Ocado has launched a challenger brand accelerator programme that will offer 100 small suppliers “the best support in the industry”.
Ocado Roots, which launched today, is open to all new suppliers launching on Ocado who are not yet listed with another major supermarket, as well as brands who have launched over the last 12 months.
The online pureplay grocer said brands in the programme would enjoy the “purple carpet treatment”, including bespoke onboarding and training, faster payment terms, support from a dedicated Ocado Roots team and free data from Ocado’s insights tool Beet by Ocado.
They will also benefit from “simplified ways of working”, receiving “clear guidelines and expectations, with well-defined milestones to help measure success”.
Roots also hopes to foster a “real sense of community and a support network” with the challenger brands involved encouraged to support each other, share ideas and build partnerships through private events and newsletters.
“We’ve created Ocado Roots to be a unique challenger brand community for a large number of up-and-coming brands,” Amit Chitnis, Ocado’s chief commercial officer told The Grocer. “Our aim is to make Ocado the best place for customers to find new and exciting brands, and the best place for brands to scale their business. We will offer all those in the programme the perfect environment to succeed through a combination of rolling out a ‘purple carpet’ of Ocado support, as well as fostering a vibrant community where they can learn from each other and our constellation of champion mentor brands.”
Those new brands on the programme will also receive guidance and mentoring from larger challenger brands, among them: TrueStart Coffee, Biotiful, When in Rome, Love Corn, Borough Broth, Miniml, Piccolo, The Jolly Hog, Bold Bean Co, All Plants and Fuel 10k.
“Ocado was the first supermarket to take a chance on Jolly Hog and the listing opened doors to other retailers, which massively shaped our early years,” a spokesperson from The Jolly Hog said. “We’re excited to help other brands, who might be just starting out, through Ocado’s new mentoring scheme.”
Ocado said the initiative “cements Ocado’s commitment to offering its customers unbeatable choice – including the ability to explore small new brands and products that can’t be found anywhere else”.
The online retailer has long backed challenger brands, many of whom won their first major listing on Ocado before launching into ’big four’ supermarkets.
In July it announced a partnership with IND!E – which helps even smaller, pre-challenger brands host pop-up shops in major retailers like John Lewis, Waitrose, Harvey Nichols and Boots. IND!E will host a “shop-in-shop” on the Ocado website this autumn. The initiative is open to small businesses in all product categories, giving them the chance “to reach a major retail platform and amplify their market presence”.
“This landmark partnership cements IND!E as one of the most dynamic businesses supporting small businesses and creating the opportunity for entrepreneurs to live their dreams,” Matt Hopkins, CEO of IND!E said at the time. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Ocado to provide a launchpad for innovative products and groundbreaking brands. Our shared vision is to empower SMEs, driving growth and diversity in the retail market.”
Ocado said the IND!E initiative acts as a “nursery” to help those brands “find their way into retail and when they’re ready, we hope they’ll then come up through Roots”.
Speaking to The Grocer last month, Chitnis said he could closely empathise with the countless challenger brands that approach Ocado on a daily basis hoping for a spot on its (digital) shelves, having once worked knocking on factory doors in south China, selling leather to factories making handbags and shoes. “It’s the resilience you need to get comfortable with all of the times you have to hear a no, before you hear the one yes,” he said.
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