Supermarkets Are Saying No. Here’s How to Get a Yes.

Shelf space is tighter than ever, but data and precision can still get your product in front of the right buyers

Getting your product into supermarkets right now? it’s tough. Shoppers are pulling back, retailers are nervous, and shelf space feels tighter than ever. With everything from tariffs to benefit cuts squeezing household budgets, grocery stores are being careful about what they stock.

Coresight Research predicts grocery sales will grow 3.1% in 2025 to reach $1.6 trillion. That sounds okay until you realize unit sales are only expected to grow 1%. Translation? People are buying less stuff and paying more for it. Meaning every single product you want to get on shelf has to prove it deserves to be there.

So how do you break through? You’ve got to be strategic and lead with real information, not just enthusiasm about your product.

First, you need to find the actual person who makes buying decisions for your category. This sounds basic, but you’d be surprised how many people blow it. One grocery chain might have a single buyer handling all snacks nationally, while another splits responsibility into salty, sweet, and natural categories. If you’re pitching a regional manager when you should be talking to the category buyer, you’re just wasting everyone’s time. It’s also a position that has rapid turnover, especially in recent years, and if you don’t reach the right person, your proposal goes into the trashcan.

This is where having access to accurate buyer data makes a huge difference. Services like Chain Store Guide’s online leads grocery database gives you the actual names, titles, and direct contact information for buyers at different chains. You can see whether they buy at the corporate level, regionally, or by store, and you can track which chains are expanding. That kind of intel means your pitch lands in the right inbox from the start.

Once you’ve got the right contact, tailor what you say. Buyers don’t care about your passion or your story as much as you think they do. They want to know how your product helps their category perform. Does it move fast? Does it deliver value their customers will notice? Does it support their profit margins? If you’re sourcing domestically or have figured out how to avoid tariff headaches, mention. Can your productivity scale? What are the profits per shelf space? In this economic climate, those details matter.

Here’s something people should note; buyer turnover is constant. People switch roles, move to different chains, and get promoted. If your first pitch didn’t land, it might be worth circling back in six months when there’s a new decision maker. Keeping your contact data updated means you can spot those openings and try again.

We get it, the market is tight right now, however tough doesn’t mean impossible. It just means you can’t afford to be sloppy. Get the right contact, write a pitch that focuses on what they need instead of what you want, and back it up with data. That’s how you win shelf space when everybody else is losing it.

Sources: Coresight Research grocery sales forecast for 2025