Welcome to the Community Call Podcast.
I am Melissa Travers, Director of Community of BevNET & NOSH, here with my co-hosts Mike Schneider and Monica Watress.
If you're enjoying the show, please follow and review us on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice.
Mike and Monica, thanks so much for joining me.
I don't know how you guys feel, but not only do I still feel like I'm sort of recovering from an amazing BevNET Live last week, but I also just ate one of these welcome collagen bars.
I didn't realize until about half an hour later when I was like, oh, I think I need a nap.
They have L-theanine and ashwagandha in them.
And I think they're really, really working.
So Monica, I had the pleasure of spending a good chunk of time with you at BevNET Live.
How was your first BevNET Live?
Well, it was my first BevNET Live as a BevNET staffer.
And so that was exciting.
It was fun to see how the whole program came together.
I know our team works super hard to make the event a success.
From what I heard from our attendees, that people loved it and they had a really great time.
I personally enjoyed it and I'm super fired up to plan NOSH Live in December.
Yeah, one of my highlights of the show was I got to sit next to Monica during the second round of the New Beverly Showdown, and we got a selfie with Jeff and Shawna.
And we're just like, we're talking about the possibility, you know, we're whispering about the possibilities of the brands and writing little notes to each other.
And just like, just, I felt super fired up about the competition this year.
And it was really good to just, you know, be able to get your thoughts in real time, Monica.
So that was definitely one of the highlights for me.
That was so much fun.
Well, and I just love being with the team.
Since I live in Kansas City, I don't get to spend a lot of time with you wonderful people.
And so it was really nice to have a few days together.
There is magic on the stage, magic in front of the stage.
So much magic.
Shenanigans, Tomfoolery, Ballyhoo.
Shenanigans.
All of the above.
All of it, everything in between.
Monica, were there any beverages that you remember sipping on at BevNET Live that really caught your attention?
I was really excited about one of the new beverage showdown finalists, Explorer Cold Brew, which makes a variety of caffeine content offerings.
So RTD Cold Brew with 99.9% caffeine-free.
One that I think had maybe 60 or 65 milligrams of caffeine.
So a little bit more of a mid-range and then a full-caf option.
I just think that's a great idea for people who love coffee like I do, but can't handle all the jitters and anxiety and heart palpitations that come with a big load of caffeine.
And the interesting thing about that was not, I mean, Kacen Crane, the founder, is an explorer first and foremost, which was interesting.
And then also the way that he cares about coffee and making sure that not only is it an option that you could drink all day, but it has to be top quality coffee.
I thought that paid off.
The decaf coffee, I wouldn't be able to pick out his decaf cold brew from a full-caf cold brew that was like top class.
It was really, really tasty.
Which is so important because there are so many other ways for people to get their caffeine, especially later on in the day when you think about, you know, brands like Gorgie, for example, their sort of proposition is that you drink it later on in the day.
So if it's going to be coffee, it's going to have to taste really good, obviously.
For sure.
And Gorgie's also got another value proposition, which is that there are things in there that make you more beautiful.
I've been drinking a lot of Gorgie.
I don't think it works, but...
You've also been drinking a lot of Pretty Tasty.
Maybe the two are balancing each other out, like Gorgie and Pretty fighting a war in New York.
Pretty Tasty is another one.
You're right.
I have been drinking a lot of that.
I thought Pretty Tasty was interesting, the way that they were building that and clearly targeting females.
But they were bringing it home and somebody else at home was seeing it and going, oh, 10 grams of collagen protein.
I'm drinking that.
And so one of the things that we tell food and beverage companies is that you can't be for everyone.
You have to figure out what your niche is.
And then once you have a brand and once it's out there, the audience is going to tell you what your brand is.
And this seems to be like an example of that.
Collagen is certainly, I mean, I don't know, I see it everywhere in protein powders, in this welcome bar that has me wanting to take a nap.
So there were some sponsored workshops that I thought were really informational.
We had Sense of Pure, Active TR and Jelita.
I had the pleasure of co-presenting with Jelita.
They were talking about their bioactive collagen peptides.
And you know, it's funny, when I got home, I was scrolling through Instagram and there's this sort of women's health influencer, Dr.
Mary Claire, and she was going through all of the supplements that she takes on a regular basis, and one of them was collagen.
And she specifically called out Verisol and Fortibone, which were two of the specific collagen versions that Jelita was talking about.
And it's funny, because when you hear something somewhere, then all of a sudden, you see it everywhere.
Like, you know, when you were a kid and you had a spelling test and you learned a new word, then all of a sudden, you see it everywhere.
Like when you're shopping for a car and you really honed in on that Honda CR-V, they're everywhere.
Yeah.
That was the example I was going to use too, Mike.
Well, speaking of shopping, Monica and I did a grocery store tour.
Monica, that was so much fun.
We went to Fairway, Cinderella, and Pop-Up Grocer.
And we bought ourselves some treats all along the way.
Monica, what were your takeaways from our little grocery store tour?
Oh, that was so much fun.
And whenever I travel to any city, I always try to go to a regional or specialty chain that I've never been to before.
