The Organic Trade Board (OTB), in collaboration with Soil Association Certification, has formed an exclusive partnership with product purchasing platform RangeMe to ‘increase the visibility of certified organic products’ in the run up to Organic September and beyond.
RangeMe is a ‘discovery platform for buyers’ and a ‘go-to platform for suppliers looking to grow their business and connect with retailers’.
The site works with both major and independent retailers to meet their sourcing requirements in a simplified, filtered way, enabling them to see which products can be distributed to their area and which SKUs are already on the shelves of their competitors.
Mark Reindertsen, head of marketing at RangeMe, says buyers use the service as a way of ‘organizing their inboxes’.
Working with the OTB and Soil Association Certification, RangeMe is hosting what the organizations are calling the Organic September Collection, to promote certified organic products and increase awareness of their benefits. The group is calling on organic brands to sign up and create a free profile which will give them immediate visibility to buyers, set them apart from the competition and provide assurances to interested buyers over the sustainability of the products they are looking to source.
We make sure that you get discovered by buyers
“It’s a relatively easy process. There are some optional questions with regards distribution capabilities and some additional information packaging, dimensions, weight etcetera – you can leave those for later,” says Reindertsen, adding that the most important action in the first instance is to simply create a profile and ensure it’s ‘looking slick’ for retailers to review.
“We make sure that you get discovered by buyers. We make sure that you showcase your products in an organized fashion; you have key product information, brand information and company details, where to find you on social media, how to get in touch with you, which trade shows you’re attending this year and next year – and that’s ultimately what buyers are looking for. It’s not just exchanging cell sheets and product catalogues; you can actually make connections, you can start conversations, buyers can request samples from you – they will upload all the address details, the floor they’re on, their title, their name etcetera to make sure it actually reaches them.
“Will it stop after Organic September? No it won’t. This is a partnership and we’re in it for the long run. There is a blog [and] there are webinars being scheduled – we are extending those services to our partners so anything that is going out from … the Soil Association or the Organic Trade Board will be [published] through us on RangeMe. You will get notifications through our newsletters, and we will make sure to come up with new initiatives once this one is live.”
RangeMe … offers the organic sector a potentially huge opportunity
Lee Holdstock, senior business and trade development manager at Soil Association Certification, says an increasing number of retailers and suppliers ‘are looking to technology to efficiently manage their interactions. “We believe the RangeMe platform offers the organic sector a potentially huge opportunity, not just to increase the visibility of organic products to buyers, but to also help build a community of buyers who are better informed when it comes to the multiple and important benefits organic brings.”
Christina Dimetto, CEO of the OTB, adds that while the current focus is on widening the awareness of Organic September the OTB ‘doesn’t want to stop there’ and the organization will continue to engage in ongoing work with its partners. “We want to make organic relevant throughout the year and we want to keep talking with retailers throughout the year about organic.”
Although promotion of the Organic September Collection on RangeMe has a UK focus, Dimetto confirms that overseas brands are eligible to enter the collection if their products are sold in the UK and they are approved by one of six UK organic certifiers.
“Of course, given the regulations for food you will have to have some sort of certification in the UK to legitimately bring the product into the UK and place it on the market. It’s a legal requirement,” adds Holdstock.
