Choosing a marketing agency for a food or beverage brand
What to ask a marketing agency before hiring them for a food or beverage brand, and why FSSAI compliance knowledge should be a hard requirement.
4 min read
A distributor or retail buyer evaluating a new food brand for their shelf or catalogue is primarily assessing commercial viability — sales velocity, margin, shelf life — brand story matters, but only after these fundamentals check out.
What the pitch needs to show
- Sales velocity data from any existing retail or D2C presence, even if modest.
- Margin structure clearly stated for the distributor or retailer's specific role.
- Shelf life and storage requirements, since this affects a retailer's own logistics and risk.
Presenting compliance and certification
FSSAI licensing and any relevant certifications (organic, quality marks) should be clearly documented and current, since a retail buyer will need this for their own compliance and may ask to verify it directly.
A retail buyer cares first about how fast your product will move off their shelf — the brand story matters, but only once the commercial numbers make sense.
Design that supports a commercial decision
Clear, well-labelled margin and velocity data matters more than creative slide design — this audience is evaluating a commercial fit, not being sold on brand aesthetics alone.
The takeaway
Present sales velocity and margin data clearly — a retail buyer or distributor cares more about how fast a product moves and what margin it offers than about brand story alone.
Written by Fibvo — Bengaluru and Erode, India — working with clients in other time zones. Questions, or think we have it wrong? Tell us.
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