I'd never been to a Pop-Up Grocer in all my years, just because I live in Kansas City and they've never opened one in Kansas City.
So that was a real treat.
It was very exciting to see some new-to-me brands, which is kind of hard.
I mean, it's rare that I'm not aware of a brand.
I feel like I have a pretty good finger on the pulse, but there were definitely some new discoveries for me at all three of those shops.
What did you buy?
What didn't I buy?
So I bought a Perfie at Fairway and also that Something and Nothing, that Yuzu soda.
You too, I am over here just holding back tears because I thought I was part of the grocery gang.
Yeah, Mike, where the hell were you?
No, Melissa was like, hey, we're going to go to Cinderella and we're going to go to Pop-Up Grocer and we have to go right now.
And I was like, oh, crap.
Yeah, that's right.
I saw you at the venue and I said, that's right.
Yeah, I was helping set up the venue.
That's important too.
It's pretty important, you know.
Next time, well, when we do this in LA, we're all going to Arowan, right?
Oh, yeah.
That's a no-brainer.
Oh, and you know what?
You get to get initiated with the Poison Shot.
Poison Shot?
There's a shot at Arowan called Germ Warfare that I might be the...
I'm one of the few that may be contentious, but I feel like it cures jet lag.
It knocks you for a loop.
It tastes like poison.
It's the most horrible tasting thing you've ever had, but it makes you feel amazing.
What's in it?
Among other things, oregano oil, like a lot of it.
Elderberry.
It's a potent shot.
I'm going to guess Ray Latif turned you on to this?
No.
With a name like Germ Warfare, this seems right up his alley.
It does seem like something that Ray should be involved in, but it wasn't him.
I started to explore the shots one by one because John Craven really loves Erewhon shots.
We started going to Erewhon.
I started picking up stuff that he didn't pick up.
It's got filtered water, lemon juice, colloidal silver, reishi powder, black elderberry extract, garlic extract, grapefruit seed extract, wild oregano oil, astralis extract, echinacea, and golden seed.
And it is awful tasting.
That is quite a cocktail.
I feel like that would belong in the danger fridge.
Technically, no, Melissa, but...
I didn't think you were supposed to ingest colloidal silver.
I thought that made your skin turn blue.
And here we are.
Yeah, it does.
Oh, don't I look a little...
I do feel a little smurfy afterwards.
Puppa Smurf.
La, la.
Right, right.
Gargamel is always around the corner.
Well, I also thoroughly enjoyed our grocery store tour.
At Fairway, their olive setup was really amazing.
I feel like I've never seen so many kinds of olives just out in barrels in the wild.
I somehow was assuming it to be more like Caputo's, which is like a specialty market with like cheeses and meats and stuff like that.
It was a little bit more sort of grocery forward, but that's where I got those masa chips.
And man, are those so delicious.
They're cooked in beef tallow, and you don't get a ton of chips for the price, but I would totally buy those again.
Really high quality chips.
I wish I had some kind of dip because they were super sturdy, and I feel like they would hold up really well to like a, I don't know, a queso or something.
And then at Pop-Up Grocer, the only produce item they had were those Oishi strawberries that I think I saw Giada try on Instagram.
So I thought that was interesting.
And then from Pop-Up Grocer, I bought the French squirrel peanut butter chocolate clusters, which were so good.
They're so good.
So good.
Oh, my God.
Those disappeared fast.
I got fish wipes, smoked salmon, and I got a $22 lip oil from Soul Spell.
That I think was also worth it.
So I thought it was a great trip.
I bought a bunch of candy at Pop-Up Grocer.
I got Wim's, their take on Twix, Caramel Cookie Bar, Rotten, which is a lower sugar gummy worm, Harkin, which I just love, and I was happy to support our friend Katie.
So good.
I got the crunchy one with the pretzels.
And then this new brand I hadn't seen before called Hey Champ.
And I got three of their SKUs.
There was one that was a coconut candy bar, one that was a miso candy bar, and one that was a pretzel candy bar.
And they were fantastic.
They blew my mind.
They were so good.
They were almost like little bites, not quite like a full bar, which was the perfect amount.
And I need to figure out how to get more of these in my life because those really blew me away.
Those looked so good.
I also saw Pixie Puffs.
That was a brand that was actually at our Naturally New England pitch slam, and they have such a tasty product.
They're seaweed puffs, Lexington Bakes, Brune, and of course, Doosera.
I saw Doosera not only at Pop-Up Grocer, but I also saw Doosera at Chelsea Market.
And sadly, I missed Kartik at the Naturally New York pitch slam, but hopefully we'll run into Kartik at the Fancy Food Show.
I repped.
I got to see Kartik.
I gave him a hug.
And then he was laser focused on the pitches, and I unfortunately had to leave a little bit early, but that was a good pitch slam.
It was a good pitch slam.
And I saw Kartik afterwards, and he gifted me a bag of Doosera.
Well, Monica, thanks so much.
That was so much fun doing a grocery tour with you.
Mike, hopefully next time you can join us.
