements, so ask for those before you approach. Many suppliers start through regional or local ranges, a distributor or wholesaler, or online grocers before a national listing.

2. Walk in, email or phone?

Each method suits a different situation. Many makers use all three: an email or call to find the buyer, a visit with samples, and an email afterwards with the trade sheet.

A short phone call can go like this: "Hi, I make chilli sauces in Bristol and I'd like to drop some samples in for whoever buys for the shop. Who's the best person, and when are they usually in?" Note the name and the day, and go then.

Before you email a shop for the first time, read the rules on emailing businesses in our pitch email guide (linked in section 5). If you're unsure whether you can email a shop, go in person.

3. What to bring and when to go

What to bring

Pack a small bag the night before so you can say yes if the owner has five minutes.

• An opened sample for tasting, with something to taste it on: crackers for chutney, tortilla chips for chilli sauce. Bring spoons or cocktail sticks.
• Sealed samples to leave, one of each product you want them to stock, fully labelled as they'd arrive on the shelf.
• A printed trade sheet: your range, trade price, RRP, case size, minimum order, delivery days and how to order. Our guide to building a wholesale price list and trade sheet shows what to include.
• A card or QR code linking to your online trade sheet, so they can check prices later.
• Allergen information for every product, in case they ask.
• A notebook, for what the buyer says, their questions and when to come back.

The best times to approach a shop

Go when the shop is quiet and the owner is likely to be in. For many independent shops that means a weekday, mid-morning after the opening rush or mid-afternoon after lunch. Avoid:

• Saturdays and bank holidays, when the shop is busiest.
• Opening time, when they're setting up, and the last hour, when they're cashing up.
• Lunchtime in any shop with a café or deli counter.
• Delivery days, when the owner is checking stock in. Ask staff which days these are.

If the shop is busy when you arrive, buy something, say you'll come back, and ask when is better.

Shops plan seasons ahead. Many plan Christmas in late summer and early autumn, so a gift or Christmas range needs to be in front of buyers by then. For summer products such as barbecue sauces or cordials, approach in late winter and spring. For a product that sells all year, any month works, but avoid December, when shops are at their busiest.

4. What to say: a short in-person script

Keep it under a minute before you hand over a taste. The buyer wants to know who you are, what you make, why it fits their shop and what you're asking for.

Then stop talking and let them taste. If they ask questions, answer them directly. Common ones:

• "What's the shelf life?" Give the best before period on a sealed jar or bottle.
• "Who else stocks you?" Name your nearest stockists, or your market stalls if you're just starting.
• "Is there a minimum order?" Give your minimum in cases or order value.
• "Do you do sale or return?" Know your answer before you go in.

If the answer is "not now", ask when to come back and write it down. If it's "yes", agree the first order, the delivery day and how they'll pay before you leave.

5. How to approach retail stores to sell your product: an email sample

Email works for shops you can't visit easily, and for confirming a visit. Keep it under 120 words, say why you chose their shop, and make the ask small. Our guide to writing pitch emails to shop buyers covers subject lines, structure, three more examples and follow-ups in detail.

The shop and buyer are fictional. Swap in your own reason for writing to each shop.

6. What to do after the first approach

The same day

• Send a short thank-you email with your trade sheet link, if the buyer gave you their email and is happy to hear from you.
• Note what the buyer said, their questions and the date you agreed to come back.

The follow-up

Go back or get in touch when you said you would, usually about a week later. Ask what they thought of the sample and whether they'd like to place a first order. If you hear nothing after two follow-ups, leave it until next season and try again with something new: a new flavour, an award or a stockist nearby.

If they order

• Deliver on the day you promised, with an invoice.
• Offer shelf talkers or a tasting session to help the first order sell.
• Check in after two or three weeks to see what has sold, and agree how they'll reorder.
• Tag the shop on social media when your product goes on the shelf, so their customers know where to find you.

Keep a list of every shop you've approached, the date, the outcome and the next step. For what happens once you're stocked, see our guide to getting stocked in farm shops and delis.

Questions about approaching shops

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