Trade promotions: 101

Remember “push” and “pull” from college econ? Here’s a reminder: To drive sales of your new natural food product, you either pull, which means spending a boatload of money on advertising to reach consumers directly, or push, which is offering discounts to distributors and retailers who then pass those savings on to shoppers. While big dogs like Pepsi and P&G can afford to pull, 95 percent of consumer packaged goods companies push. And for small natural food startups, pushing is almost always the way to go. But how do you move products off shelves without giving away the farm?

John Maggiore, owner of Maggiore’s Sales and Marketing and former natural foods category manager at Stop & Shop Supermarket, doles out expert advice. 

This video is an excerpt from a two-day seminar natural products consultant Bob Burke held with John Maggiore in San Francisco in May. Learn more about Burke and Maggiore's natural products sales seminars at the Natural Products Consulting Institute website.