We saw so many brands that may not be set up with mainline distribution yet.
This Community Call is with Mable.
Mable is a platform for brands that are drop ship ready.
Mable facilitates selling across distributor marketplaces and helps food and beverage brands achieve growth in food service and retail, even if they're not currently set up with distributor partners.
So I chat with Arik Keller, founder and CEO of Mable, and Lauren Richardee, director of marketing, about what brands need to know to be successful on this platform.
Also joining this podcast is our very own Adrianne Deluca.
This Community Call is a companion piece to an article Adrianne wrote for NOSH, and she shares some great tidbits she gathered while writing the article.
So head to nosh.com to check that out.
And last, we are running a Mable giveaway in our Slack community until June 27th.
It couldn't be any easier to enter.
Just go to slack.bevnet.com to put your brand in the running, slack.bevnet.com.
Please enjoy.
Today on Community Call, our guests are Arik Keller, founder and CEO of Mable, and Lauren Richardee, Director of Marketing at Mable.
Mable is a digital marketplace for B2B wholesale food and beverage that we are going to talk a lot about on this episode of Community Call.
We've also got Adrianne Deluca, reporter at BevNET & NOSH, who's working on a companion story that you'll be able to find on nosh.com.
So definitely go over to nosh.com and check out Adrianne's article after this podcast.
Adrianne, why don't we start with you?
You've been working on this story about Mable for NOSH.
What drew you to cover the platform and what have you learned so far?
I actually came across the platform from an assignment from one of our editors.
They're throwing around ideas around new distribution tech platforms one day, and Mable's name came up.
And after chatting with the team a bit for an initial story a few months back, which is on NOSH if anyone wants to give that a read, I started to realize just how much of a pain point they were solving for emerging brands.
And while they're not the only company that is working on these alternative, I'd say, distribution methods, they are doing it in an increasingly innovative way.
As we're about to all hear.
In reporting that initial story, I think one thing that really stuck out to me was I spoke with Bon B Honey and they've really built their business through the platform of the past few years.
And Kendra Bennett, the CMO there, noted, she's like, we've all been just working in silos in this industry for so long where brands are limited to whatever geographic region they're in, retailers are limited to what their distributor is carrying, and distributors are basically limited to whatever large brands can actually afford that mass scale distribution.
So I think that just really speaks to what Mable's trying to solve for on the emerging brand side of things.
And that's what's kept me digging into this idea a little bit further.
Well, Adrianne, thank you so much for introducing this topic.
I know it's going to be a well-appreciated topic for our audience.
Arik and Lauren, thank you so much for joining Community Call.
It's a pleasure to have you here.
I'd like to start off by asking you how you define Mable.
So, you know, I threw it out there as Mable is a digital marketplace for B2B wholesale food and beverage.
But I know that there's so much more.
How do you define Mable to food and beverage brands?
And what was the inspiration for starting it in the first place?
Yeah, you guys kind of nailed it.
I mean, we think of ourselves as marketplace technology for distributors, which ultimately will give brands this platform to more easily sell their products.
And yes, it's worth maybe spending a minute on the history because we started with a bit of a different model.
We were our own double-sided marketplace, right, with thousands of stores buying from thousands of emerging local brands around the country.
But we realized that we were just another platform that retailers had to go to every day to replenish their shelves.
And so we hit a point where we really realized the power that distributors have in the industry and their decades-long relationships that they already have with retailers and the fact that many retailers programmatically buy from those distributors today.
And we thought, okay, how do we take everything we've built and enable essentially what we call third-party selling for distributors, right?
Help distributors sell more things to their customers without taking those items into a warehouse.
They're giving all of these emerging brands access to the retailers that those distributors service.
And so the best way to think of us now is a technology platform that plugs into distributor partners of ours and makes it easy for them to create an infinite warehouse of all these new products, again, without maybe prematurely bringing those suppliers into a distribution center.
I think it's also worth noting, I know in talking to you, Arik, as well, just your, I guess, the origin story about how even Mable became an idea is, you know, worth noting for brands, if you want to share that as well.
Yeah, I did something crazy back in 2018.
I bought myself a rundown grocery store.
It was one of those places that, let's say the four of us are in the car, we're good friends, we kept driving by this place, and one of us is trying to convince the other to buy it, right?
You should buy that place, someone should fix it up and has so much potential, how hard could it be?
And so I bought this 20-year-old store, and for 20 years had a very minimal selection of products, Twinkies and Mountain Dew and Greasy Egg Sandwiches.
And we wanted to bring in emerging local brands.
And I went to my first trade show in New York.
I came home with 70 pamphlets.
I talked to and met all these brands.
I called my distributor, asked them how I can get these products, and they said they don't carry any of them.
So I started buying them direct.
And that's when the idea came to us, which is let's create a marketplace to help stores like mine discover and buy directly from emerging brands.
And so that was the kernel of the idea.
And again, that first idea went really well, but we still weren't that fully integrated solution.
And so we've now bolted that idea onto how distributors do their business today.
And do you still have retailers buying direct from Mable?
We do have our legacy marketplace that is still up and running.
