Guides
How to build a specialty food sell sheet buyers actually read
How to package specialty food for a wholesale buyer: the case configuration, the one-page sell sheet, the questions a store asks, and a pre-pitch checklist.
What to take away
- The sell sheet is the case on one pagenine fields, printed in the order a buyer reads them.
- Settle seven case decisions before the first conversation, starting with units per case and case marking.
- The case count must divide your batch yield. A 96-unit batch suits a case of 12, not a case of 10.
- Buyers ask ten questions in a predictable order, and most concern margin, dating and delivery.
- Every number on the sheet has to match the label, the price sheet and the packed case.
What packaging means to a buyer
A shopper reads the jar. A buyer reads the case, the shelf life, the margin and the delivery day. Both have to work. The sell sheet is where the second one lives.
Formats a maker can sell in, and what each demands at the packing table, are set out in the services and packages guide. This page stays on the wholesale case and the one page that describes it.
Seven case decisions to settle first
Decide all seven before you talk to a buyer. Each one changes a line on the sheet.
Seven case decisions
- Units per casehow many sellable units go in one shippable box.
- Case dimensions and weightlength, width, height and gross weight as packed.
- Case markingitem code, GTIN or UPC, lot, best-by date, quantity, your name and address.
- Displayshelf-ready display case or plain shipper.
- Pallet patterncases per layer, layers per pallet, total cases.
- Storage and transitambient, chilled or frozen, with the temperature range you can defend.
- Minimum order and lead timein cases, and in days from purchase order.
The case count has to divide your batch. A batch of 96 sellable units fits a case of 12 exactly. A case of 10 leaves six units with no home. Batch yield is measured first, which is why it opens how to start a specialty food business.
Example: a 96-unit batch into cases
Say a kettle run yields 96 sellable units. Here is what the case count does to it.
96-unit batch into cases
| Case size | Cases from 96 units | Leftover units |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 16 | 0 |
| 12 | 8 | 0 |
| 10 | 9 | 6 |
A case of 12 priced at $48 wholesale gives the store 12 units. At a $7.99 suggested retail the store grosses $95.88 against a $48 cost, near 50 percent margin.
Treat those figures as an illustration, not a market rate. Independents commonly work in the 35 to 45 percent band, and chains ask for more. Weigh the packed case too. A 12-unit shipper at this size typically lands under 20 lb gross.
The nine items on a one-page sell sheet
Print these in this order. One page, no second sheet.
- Product name, plus one line on what it is.
- Case count and unit size, written as 12 x 8 oz.
- Net weight per unit and per case.
- Shelf life and dating format, for example best by 12 months from pack.
- Allergen statement, copied word for word from the label.
- Wholesale price per case, and suggested retail per unit.
- Lead time and delivery days.
- Contact name, email and phone.
- Certifications and food safety documentation, available on request.
Sell sheet, in order
- Product name and shelf photograph
- What it is, two sentences
- Unit size, units per case, dimensions, weight
- Shelf life and date on unit
- Storageambient, refrigerated or frozen
- Wholesale, retail, and store margin
- Minimum order, lead time, delivery, ordering
- Ingredients and allergens as on label
The container, lid and seal behind that case are hardware decisions. the equipment and setup guide covers the first purchases you cannot skip.
Allergens, claims and what governs them
The allergen line is not decoration. Buyers check it because their customers ask. FDA labeling rules govern what the label carries, so copy the label onto the sheet rather than rewriting it.
"Small batch" and "handmade" are claims. The Federal Trade Commission: Advertising FAQs: A Guide for Small Business covers sell sheets and ads alike, and it requires claims to be truthful and supported. Keep a substantiation note on file for every claim you print.
The buyer's questions, in the order they ask
The buyer's questions
| The question | What it is really asking | Where your answer comes from |
|---|---|---|
| What is the case count? | Will it fit my shelf and back stock? | Sell sheet |
| What is the wholesale cost per case? | Can I make my margin? | Price sheet |
| What is the suggested retail? | What goes on the shelf tag? | Sell sheet |
| What is the shelf life and code date? | Will I have to mark it down? | Label and batch records |
| What is your lead time? | Can you fill a gap on my shelf? | Production calendar |
| What are your delivery days and minimum? | Does it fit my receiving schedule? | Your terms |
| What allergens are in it? | Do I need to shelve it apart? | Label |
| Is there free fill or a first-order deal? | What does trying you cost me? | Your opening terms |
| Where else do you sell near here? | Will I be undercut? | Your account map |
| Can I see your food safety plan? | Am I taking on risk? | Food safety plan |
Buyer questions and your source
Question
- Shelf life
- Sell before it dates out?
- Case minimum
- Try without committing?
- Delivery
- Will I run out?
- Margin
- Pays for shelf space?
- Demos
- Will you help it sell?
- Who else carries it
- Is it proven?
- If it does not sell
- Am I stuck with it?
- Opening discount
- Share the risk?
What they ask
- Shelf life
- Established shelf life
- Case minimum
- Batch size, delivery cost
- Delivery
- Production rhythm
- Margin
- Wholesale, suggested retail
- Demos
- Hours, sampling budget
- Who else carries it
- Honest account list
- If it does not sell
- Written policy
- Opening discount
- Deduction schedule
Your source
- Shelf life
- Case minimum
- Delivery
- Margin
- Demos
- Who else carries it
- If it does not sell
- Opening discount
Larger buyers ask for the last row. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Preventive Controls for Human Food describes what a covered facility must hold: a written plan with a hazard analysis and preventive controls under current good manufacturing practices. Coverage depends on the facility, so state your position plainly.
The pre-pitch checklist
- Case count divides the batch yield.
- Case marking matches what the buyer's receiving system needs.
- Allergen statement is the label's, word for word.
- Every claim has a substantiation note on file.
- Minimum order, lead time and delivery days match what production can do.
- Opening terms are decided and costed.
After the yes
The first order is a test the buyer runs. The reorder is the result. The delivery has to arrive on the day you promised, and the case has to match the sheet. Sell-through at the rate you implied decides the rest.
Keep a dated record for each account. Under Internal Revenue Service: What kind of records should I keep? it is also part of the sales documentation behind your income.
Ship one case to yourself before it goes anywhere. A lid that leaks in transit is a packaging failure the buyer blames on you. Once an account reorders, the question turns to how many more accounts your batch can carry, and the expansion and market guide starts there.
