How to market a food product so shops stock it and customers buy it
To market a food product as a small brand, aim your marketing at two people: the shop buyer deciding whether to stock you, and the customer standing at their shelf. Show buyers proof that it sells (stockists, reorders, reviews, awards), then help stock sell through with in-store tastings, shelf talkers, social posts that tag your stockists and stories in the local press. This guide covers how to market a food product step by step, in store and online, with templates for a shelf talker, a stockist post and a press release.
1. How to market a food product to shop buyers
A buyer stocking a new product takes a risk with their shelf space. Social proof reduces that risk. Collect it from your first sale and put it where buyers will see it.
- A stockist list. Name the shops that stock you, with their town. A buyer who recognises one or two names will take you more seriously.
- Reorders. "Reordered six times since March" says more than any description of your flavour. Ask stockists if you can mention them, and quote only real numbers from your own orders.
- Words from stockists. Ask a happy shop owner for a line you can use, and get their permission in writing before you use their name.
- Customer reviews. Reviews from your own website, markets or social media, quoted accurately and with permission.
- Photos on shelf. A picture of your product in a real shop shows a buyer how it looks next to other brands.
Put the strongest two or three on your trade sheet. Our guide to building a wholesale price list and trade sheet shows where they go.
2. Great Taste awards and other food awards
Great Taste is a UK food and drink awards scheme. Producers enter products, and judges taste them. Check the organiser's website for entry dates, costs and rules, including the rules on how winners may use the logo.
Before you enter any award:
- Pick the product carefully. Enter the product you'd most like buyers to try, made exactly as you sell it.
- Note the dates. Entry deadlines, when products have to arrive, and when results come out.
- Budget for it. Entry fees, product and postage, and any logo stickers or artwork if you win.
Look for regional awards too. Some county food networks and local food festivals run awards for local makers, and a local award gives you a story for your local press and your nearest shops.
If you win, use it everywhere a buyer or customer looks: your trade sheet, your website, your shelf talkers and your next email to every stockist and every shop on your list. Follow the scheme's rules for the logo and wording exactly.
3. How to promote a food product with in-store tastings
A tasting puts your product in customers' mouths at the moment they can buy it. It also shows the shop you'll work to sell their stock, and gives you sales figures to point to at reorder time.
Setting one up
- Ask the shop for its busiest time. A Saturday late morning in a farm shop, a Friday afternoon in a deli before the weekend.
- Check stock first. Make sure the shop has enough on the shelf to sell for the whole session, and offer to bring extra.
- Agree the details. Where you'll stand, how long, whether you need power or a table, and any rules about serving food on the shop floor.
- Tell people. Post about it beforehand and ask the shop to share it.
On the day
- Bring your allergen information for every product you serve, and have it on the table.
- Serve it the way customers would use it: chutney on a cracker with cheese, chilli sauce on a tortilla chip.
- Give the price and point to the shelf. The sale happens at the shop's till.
- Brief the staff and give them a taste, so they can recommend it after you've gone.
- Count what sold during the session with the shop, and write it down.
Afterwards, thank the shop, share photos with their permission, and use the number of units sold when you next talk about reorders.
4. Shelf talkers and point of sale
A shelf talker is a small card on the shelf edge or beside the product that tells customers something the label can't. It does your selling on the days you aren't there. Ask the shop before you put one up, and make it the size they'll accept.
Keep it to three things: who made it, where, and one reason to try it.
Shelf talker template
Made in Bristol by Wildfire Chilli Co
Smoked habanero, tomato and red pepper. Smoky and hot, with a sweet finish.
Try it on eggs, tacos or a cheese toastie.
Other point of sale worth offering:
- Recipe cards customers can take home, with your product in the ingredients.
- A small display stand for counter space, if the shop wants one.
- Award stickers or a shelf card if you've won an award, used under the scheme's rules.
- A "local" marker if the shop has a local producers section.
Send fresh cards with deliveries, and replace any that are faded or damaged.
5. How to market a food product online
Online marketing for a wholesale brand sends people to your stockists. Every post that tells customers where to buy you helps the shop sell your stock.
Social posts that tag your stockists
Post when a shop takes you on, when you deliver, and when you run a tasting there. Tag the shop and name the town. Other buyers follow those accounts, and a tagged post shows them you're already on shelves.
Stockist post template
New stockist: you can now find our Smoked Habanero and Green Chilli sauces at Harbour Lane Deli in Clevedon. Thanks to Sarah and the team for taking us on. We'll be there with tasters on Saturday 14th, 11am to 2pm. @harbourlanedeli
A stockist page on your website
List every stockist by town, with a link to their website or map location. Customers searching for where to buy you will find a shop, and buyers checking you out will see who already stocks you. Keep it up to date: remove shops that stop stocking you.
A link in bio with a trade section
A buyer who finds you on Instagram needs a way to see your trade prices without messaging you. Put a trade link alongside your shop link.
An email list
Tell customers on your mailing list when you're in a new shop near them, when a new product lands on shelves, and when you're running a tasting.
For finding new shops to stock you, see our guide on how to find stockists.
6. Getting into the local press
Local papers, magazines, radio and food bloggers want stories about local people. A small food brand has several.
- A new local business, and the person behind it
- A new stockist in a well-known local shop
- An award, or a place on a shortlist
- A seasonal product, or one made with a local farm's produce
- A milestone: your first year, your hundredth stockist, a new kitchen
Send a short press release by email to the named editor or food writer, with two or three good photos attached (at least one of you, one of the product). Paste the release into the email body.
Subject: Bristol chilli sauce maker now stocked in 20 South West farm shops
Bristol chilli sauce maker Wildfire Chilli Co is now stocked in 20 farm shops and delis across the South West.
Founder Sam Ellis started making sauces in a shared kitchen in Bedminster in 2024. Wildfire now makes four sauces, using chillies grown on a farm near Chew Magna.
"Farm shops backed us from our first batch, so we want to give their customers a reason to come in and taste," said Sam.
Wildfire will run free tastings at Harbour Lane Deli, Clevedon, on Saturday 14th from 11am to 2pm.
Contact: Sam Ellis, 07700 900123. Photos attached.
When the story runs, share it, send it to your stockists, and add the coverage to your trade sheet.
Questions about marketing a food product
How do I market my food product?
Show shop buyers proof that it sells, such as stockists, reorders, reviews and awards, then help your stockists sell it with tastings, shelf talkers, social posts that tag them and local press coverage.
How do I promote my food product in shops?
Run in-store tastings at the shop's busiest time, give staff a taste so they can recommend it, and ask permission to put a shelf talker beside your product. Count what sells during each tasting.
How do I market a food product online?
Post when shops take you on and tag them, keep a stockist page on your website up to date, add a trade link next to your shop link in your bio, and email your customers when you're in a new shop near them.
How do I enter the Great Taste awards?
Great Taste is a UK food and drink awards scheme that producers enter by submitting products for judging. Check the organiser's website for entry dates, costs and rules.
What is a shelf talker?
A shelf talker is a small card on the shelf edge or beside a product that tells customers something the label can't, such as who made it, where, and how to use it. Ask the shop before you put one up.
Find the shops that should stock you.
DELLI Growth finds UK buyers who fit what you make, writes the email, sends it from your inbox and follows up.