And over time, as we power new marketplaces for our partners, large distributors and grocery, C-store and food service, we will move, you know, we have C-store customers, we'll move C-store customers to our C-store distributor.
We have food service customers, we'll move those to food service distributors.
So ultimately, we want to be a agnostic piece of technology that enables this platform for brands to sell into this large network of retailers by partnering with these distributors.
And how do Mable's customers interface with the branded products on your site?
So is it distributors who are in Mable looking for new products to pick up?
Are there retailers in there looking for new products?
Who's searching Mable for the next great product to bring in?
In this new evolution of the business, think of us as power in the marketplace for a particular distributor.
So distributors have their catalogs today.
They have thousands of stores that log in to that catalog, place orders, and perhaps discover things that are in existing warehouses.
Plug in Mable, and tomorrow, that same retailer logs in and sees a whole new catalog of products, more assortment, maybe it's local, maybe it's emerging, maybe it's something that they've been looking for that's like brand values.
And they're able to add that product right into their order that they place every day.
And our technology seamlessly makes it so that that order goes to the supplier, and the supplier drops ships it right to the retailer.
So that fully integrated experience is really, really important, right?
In Mable 1.0, we were just another website they had to go to, but now we're integrating these emerging brands into catalogs that thousands of buyers are looking at every day.
And so making it easy for that store, because what happens is typically stores will go to a trade show, discover a new product, call their distributor and say, hey, we want you to get this in.
That's a problem for distributors, right?
Their most precious assets, their warehouse space.
So if they said yes to everything, they'd have things stacked to the ceiling.
Some things would sell, some things won't.
So what happens now is retailer requests a brand from a distributor.
The distributor gets to say yes more, right?
They can say yes to everything.
Sure, go have that supplier join distributors' marketplace.
Onboard them.
Within a couple weeks, they're on the website.
Retailer gets to order.
And eventually, some of those products will graduate into full distribution.
And so it also becomes a very easy way to test and learn with these types of products.
And which distributors are you plugged into now?
Today, we power marketplaces for McLean.
McLean is one of the largest C-Store distributors in the country.
We have an agreement with US Foods.
They have a very established marketplace today.
And so we're giving our existing supplier base access to that marketplace.
And in about three months, we'll be powering a marketplace for Cahee.
Ooh, that's exciting.
Yeah, we feel great about having one in food service, one in grocery, and one in convenience.
But ultimately, again, we are a very technology-focused platform so we can really work with any distributor in the country.
So if I'm a brand and I'm hearing about this great opportunity, does it make sense that I would need to have a set of products that would be appropriate for either food service or a C-store as it stands right now before Cahee comes on board?
We're finding that suppliers that we work with certainly straddle all three of those categories.
If it's a smaller brand with just a few skews, they tend to maybe fall into one of those categories.
But I think one thing we're seeing on the retailer side is obviously kind of a blurring of the lines between grocery and food service and convenience.
And so we see certainly brands that ultimately will participate in many marketplaces going forward.
And we try to help steer them, but ultimately we're just the engine that powers the marketplace.
So the retailers for that distributor and the distributor themselves will really influence the suppliers that sign up for those marketplaces.
I think what Arik's saying also just speaks to something really timely we've noticed within the industry broadly and brands that maybe are even selling beyond Mable is just this willingness to especially test out food service as a new channel.
But additionally, see stores, grow their e-commerce business.
As we all know, selling into brick and mortar retail can be an expensive game.
So I feel like it's just kind of a sign of the times here.
And even speaking with Bon B again, being on Mable's platform, they noted that this helped them diversify their channel strategy without too much risk.
So they were able to test in these new areas without, as we've mentioned here, fully committing to loading into a distribution center somewhere.
A great point.
I think we've heard from a lot of brands that, like, oh, I wasn't really thinking about convenience as a viable channel for me, and I would never take the risk and try to get into a distributor on my own, but this gives me a more sustainable path to get there.
So it's been interesting to just hear about that strategy from the brand perspective.
Adrienne, you mentioned that Mable is part of a landscape of sort of e-com options.
You know, in my mind, I think, fair, bulletin.
Can you talk a little bit about how Mable is different from the other players in this marketplace?
Yeah, I think that really goes to, you know, what Arik's been speaking to with aligning with these distributors specifically.
We hear from brands on our side of the table all of the time that, you know, they weren't aware of the chargeback fees or deductions that they were going to get, and especially for an early-stage brand, that those fees can almost be deadly sometimes to their business.
So being able to have this stepping stone to then, you know, as we've said, graduate potentially into a warehouse or just steadily build up a business, even speaking with McConnell's Ice Cream, which is a, you know, local California ice cream brand.
They've been around forever, and during the pandemic, their e-commerce business blew up, and they had retailers all across the country wanting to stock their items.
It didn't previously make sense to, you know, service one indie shop somewhere in Louisiana, but like through this platform, they're able to ship enough product and not commit to onboarding in a warehouse in that one region for one retailer.
So I think, you know, being able to align with distributors, having that potential to scale up, but also offering brands just this flexibility on geographically where they can spell has just become increasingly important as e-commerce overall has become important to consumers.
