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Start with the challenge you’re working through or the category you know best. Explore selected Road2Retail conversations with founders, retailers, investors, and subject matter experts.
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Latest episodesPrepare for buyer outreach, retailer presentations, category reviews and the expectations behind a listing decision.
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Clear your search and topicUnderstand the role of referrals, product differentiation, category credibility and adequate funding in securing a meeting with a prospective retail account.
Why it’s here Begin with access, referrals and credibility.
Build a concise meeting agenda and presentation that explains differentiation, the desired outcome and how the brand can help the retailer’s category.
Why it’s here Prepare the agenda, presentation and clear request.
A former Walmart buyer explains readiness, meeting access and common mistakes, with advice on what small brands should establish before approaching a retailer.
Why it’s here Hear the perspective of a former Walmart buyer.
A veteran buyer explains how differentiation, online traction, presentation quality and demand generation influence an emerging brand’s retail prospects.
Why it’s here Understand the evidence an experienced natural and specialty buyer wants.
Paul Gerner shares a retailer perspective on getting noticed, assortment decisions, competition, retailer fees, and the behaviors expected from emerging brands.
Why it’s here See how a former H-E-B merchant evaluates fit, value and differentiation.
GNC merchant Roberta Townes explains how she evaluates emerging brands, what belongs in a buyer presentation, and how quality review, onboarding and marketing support shape a launch.
Why it’s here Add a specialist retailer’s perspective from GNC.
The hosts explain how line reviews work, which sales, margin and service results to prepare, how to address problems, and why prompt follow-up matters.
Why it’s here After winning distribution, prepare for an existing-account category review.
The hosts connect supply chain capacity, full product costs, customer fit, leadership credibility, and broker relationships to the decision to enter retail and secure a buyer meeting.
Why it’s here Matched automatically from the episode title and discussion notes.
The hosts recap retailer calls for innovation, focused assortments and useful data, alongside consumer health deal activity and leadership changes discussed around the NACDS Annual meeting.
Why it’s here Matched automatically from the episode title and discussion notes.
Sean Ogar introduces research for concept, packaging, pricing and messaging decisions, with outputs designed to help emerging brands present evidence to retailers and investors.
Why it’s here Matched automatically from the episode title and discussion notes.
The hosts review Expo West's educational sessions, innovation themes, retailer meeting challenges, RangeMe's role, and ways to make attending the show more effective.
Why it’s here Matched automatically from the episode title and discussion notes.
David Simnick explains how Soapbox connected its giving mission to product performance, focused on leading SKUs, built retailer-specific growth plans and approached outside investment.
Why it’s here Matched automatically from the episode title and discussion notes.