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We are all endlessly bombarded with marketing messages and tactics attempting to get us to purchase one product over another. Whether a company is promoting its formula (“New and Improved”), showing its popularity (“America’s #1 Choice”), or highlighting benefits (“Keeps you Fuller Longer”), it can be hard to wade through the messages and know what’s true and what truly matters. All consumers ever want is what is best for them and their families.

Understanding FDA regulations

It’s critical to know and understand what these claims mean and how companies use them. Regarding claims, there are varying degrees of oversight from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). These are the two big agencies tasked with ensuring the safety of the food that Americans eat every day. The FDA oversees all processed food, while the USDA regulates meat, poultry, eggs, and produce.

The FDA groups the claims that they oversee into three different categories:

Nutrient content claims: These claims help put the level of a nutrient in the product into perspective for the consumer by using terms such as free, high, and low, or compare the  nutrient levels in a food to that …

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Introducing the Story to Shelf Series with First Guest Creative Nature

The Story to Shelf interview series delves into the stories behind successful brand founders on RangeMe and their journeys of building their companies and bringing their products or services to retail. Our team is thrilled to interview these entrepreneurs and gain first-hand insights on their challenges, the creative solutions they used, and the tactics that helped them succeed. Get ready to learn from those who have been there and done that, and discover the secrets to success in the retail industry.

RangeMe founder Nicky Jackson kicks off the series with a 1:1 interview with Creative Nature’s founder Julianne Ponan.

The Story Behind Creative Nature

For people with major food allergies, shopping at a grocery store can be a series of Noes. No food with nuts. No food with seeds. No foods with certain additives. And for Julianne Ponan, who suffers from anaphylaxis to all of these, many of the allergen-free products she was able to consume had no taste. 

Ponan was determined to change that with the launch of Creative Nature, a brand that specializes in baking mixes, snacks and confectionery products. Her mission was two-fold: to create products completely free of the top 14 common allergens and that taste …

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In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:

The Story to Shelf interview series delves into the stories behind successful brand founders on RangeMe and their journeys of building their companies and bringing their products or services to retail. Our team is thrilled to interview these entrepreneurs and gain first-hand insights on their challenges, the creative solutions they used, and the tactics that helped them succeed. Get ready to learn from those who have been there and done that, and discover the secrets to success in the retail industry.

RangeMe founder Nicky Jackson kicks off the series with a 1:1 interview with Creative Nature’s founder Julianne Ponan.

The Story Behind Creative Nature

For people with major food allergies, shopping at a grocery store can be a series of Noes. No food with nuts. No food with seeds. No foods with certain additives. And for Julianne Ponan, who suffers from anaphylaxis to all of these, many of the allergen-free products she was able to consume had no taste. 

Ponan was determined to change that with the launch of Creative Nature, a brand that specializes in baking mixes, snacks and confectionery products. Her mission was two-fold: to create products completely free of the top 14 common allergens and that taste …

Read More

In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:

I recently sat through a meeting that put me in a trance. The objective was unclear, it was poorly facilitated, and packed with too much information. As I looked around the room, I observed that everyone looked exhausted, unmotivated, and disengaged. The meeting leader had not conveyed a cohesive story and had failed to deliver on the objective of the meeting. Poorly led meetings occur at epidemic levels, which is why 90% of people daydream during these sessions Most attendees are not present, are working on other projects, or not engaging in the discussion at hand. When attention starts to drift, the meeting has already failed.

Meetings are among the most universally accepted time wasters in the modern workplace. Almost everyone can recall a time when they walked out of a meeting and thought “please just shoot me an email next time.” According to a survey of almost 200 senior executives conducted by Steven Rogelberg of the University of North Carolina, 71% of meetings are “unproductive and ineffective,” while a similar number felt meetings kept them from doing necessary work Most people say they normally do other work during meetings and of those who aren’t, many are checked out and …

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Success at the Shelf in the U.K.: Advice from a Buyer to Brands

If you are considering entering the U.K. market, there are several things you should know about doing business with retailers there. Recently, RangeMe published a blog post on understanding the British consumer, focusing on overarching trends across the country’s retail landscape. In this post, We’ll get a buyer’s in-the-trenches perspective on some important items for brands to consider when looking to get on the shelves in the U.K.

Peter Mudahy is the CEO of Pak Cosmetics (pictured to the right), one of the largest multicultural beauty retailers in the U.K., with 27 stores and a thriving e-commerce business. As a RangeMe member who has participated in more than two dozen ECRM and ECRM Europe sessions, he has a ton of experience engaging with global suppliers looking to enter the U.K. market (In fact, he’s at the ECRM Europe Beauty Sessions meeting with global suppliers as I write this.)

I sat with Mudahy virtually for an hour-long discussion to pick his brain for advice to suppliers looking to do business with U.K. retailers. The following are some insights I gleaned from our conversation. 

Pak Cosmetics CEO meeting with suppliers at ECRM Europe’s Beauty Session Pak Cosmetics CEO meeting with suppliers at
…
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Funding 101: What to Know to Maximize Cash Flow for Online Business

You’ve heard the stories: “I got started with just $ 800.” or “Oh, you need at least $ 10,000 to successfully start an e-commerce business.” While the stories may vary, they all share one truth: You need funding to achieve long-term success for your online business. How do you know where to start? 

There are a variety of types of funding, each appropriate for different points along your e-commerce journey. While this list is a comprehensive view of the different types of funding, there are a variety of times and uses for each type. Remember: Nobody knows your business better than you and no two businesses are the same, so make the decisions that work best for your brand, based on the data you have on hand.

All Online Businesses Can Benefit from Funding

As a business grows, it’s only natural that it needs more cash flow. More sales results in the need for more inventory. More inventory means a larger warehouse or increased logistics setup. A larger warehouse means more staff. It’s an endless cycle that means only good things for your business.

However, without funding at the right time, you could actually be harming your business’s growth. The …

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