The FOOD MAP
1. UK Market deep dive and individual market opportunity analysis
2. UK Market visit with personalised tour and group buyer sessions
3. UK Market business plan development
4. Sales, Marketing, packaging, branding
5. UK visit to meet with target buyers
6. Buyer meeting follow up, negotiation and order fulfilment
Module 1: UK Market Deep Dive and Individual Market Analysis
Programme introduction followed by:
- UK market overview & how we do business in the UK, with examples tailored to each of the participating businesses
- Requirements to be successful in the UK market
- UK Market plan introduction
- Certification & sustainability
- Homework
One-to-one sessions to assess each participating company’s current status versus the success requirements for the UK. Understanding of key product / capability for the UK and beginning of market segmentation exercise to identify the priority target UK customers. Homework will be set for each company to complete a SWOT analysis for the UK
OCO Global will develop individual route-to-markets for each company and identify key target UK customers and the relevant buyers
Module 2: UK Market visit
Two and a half day visit to UK to better understand the market for your product, the competitive environment and to gain insights from different potential partners in the market. Group meetings with UK buyers to understand how UK buyers select product, place orders and negotiate; what they expect from suppliers; and their lead time requirements
Visits – Retail and Food service
- Understand Retailer Environments & hear from Retail Buyers in-stores about what they look for/expect
- Look at different products, pack sizes etc in each retailer/in food service situations, understand differences. Look at the pricing strategies used
Group Meeting with a UK Wholesaler/Distributor
- Understand how the UK distributors work and how they set pricing
- Understand different business terms & conditions and know what to look out for
- Understand how the distributor engages with the retailer and what support they both expect from the supplier
Group Meeting with a branding consultant and legal labelling expert
- Gain UK specific insights into branding, packaging and labelling to help shape your offer
Presentation from category management / insight specialist tailored to the group
One to One Meetings to begin business planning for the UK and identify gaps that need addressed
Module 3: UK Market Strategy & Business Plan
Following the UK visit, each company will start to build their business plan for the UK market using a simple template provided by OCO Global. This will include product strategy, packaging modifications, branding, certification, pricing and logistics
Module 4: Preparing for the UK – Marketing and Sales
In preparation for the buyer meetings in Module 5, we focus on the importance of sales & marketing and preparing samples and winning presentations. In the workshop we will go through the various aspects of presenting to a buyer and will then support companies to implement what they have learned via 1-2-1 sessions
As a result of the workshop and 1-2-1’s, the companies will:
- Develop a winning story which tells buyers who you are & why you are unique
- Develop a concise, compelling powerpoint presentation for buyers
- Select the products relevant for your target UK buyers and organise samples with UK labelling
- Help with preparing for the UK buyer meetings
- Role play of buyer meetings to develop confidence for UK visit
Module 5: UK visit – Individual buyer meetings
Each company will have an individual schedule of meetings with their target buyers across 2.5 days. The visit will start with a meeting preparation session to ensure companies are ready to present confidently to buyers and will finish with a feedback session to discuss learnings and next steps
OCO Global will aim to set up a minimum of 3 buyer meetings per company, pre-qualified and interested to meet with the supplier. OCO Global will aim to sit in on some of the meetings to be able to give feedback to the companies in terms of what they did well and how they can improve
Following the meetings, we will have a review workshop to get feedback from the companies, share experiences, discuss further training / supports required and prepare buyer follow ups
Module 6: Buyer follow up – Negotiation, contracting and fulfilment
Companies will be supported in progressing the sales opportunities generated from the visit. This will include negotiation, completing paperwork, agreeing first orders, shipping stock and checking customer satisfaction
OCO Global will provide mentorship and can act as a local liaison with the UK buyers to resolve any communication issues etc.
Funding
Financial supports for the programme will be available from CEPEX or Tasdir+. Support may include contributions towards travel, website and marketing, design of new collection etc
Participating companies will be responsible for paying the costs of these activities and then reclaiming the contribution element from Cepex / Tasdir+
Selection Process
The process and timeline for application, selection and programme commencement is as follows:
* Interviews will be face-to-face meetings held in Tunisia at client premises where possible, otherwise meetings will be held at the nearest CEPEX office
Activity |
Date |
1. Call for applications to Programme | Published week commencing 5th August |
2. Deadline for receipt of applications | 5pm on 13th September |
3. Interview for Cohort two | Week commencing 23rd September |
4. Cohort two commences | Week commencing 14th October |
Selection Criteria
The selection process will be managed by a committee consisting of OCO Global, CEPEX and an industry specialist. The focus for selection will be on identifying companies that have a differentiated product / service offer, can address an identified opportunity area in the UK, and who have the resources and interest to actively pursue the UK market
As a basis for evaluation, the following criteria will be used in the selection process:
- Do you have English speaking capability?
- Does your company have BRC or equivalent certification?
- Does your company have Ecocert / Organic certification?
- Do you have New Product Development resource in the business?
- Do you have a company website?
- Do you currently export to other markets?
- Do you have the financial and human resources to commit to the programme?
In addition, OCO Global will endeavour to have regional and gender diversity in the programme, so that it is open to all companies across Tunisia
Requirement for participating companies:
To ensure the programme is successful, it is imperative that the participating companies are fully committed and able to invest the time and resources needed to become market-ready for the UK. Specifically, we will ask all participating companies to commit to the following:
- Allocation of a minimum 1 senior personnel to the programme and to the UK market
- A minimum of 6 days per month allocated to the programme and to implementing the learnings and actions from the programme over the 6-month period
- Attendance at all 6 modules including the 2 visits to the UK market
- Early visa applications to avoid travel issues to the UK
- Commitment to developing capability, marketing and product for the UK market
- Commitment to regular UK visits following the programme as required
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