UK frozen food giants Iceland and The Food Warehouse are joining forces with global product discovery platform RangeMe to boost the way they source new products.

The retailers will gain access to more than 800,000 products from 200,000 suppliers with RangeMe, allowing frozen, chilled, and grocery buyers to source emerging products. 

Nick Jackson, CEO of RangeMe, tells FoodIngredientsFirst that the market dictates that suppliers have to use every opportunity to get their brands noticed by buying teams.

“Whether it is by cold calling, sending samples, using socials and emailing sell sheets in every format imaginable, RangeMe offers a standard brand and product profile that captures key product information that is relevant for buyers to make the initial evaluation.”  

Sourcing brands through software
RangeMe makes suppliers around the world accessible to buyers in one place. The platform is now used by more than 15,000 retail buyers in the UK, Benelux region, North America and the Asia Pacific.

Iceland supermarket’s team of buyers will maximize the platform’s software to discover brands and products faster, connect with suppliers and request samples. 

“Joining forces with RangeMe has already transformed our sourcing and buying process. Our customers have increasingly diverse tastes, and preferences and RangeMe’s technology presents us with opportunities from the global product market on one screen,” says Andrew Staniland, trading director at Iceland. RangeMe puts suppliers in one place. 

“Embracing new technology is key to getting ahead in the retail industry. This partnership has streamlined our approach to buying and sourcing, and we will continue to maximize the software to supercharge our efforts to get the best-of-the-best onto the shelves in our stores as quickly as possible,” says Staniland.

Year-round optimization
RangeMe also trains buying teams in business methods to ensure buyers review the correct product submissions for their relevant categories. “We help suppliers get in front of the right buyer,” says Jackson.

The platform is available to buying teams all year round, 24 hours a day, with extensive filter options or trend collections to stay abreast of developments in the marketplace and relevant categories.

While the solutions are the same for all partners, each retailer can implement custom questions.  

“Each retailer has different needs and agendas. We can tailor some of our solutions, like running limited-time dedicated sourcing campaigns. This could be for a gap in their range due to supply issues, wher a replacement supplier needs to be found, or a particular theme that a company is working toward,” explains Jackson.

The Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark partnered with RangeMe to make vegan brands more accessible to retailers.