I'm looking for feedback from anyone willing to share their experiences selling to supermarkets like Tops, Tesco, Big C and the like.

i seem to remember similar enquiry posted before but the replies seem to indicate that an investment of several millions of bht were required to even be considered to deal with major outlets but i am not sure which crops

Rightly or wrongly the major supermarkets want to deal with the big time operators who have Thai FDA certificates, credible supply chains, can maintain supply / stocks, etc.

But good luck.

All of the local farmers here sell in the local farmers markets... that might tell you something.

The information to qualify as a supplier for Makro is (or at least was) at their website. I looked at it years ago when I and some friends were considering making a product. I recall that the requirements were very demanding, both financially and logically.

Thanks for the input. There seem to be substantial hurdles in dealing with the larger supermarkets and it would make sense to start off with some of the smaller 'regional' ones first to get a feel for how things work.

We are based in Chiang Mai, so Rim Ping is the obvious starting point. Villa Market have a packing depot in Chiang Mai, so they are another possibility.

I am aware of Food Land and I would be interested to find out about other 'regional' supermarkets that have just a few stores. I'd also be interested to hear from anyone that has sold to 7-11.

We sell to neighbours (best returns for us and best pricing for locals), the local markets and, occasionally, through a distribution network (middleman. Lowest returns but can be beneficial with unsold produce).

The large Supermarket Corporations usually have long term contracts with Suppliers who can supply all of their stores. That business can be lucrative but is, by its nature, large scale and quite outside the scope of the small farmer

I have a friend who has a small operation growing hydroponic lettuce.

To sell to Tops etc. IF I am remembering correctly, you only get paid after the goods are sold.

They wanted my friend to sell to all their stores but he did not have the capacity.

He drives around and sells to local vegetable and fruit shops.

We sell to neighbours (best returns for us and best pricing for locals), the local markets and, occasionally, through a distribution network (middleman. Lowest returns but can be beneficial with unsold produce).

Same here, word seems to get around pretty quickly and we have people turning up all the time for eggs and fish. Direct sales are much more profitable than going through wholesalers, but it's good to have something to fall back on.

Check out these links... http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Direct-sourcing-a-win-win-deal-for-retail-giant-fa-30273626.html

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Tesco-Lotus-develops-it-fresh-food-chain-from-farm-30244967.html

To sell to Tops etc. IF I am remembering correctly, you only get paid after the goods are sold.

This is what we are finding. Most stores want you to remove any unsold products from their shelves. Some also want Bt10k per fresh product up front to allow it on their shelves and insist you place sales staff in each of their stores to promote your products and hand out samples.

They allow you to charge whatever price you want and they take 25%

Check out these links... http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Direct-sourcing-a-win-win-deal-for-retail-giant-fa-30273626.html

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Tesco-Lotus-develops-it-fresh-food-chain-from-farm-30244967.html

I appreciate what Tesco Lotus is trying to achieve by buying direct from the farms, however, what has happened around our way is that one big farm has now assumed the role of the middleman/consolidator.

As the small growers do not understand (or, even know) how to sell to the big markets, they sell their produce to one of the big farms who, in turn, sell to the big markets (Tesco Lotus, Big C, Macro). We are guilty of it, ourselves. Our major customers are the neighbourhood (a number of which do come from quite a distance away). Some produce is sold to local markets. In the event we have good quality, unsold produce, it is sold to a distributor/consolidator/middleman.