You make a good point, like, you know, in Mable 1.0, as we call it.
Certainly we were most commonly compared to FAIR.
Our models were super similar, but as we've kind of grown and we're on this new path partnering with distributors, our model has really changed.
And, you know, there's a handful of technology companies that create and power marketplaces for various businesses today.
Mable's differentiated in that we're very specialized in B2B, so we're not going down the B2C path anytime soon.
We also have this kind of unique experience of running our own actual marketplace for years and being able to kind of bring that knowledge with us into these partnerships.
Does a marketplace like, for example, like FAIR, are they sort of still more focused on the model of selling products directly to retailers?
So that sounds to me like a big differentiator.
And then something like Bulletin, to me it doesn't seem like their focus is on food and beverage the way that it is for Mable.
Am I right to think those are some of the defining factors in differentiators?
You nailed it with FAIR.
That's definitely the big differentiator.
They're selling directly to stores.
We're moving to sell directly to distributors.
We're specialized in food and beverage, and that's how we've grown.
I think an interesting kind of trend we're seeing is traditional food and beverage buyers looking for non-food and beverage products like health and beauty or PET, other categories to kind of just complement their food and beverage.
But yeah, we are certainly specialized in food and beverage more than any other category.
Yeah, the thing I'll pile on, you're right, Fair was very similar to the first version of our business.
A really impressive company, clearly horizontal, right?
They're in fashion and gift, and food and beverage is a piece of their business.
But again, they are, there's friction there because it's another platform that stores have to go and log into and make a purchase.
So what I think brands that are BevNET & NOSH brands, what we've heard look at Fair and even Mable 1.0 as sort of an interesting marketing platform, right?
It helps me get single cases of products to lots of small stores.
What I've learned in my five years in this business is it's really hard to build a brand selling single cases to lots of stores.
And that's where, you know, that was part of our pivot as well, which is just realizing distributors have their flaws.
We're partners with them, so we need to be careful.
But yes, the charge backs and the thing, they have their flaws.
But it's a really hard business to get a truck to show up every morning at 7 a.m.
And so we recognize that, okay, these are amazing logistics businesses.
Ultimately, if brands are going to grow their business, they have to end up in distribution in some capacity.
So let's give them, as Adrianne said, a risk-free way of getting their foot in the door.
We kind of call it predistribution.
And so it allows these brands to sell into large chains, high-velocity stores, all through the mechanics of how orders come through distributors.
And so it alleviates, you know, I think a lot of the issues that caused retention for Mable 1.0 and FAIR and other bulletin and other sort of, you know, correct marketplace businesses.
Arik, you alluded to this a little bit earlier, and I think it's an important point, especially as we see the existing retail environment become a little bit more difficult, you know, as time goes on, Foxtrot closing.
You know, certainly not that Foxtrot was doing so much business, but I think it's such a good example of how there seem to be fewer and fewer options for emerging brands to get started somewhere.
The price of acquiring customers on e-com, you know, whether it's D2C or, you know, Amazon, those are, you know, really high and difficult to manage.
So Arik, you had mentioned that Mable is a good way for emerging brands to start to get traction, and then once a brand gets traction on Mable, what does the evolution look like?
Do they then go direct with US.
Foods, or what does that evolution look like as a brand kind of gets off to the races with Mable?
Yeah, ultimately, the goal is for these brands to graduate one or all of their SKUs into mainline distribution, and that will take time.
But what this platform provides is, again, that foot in the door and the ability to promote their products and have their products get discovered by up to a million retailers between these three partnerships.
And the other thing it does is, once they're approved in these marketplaces, they can go continue to do their own direct selling.
And because they're essentially in this virtual warehouse, they get a stamp of approval that, you know, you're a McLean customer, you're a McLean retail, sorry, brand, or a KE brand, or a US Foods brand, and they can more easily sell into that audience, which ultimately helps the distributor as well.
Even hearing from brands, as I've picked their brands about Mable, they've all noted that it's also just become an incredibly important platform to building early relationships with buyers, that once they sell into a specific retailer, that's a relationship that they can grow and sustain.
And so once they are in those DCs, as you mentioned, Arik, hopefully graduate askew, whether it's the top performing one or the whole set into the distributor's actual system.
Who are some of the retailers that might be of interest to brands out there, understanding that the majority of our audience are food and beverage brands in the emerging space?
And more often than not, I would say, with a natural focus?
Clearly, I think for this audience, you're right.
Cahee is a perfect marketplace for a lot of these brands to think about.
We're big fans of Cahee, of course, and we're really excited to get launched with them.
The thing I'll say, though, is don't discount, as Adrianne said, just food services becoming more popular.
Also, don't discount C-Stores.
The Foxtrot thing was interesting, right?
We all loved Foxtrot.
It was like 30 stores or something.
And so if you're only relying on Foxtrot and other Foxtrots, it's going to be a really uphill battle.
And so we have brands that I love them, but sometimes discount, like the C-Stores, I don't want to be in a C-Store.
