What a premium door is worth
A small number of doors with a very large signal. Plan for the halo, not the volume.
A premium grocer is a small number of doors with a very large signal. Getting on the shelf at the right one tells every other buyer, investor and customer that you passed a hard test. Whole Foods has made the gate formal: its Local and Emerging Accelerator Program takes applications from brands not yet on its shelves, runs a twelve-week curriculum, and considers graduates for placement in their home region. One 2024 cohort chose ten brands from more than 1,600 applicants.
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