A first meeting with a DACH category buyer is rarely about the product itself. By the time you are sitting across the table, the buyer has already accepted that the product is credible. The meeting is about something else entirely: risk.
The three silent questions
1. Will this supplier make my life easier or harder? Buyers manage hundreds of SKUs. A partner who answers late, misses documentation or improvises on logistics is a liability, regardless of margin.
2. Does this fit a real gap on my shelf? Buyers do not list products they like. They list products that solve a specific planogram problem — a missing price point, a missing occasion, a missing origin story.
3. Can I defend this listing internally? Every listing is reviewed by procurement, quality and finance. If the supplier cannot support the buyer's internal case, the listing stalls.
How to prepare
Bring a one-page category argument, not a company brochure. Bring landed cost, EAN and pallet configuration on the first meeting — not the third. And be explicit about what you are asking for: a test region, a seasonal window, or a full national listing.
Preparing for a buyer meeting?
We brief you on the retailer, the buyer and the exact category context before you walk in.
Talk to usSelling into DACH retail?
We open the right doors — and prepare you for what happens after they open.