Well, there's 150,000 C-Stores in the country.
Half of them are independent, half of them are chain.
And there's some macroeconomic things happening in C-Store space, right?
Gas sales are going down, tobacco sales are going down.
So most C-Stores in the country, at least half of them, want to get the four of us to walk in the door.
The four of us typically don't walk in the door to buy food in C-Stores.
But there are progressive C-Stores who are discovering and realizing that in order to get the four of us in the door, they have to have brands that you're going to see on NOSH and BevNET.
And so we like to remind brands to go into this little open-minded.
I know it's important to build a brand, but if you're going to limit yourself to Foxtrot, I think it's going to be really a long road.
Building off of that, I would say, in the immediate aftermath of what we saw when Foxtrot did close its doors, I think it speaks to exactly what we're saying here is building steady and actually getting a foundation, because if you're relying just on Foxtrot, I got plenty of calls from brands that that was their anchor account for one warehouse, and that's how they sold an entire region.
So the rest of their business relied on smaller independent regional stores, and almost all of them were just expressing fears that those stores do not pull enough volume through those warehouses, that they're just essentially going to lose an entire region that they'd work to build up because they'd put all of their eggs in that single basket.
Clearly, Mable is a great option for emerging brands.
When is a brand ready to launch with Mable?
What do they need to have in place?
A couple of things come to mind that definitely need to be able to dropship.
Ideally, dropship within somewhere like two to three days.
These distributors often have SLA's that they would enforce, so that's really important.
Being able to maintain inventory is also really important.
A poor experience if they're always out of stock on the marketplace, so certainly trying to keep things in stock.
Definitely need your catalog to be complete in terms of product data.
Things like UPCs, ingredients, allergens, dimensions, weights, those are all going to be table stakes to get set up.
And the last thing I would say is just imagery has become increasingly important, especially when we're talking about a marketplace, so it's important for that listing.
And then also for planogramming purposes.
A lot of these distributors help their retailers with planograms, so they're looking for clear, head-on imagery of these products to facilitate that process.
Lauren, you mentioned drop shipping.
Are the typical options there what we might expect?
UPS, FedEx, or a 3PL, is that right?
Yeah, that's right.
UPS and FedEx are preferred.
And then, yes, ideally, if you have a scalable 3PL partner, that works great as well.
How would brands be able to anticipate landed cost?
I know that's oftentimes a complicated issue, but any tips on how brands might be able to understand what they might be looking at?
The way our landed cost system works is that we try to understand where the brand is shipping from and use that to come up with a steady cost that retailers can expect.
Something that we've seen some really successful brands do is test shipping a few different ways.
So, you know, test shipping with FedEx, test shipping with UPS, try different packaging, send it to family and friends and just take stock of what's working well, what's not, what's like really driving up the cost and try to tweak based on those things.
It's some upfront work, but we've seen some brands be really successful in trying that before going big.
So we've talked a little bit about the evolution of Mable and how distribution partners are such a crucial part of how you do business now.
Approximately how many distributors does Mable work with at this point?
Just those few we mentioned so far, McLean and US.
Foods and KE.
This is a new model for us that we launched this year, and we're actively talking to a lot of other, the top 25 distributors today.
And in the interest of giving specific helpful tips, Lauren, I think you mentioned that McLean's needs a unique identifying number.
This is just one of those little tidbits that I think are always so helpful.
Can you explain what that is and why it's important for McLean's?
Yeah, you're right.
It's called a UIN, and it's the number that a SKU gets given when it's available in McLean's warehouse.
And typically, that's been reserved for warehouse products only.
And we've often heard like, oh, a retailer's asking me what my UIN is.
What is that?
And so the way our program works with McLean is that every single SKU that gets approved for their emerging brands program gets a UIN.
We give that back to the brand, and it's become a really invaluable way to market themselves to McLean customers.
It's the easiest, like the universal thing that they can provide to a retailer and say, hey, I'm available.
Here's my UIN.
And we recently just launched a new feature too where you can search on the marketplace by UIN.
So just giving retailers an easier way to find these brands, especially if that's a piece of information they've been given.
That is incredibly helpful.
We've talked about shipping, distribution.
What does the setup process look like for brands who are looking to get established in Mable?
Like how would I get set up if I was a brand?
So you can head to meetmable.com.
There is an application there.
And so we'll ask you a couple of screening questions.
So some of the things I mentioned before, like we'll want to know that you can drop ship and that you have UPCs and kind of those basic things.
And once you're through that screening process, we'll ask you to provide all of your product information.
And then essentially what happens from there is Mable intakes that data and we'll sync that with the appropriate systems depending on which distributor marketplace you're applying for.
And so we've developed some technology that kind of helps manipulate that data into the right unique ways that it needs to be set up for each distributor.
And for platforms like these, oftentimes the way that you set your profile up has a lot to do with how successful you are.
Are there any tips you have for brands on how to make the most of their profile?
Maybe things that you see other brands typically miss the first time around or that would be helpful for folks to know in order to get the most out of their partnership?
Yeah, I think certainly just responsiveness.
