Commercial and Category Support

When considering entering a new non-food grocery market, having the guidance of an expert that knows the inner workings of that market is priceless. We have successfully helped over 40 international businesses enter the UK market, so you can guarantee that we have a comprehensive knowledge of the vital steps for success. The solution we provide for entering the market is complete: providing detail on the relevant category and main competitors, recommending a route to market, sourcing a distributor or agent, refining product formulation and packaging via consumer research and managing customer accounts.

Major supermarkets and beauty stores are a tempting first port of call when entering a new market, but for successful brand entry often calls for a more thoughtful and nuanced approach. Before eventually approaching larger retailers or Skincare and Beauty wholesalers, one alternative strategy is to build brand awareness through smaller consumer accounts to demonstrate a successful track record. We have helped a number of brands enter the market this way, so we can advise on the most suitable route to market for you. Whether this is in retail, wholesale or independent health store channel, both our knowledge and contacts will make your brand successful within the Skincare and Beauty category.

Regardless of how good your Skincare and Beauty product or brand appears, if you can’t attract the attention of the retailers or wholesalers in the competitive UK marketplace, your product will struggle to gain traction. Having an agent or distributor on board that knows the market, and is passionate about your Skincare and Beauty product or brand, can mean the difference between becoming a mainstream brand and being destined for the brand graveyard. With our proprietary database of UK distributors and agents, we can help find the right UK partner for you.

We have an unrivalled understanding of what both parties want to get out of the buying-supplying relationship, having worked on both client and retailer side, so we focus on delivering the win:win. In the first instance, we can help advise on which buyers to contact, how to approach them and how to present your brand to appeal to their specific requirements. Our involvement can be as little or as much as you want. Whether you want coaching and support through your retailer pitch or you just want help on finding the right person to contact, we are happy to help.

Once you have gained your listings, managing your account is something else we can help you with, a service we do for many international clients who typically are focused on several new Skincare and Beauty markets at one time. Responsiveness and efficiency are traits highly regarded by retail and wholesale customers. At HRA Global, our team can empower your team so that your retail accounts are handled smoothly and contact is kept regularly with buyers, ready to react to opportunities and deliver promotional and in-store marketing plans.

One of the main pitfalls for many Skincare and Beauty brands approaching the retailers is not knowing the category well enough. Modern retail buyers expect you to be completely up to date with price movements, market share, competitors, packaging trends and Skincare and Beauty developments. Our access to the most up-to-date market insights can help create a thorough category analysis which details Skincare and Beauty consumer trends, recent NPD, competitor brand positioning, pricing and performance. This enables us to identify the gap for you as a Skincare and beauty brand and, if necessary, refine your positioning to help you stand out from your competition and increase buyer appeal.

Putting together a clear skincare and beauty Value Proposition from the start, ensures that you can build and retain a strong brand while staying focused on your core customers. A Value Proposition is an exercise that produces a clear brand identity and a precisely defined target audience. Putting together a Value Proposition internally can be challenging, as condensing a brand into a simple core essence is often something companies find almost impossible to do. HRA Global’s trained eye for unique propositions can help in this process by asking the key questions to get to the heart of what your brand is about and how to make it a success.