#174 - Buyer Spotlight: Heidi Traore and Jeanette Bloss, National Co+op Grocers

The Startup CPG Podcast

Startup CPG

Startup, Food, Business, Beverage, Cpg, Entrepreneurship

4.9 • 642 Ratings

🗓️ 18 December 2024

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Daniel Scharff chats with Heidi Traore, Supplier Relationship Development Manager, and Jeanette Bloss, Category Manager, from NCG (National Co+op Grocers). Together, they provide an in-depth look at NCG’s role as a powerful partner for natural channel brands and co-op grocery stores.

Heidi breaks down what NCG is and how it functions as a secondary cooperative, helping hundreds of co-ops across the country thrive through centralized procurement, retail services, and retail development. Meanwhile, Jeanette offers invaluable insights into the world of category management, including how brands can position themselves for success during NCG’s formal category reviews, the importance of data, and identifying opportunities that align with emerging trends.

From navigating distributor relationships with UNFI, to understanding the power of promotions like co-op deals and coupons, to the booming interest in dumplings, mocktails, and mushroom-based products. Heidi and Jeanette also share what they look for in brands, tips on smart outreach, and how NCG fosters true partnerships to drive long-term success.

Ready to take your brand to the next level? Tune now!

Listen in as they share about:

NCG (National Co+op Grocers) Overview
Opportunities for Brands at NCG
The Process for Brands to Partner with NCG
Trends and Category Insights
What NCG Looks for in Brands

Episode Links:

Website: https://www.ncg.coop/

Jeanette’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanette-bloss-aa2814149/

Heidi’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heiditraore/

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.

Show Links:

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Episode music by Super Fantastics

Transcript

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0:00.0	Beep! Did you know that the beep of a barcode scan is heard at the point of sale more than 10 billion times a day worldwide?
0:10.3	Make sure your product is ready to go beep in the store or when you're selling online with a barcode from GS1US.
0:18.5	It's trusted by trading partners across the world.
0:21.9	GS1US is a not-for-profit standards organization that helps you meet retailer requirements,
0:27.6	enhance customer satisfaction, and streamline your operations.
0:31.7	GS1US offers flexible pricing options to fit the needs of your business and product line.
0:36.5	To estimate how many barcodes you need and to learn more about how to set up your supply chain
0:41.2	for success, go to gs1.us.org today.
0:47.1	That's gs1us.org.
0:53.6	Music org.
1:13.6	What differentiates NCG is that our stores are owned by the local community. They're owned by the people that shop there. And so the same way that NCG is accountable to its member co-ops, these retail
1:19.9	stores, those retail stores are accountable to their members. So what you're going to find when you
1:25.9	walk into NCG stores is that, you know, our shoppers
1:29.8	tend to index higher in organic, non-GMO, fair trade, vegan, gluten-free, animal welfare.
1:38.0	So while the co-ops are about servicing their local community and looking for ways to service everybody in the community.
1:46.6	When we look at our sales numbers, that's what we see shining through for us right now.
1:53.6	Welcome everybody to the Startup CPG podcast. Today we are joined by two legends. It's Heidi
1:58.6	Trauroy and Jeanette Blas from NCG. That's National Co-Op Grocers.
2:03.7	So National Co-Op Grocers is collectively one of the biggest customers in the Natural
2:07.9	Channel service primarily through UNFI, and they are a collection of tons of really high-end,
2:14.0	loved tastemaker co-ops around the country. Heidi is the supplier relationship development
2:19.2	manager. She works on a lot of the core sets and co-op deals promotion programs and is an introductory
	...

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