So samples are also something that's part of every marketplace.
And so responding to those samples, those sample requests in a timely manner, really helps, really nailing that first order if it comes through and fulfilling it quickly.
Clear imagery, we've talked about that a little bit, but clear imagery really makes a big difference with multiple shots of every skew if possible.
So some head on and maybe some are like lifestyle.
Multiple packaging sizes has become increasingly important.
And I know that can be a little tricky if you need to get a UPC for multiple different sizes.
But we have seen that different stores are looking for different sizes.
And so maybe one wants a single cookie and then the other one wants a bag with peg holes on it for some sort of end cap.
So putting all of your catalog up there really does help because you never know what will kind of catch someone's eye.
And lastly, I would say like giving a little bit of a background story on your brand.
You'll never know what kind of resonates with folks.
And we've talked a little bit about Kendra from Bon B.
She was on Shark Tank.
It's all over her profile.
It's just like a really fun way to get to know the brand.
And so putting in your personality into your profile I think helps as well.
Your point about sizes is a great one.
What is the chain of communication look like?
So if a retailer wants packaging that has a hole so that they can put it on a peg wall, how does the retailer get that information to the brand that's on Mable?
Through our sample feature, retailers can request a sample and then give feedback.
So that's often how that happens, and it's a really great way.
It actually happened recently where a retailer wanted something but wanted it to have a peg hole in it.
So that'll often come through the platform itself, or more often than not, it probably comes through the account manager.
So we work very closely with the account managers at the distributors and get that feedback firsthand.
How do brands elevate their presence on Mable?
Are there, you know, marketing programs?
What's the best...
I know that you have so many brands that you're working with.
What are the opportunities for brands to, you know, put themselves above the crowd, especially if they have maybe a new line that's come out or they're looking to focus on a specific product or set of products?
Some of the things that we've mentioned, but also things like something we found really helpful as of late is just really trying to help retailers understand how to merchandise your products.
So whether that be like, you know, you really belong in a better for you end cap or you belong in a Vermont local end cap, something like that.
Because a lot of times what we hear is, you know, I don't know how to...
I don't know where to put this brand.
Like it doesn't really fit next to the Doritos, but I don't really have a spot for it.
So anything you can do to help, you know, kind of paint that picture for them.
So whether that be like, you know, we merchandise really well in this type of place or we've also seen a lot of brands doing things like peg holes, which we talked about before, or listing merchandising displays.
That's a really helpful way to, you know, give retailers a space to put something without having to redo their entire planet ground.
And you're talking about like cardboard shippers, that kind of thing?
Yeah.
Exactly.
What is the cost of doing business with Mable?
Like what should a brand anticipate to pay?
Is it an annual fee?
When do the sort of costs get incurred and how?
So there's a one-time set up fee of $500, and then there's a $450 fee per marketplace per year.
So you would pay $950 on day one, and then a year from then you would pay $450 again for that marketplace.
And then through every transaction, Mable and the distributor take a small portion of every purchase that happens on the platform.
Adrianne, I love to hear from you on this.
I know that you've spoken with a good number of brands about Mable and platforms like it.
How have you seen a platform like Mable be able to scale with a brand?
Yeah, I think it spans such a wide gamut of the brands that have reported back that they are doing well on Mable.
And I think that just speaks volumes to the potential to scale.
As we've noted, it's still early days with this new distribution integration and the new model that they're going about.
But for someone like McConnell's, as we've mentioned, to be able to scale a cold chain, fairly heavy item through a drop ship distribution method is not something that has been common in the past.
So I think as brands look to really hone in on what regions they are doing well in, I think that just adds an extra layer of value.
It allows them to test new channels, but go really deep on a specific geography.
As we've mentioned also, just on another kind of side note, just e-commerce overall has become more important to all food and beverage businesses.
So whether you do have a core group of consumers, say in Vermont and you're based in Texas, it just allows you to cater to those groups in a probably a little bit more scalable way than was available in the past.
Another question that sort of came up in my mind as we were talking about all of this were the policies around some of the seemingly small administrative issues, like if you have a pricing change or if you have a UPC change, that kind of thing.
If you're with a distributor like UNFI or CAHI, you realize it's a huge deal, and certainly not only are there fees that are incurred, but it can be sort of an arduous process.
How do brands navigate something like that with Mable?
So, you're right.
It's definitely something that we see brands struggle with.
What we've learned is that most distributors give retailers about 30 days' notice about things like price change.
So, as part of that intermediary technology that we are, we kind of work with the brands to gather those changes.
They're able to make them within the platform whenever they want.
And then we will relay those through our technology with the distributor to the distributor who then relays them to the retailer.
So, we're typically doing that about 60 days in advance.
And then, you know, they'll pass it on 30 days in advance, distributor to retailer.
That's a huge benefit to the brand to have Mable as the intermediary for something like that.
Yeah, absolutely.
We've heard things about fees for making those changes.
Oftentimes, it's also just a net new product that gets made on Mable.
So, that can sometimes solve some of that pain rather than updating an existing product, just listing a new product.
Say you have a new UPC, that's typically what happens.
Any other best practices for brands who are on Mable and they've got some great accounts, and then, of course, they're looking to expand those accounts.
What works?
I think hosting about your placement and maybe a new store that you've got into, we've seen work really, really well.
Let your customers know where they can find you.
You might be surprised about what's nearby them.
And so, shouting that from the rooftops has really worked well for some brands.
And also, we talked a little bit about feedback, but really lean on the feedback that you're able to get directly from buyers and incorporate that into your future products, so your packaging.
It's so valuable to get products into the hands of potential buyers and get their firsthand feedback.
So really take that and run with it if you can.
Yeah, and just to pile on, I know you mentioned this, but the brands that are in these marketplaces, again, are essentially in a virtual warehouse for these distributors.
And so whenever they come across a retailer that buys from the distributor, the friction to buy has been removed, right?
Because before it might be like my store, I have to buy direct, I have to do a credit form or something.
There's just friction there.
This is like instantly, oh, you're in the KE marketplace?
Oh, I can just go log on tomorrow and buy a case of your products.
And so we really encourage these brands once they are approved in these marketplaces to shout from the rooftops on the fact that they are.
Lauren, you mentioned feedback.
How does that feedback get from the retailer to the brand?
It could be through that sample feature we were talking about earlier, where retailers are required to give some feedback if they're requesting samples.
That can be really valuable.
Also, directly from the distributor.
Working with McLean, they've brought samples to plenty of sales meetings and just said, hey guys, here's some snacks, try them.
These are all available on emerging brands and getting that real-time feedback.
And we're often able to feed that back to the brand directly, which has been awesome.
Adrienne, I know that this is something that you've been focused on as well.
What are some examples of brands that are doing really well on Mable?
What have you heard?
I feel like it spans just such a wide gamut at this point from almost everyone that I've spoken to.
It can be selling a box of crackers, as we mentioned, ice cream.
I'd say probably beverage is the one that I haven't seen as much traction with, likely because drop shipping heavy cans of liquid or glass bottles of liquid is maybe not the most cost-efficient or easiest route to market for them.
But it really does span a pretty wide gamut from snacks to ice cream to really anything that you could find in the store.
Even cheese, Vermont cheese has been a growing category for us, or cheese in general.
But you're right.
It's interesting that you brought up McConnell's a couple of times.
There's a business that knows how to efficiently drop ship.
And that kind of goes back to some of the questions about brands.
You have to be able to efficiently, economically, and ideally in an eco-friendly way, ship products to stores.
And that involves typically a very trusted 3PL, or whoever else does your fulfillment.
But a lot of businesses are great at it and others aren't.
You certainly need to fine tune that part of your business before you get signed up for these programs.
I would also just add in this whole post-COVID kind of world, where we saw a lot of DTC emerging brands pop up and plenty still chugging along.
I feel like a lot of those businesses, as you've mentioned, they already have that understanding of how to ship direct, whether it's to a customer, a distribution partner or a retailer.
And I think just in this day and age we're in, the point of scale that they're about to reach, I feel like there's quite a large cohort of brands that are ready to scale up through something like this.
Well, if McConnell's ice cream can do it, I think that's a great inspiration to everybody.
My last question is one about sort of what's trending.
I noticed that customers can search Mable for special diets, brand values.
What are some of the things you see trending in terms of the categories, special diets?
What are you noticing that your customers are looking for more and more?
We've got, I think, highest-ranking search terms as of late are things like cheese, crackers and vegan.
Certainly, diet-specific products are always popular search terms.
We've seen an uptick in things like mushroom and matcha.
There's plenty of mushroom copies.
We've got a decent amount of mushroom jerky as well.
And then when it comes to summer, ice cream is also starting to trend again.
Not surprising.
That will be kind of high throughout the summer.
But I think it's interesting.
Not everything we see trending comes through in those search results.
So we've had a lot.
I mentioned this a little earlier, but things like pet brands and health and beauty, we've had a lot of distributors and retailers come to us, asking us for categories like that.
So I think that's been really interesting to see just kind of those complimentary buckets of brands that these traditional food and beverage buyers are looking for.
So that's been a big trend.
And I think the last thing I would mention is just a collection of brands that they want to merchandise together.
So we've got a chain buying a Better For You end cap across multiple locations.
It's the same exact thing in every location.
They want it a little salty, a little sweet.
So putting things together that makes sense in the market.
So we've also got a local end cap at quite a few stores.
Local is huge for these marketplaces because it's the perfect solution for one area of the country that wants to buy a lot of these products, but maybe no one else in the country would want to.
So we've seen a lot of local products trending as well.
Was the chain that was doing the Better For You end cap a C-store chain?
Yes, they are.
It comes full circle.
Don't forget C-store, which is a great tip.
I can't thank you enough for joining this Community Call.
Lauren Richardee, Arik Keller and Adrianne Deluca, thank you so much for all of your information on how brands can be successful with the Mable platform.
It's been so great to have you here.
Thank you for having us.
Thank you so much.
That concludes another episode of the Community Call podcast.
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