Shop Local is about spending with genuine authentic brands

I have talked many times before on my retail blog about the importance of shop local. Shop local has become an important movement and I think that getting behind the small businesses that produce high quality products becomes more and more important as every day passes. News articles about the perceived greed of Starbucks, Google and Amazon have been followed by recent articles about large restaurant chains taking tips away from their waiting staff. And every time one of these issues is exposed in the media or social media, there is a genuine outcry of anger from consumers. Being a responsible consumer, though, is about much more than boycotting a brand because they have had an unseemly practice exposed in the media. The positive side of responsible consumption is to be a consumer of, and brand advocate for those products that reflect your own values.

One such product is Mannys Sauces. They currently produce a range of 9 sauces and all free of the top 14 allergens, and are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The sauces come with a guarantee of 100% satisfaction or your money back – that’s how confident they are that you will love them. In fact, the Piri-Piri and the marinades are considered to be within the best sauces on the planet. So, when you have a product that’s made with all natural ingredients in the UK to the highest standard then it’s something that you just have to get behind. And there are more than one way of getting behind a product as good as this. The first step is to try it. The Meat Marinade is created to marinate all red meats such as pork, lamb and steak but, it’s actually also delicious with any kind of fish or seafood. The Curry Sauce lets you make the most delicious and healthy curry in your own home, without any hard work or effort! And they can be found at http:/mannyssauces.com Once you’ve tried the sauces and I’m sure that you will love them, it’s time to be a brand advocate and make sure you share your love of them on social media. Mannys Sauces can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Mannys-Sauces-182624281912692/timeline/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MannysSauces or check out their YouTube video at https://youtu.be/9gSO1jGftyM

My blogs always look at the process of being a retailer and how your actions fit in with your overall brand, and being an ambassador for a genuine, authentic product will help your overall business as their name and your name move through the social networks. When you find a product that you can see is on the way up then your instinct as a retailer is to get behind it. And I feel that Mannys Sauces is one of these products. The next step for you will depend on where you work. I know that my blog is read by independent retailers and those who work for larger organisations. If you are an independent retailer then, using Mannys Sauces as an example, you should get behind a UK independent, genuine, authentic product by becoming a stockist. If you are working for a larger organisation then you should be as aware as you possibly can be of these genuine, authentic products appearing on the marketplace and seek out the producers to see if you can provide them with a platform for their product.

Something else I repeat on this blog is finding out what you are good at and then making sure you can produce it day-in, day-out. Expanding your empire should come at a time when you have got a complete grip of what you are currently doing and you are ready to move on. Well, Mannys Sauces have done just that with a range of continental meat lines that would perfectly expand on what they already do, as these are great for snacks, tapas and sandwiches etc. These are more great products and you can currently choose from Portuguese-Style Chorizo, Chicken Chorizo, Paio, Presunto or Pork Belly. These make a perfect plate if you don’t have as much time, or if you want something lighter.

The products are backed by enthusiasm and a dream – the story of Manny. I’ll let him tell the story himself here-

“As any other person in the world, I had a huge dream - to open the first Piri-Piri Chicken Restaurant in the world, and then spread this dream to every corner of the planet. It wouldn’t be easy to achieve, but neither was it impossible. I had the will, the courage, the faith and family support to make it come true. Early in 1985, I sold my home to open the first piri-piri chicken restaurant outside of Mozambique. CHICKENLAND was the chosen name and Johannesburg, South Africa was the birth place of my dream! After a short while, I was making, bottling and selling a range of 5 different Piri-Piri Sauces and Marinades. After a slow start, the business was a stunning success! The name quickly spread across the city and everyone was talking about this new food place that was taking the food industry by storm.

The business success was proven! The next step was expansion to other parts of the city, country and abroad, and many people tried to get financially involved. Expansion included a need for capital and people, and so in 1987, I sold some of my business shares to two young men: one of Portuguese origin and the other, a South African of Jewish origin. Shortly after they joined, the business name was changed to NANDOS. Chickenland was a nice name, but according to marketing experts at the time, it was felt that the business should be backed by a personal name before the expansion took place. BetweenMANNYS and NANDOS, I was out-voted two to one, and the latter name was chosen. Despite a few initial problems, the expansion started taking off and now more than ever, the success was tremendous!

A few years later, the rug was pulled out from under my feet and I was forced to leave my business. I lost my dream; one of the best things in my life after my family. After this happened, I opened a few other restaurants including Chickenland in Portugal, but these weren’t my dream. It was a way to make a living, but it wasn’t my passion. It took me a long time to recover from what happened, but I was determined and pushed through until another dream emerged; to make the best sauces and speciality food products in the world! MANNYS SAUCES is now my new dream! Once again I can see this new dream taking shape and growing strong all the way to the TOP! The passion is back and I again have the will, the faith, the support of my family, and the support of so many loyal customers that know and appreciate the high quality products that we make. I am forever grateful to my family and my customers for their support and the divine forces for showing me the way.

Manny x”

So, shop local is about more than paying lip service to spending some time and money in your nearest High Street every now and again. It’s about getting behind genuine, authentic products that show the World (and the World of social media) that the brand choices you make change people’s lives.

Shop Local is more than just a slogan

Why don't customers in all walks of life choose smaller, independently-owned local businesses to interact with?

Why would you get your coffee fix from a national homogenised chain when there's a local alternative available?

Local companies employ local people, are run by local people who then spend their income locally.  International companies funnel income away from your local area (often in tax avoidance schemes that deprive the UK Treasury of much-needed tax income.). The ethics of major banks, retailers and hospitality companies is regularly brought into question by their mis-selling, corporate governance and tax affairs - so why go global when you can go local?

I would urge all local independent retailers to push this fact in your marketing.

If you are local, live local, send your kids to a local school, spend locally, pay local council tax then you already have an emotional link to the area you are selling your products in and have an empathic link to your local buyers.  You must use this link to forge links with other local businesses and the larger local community.

I would suggest that you source your products from local suppliers wherever possible. If you can supply from your local community then the connection you have with your local community will be much stronger.

Can you survive without promotions or sales?

  As retailers, we work on tight margins for large parts of the year.

The time to refresh and clear out old stock comes in the sales. Traditionally an annual event, this had been pushed into 2,3 or 4 times a year, mainly by fashion retakes that want to cleanse their stockrooms of the last season's unsold items.

An alternative method, pushed by the supermarkets and beauty stores is the promotional period. Thick is where particular lines will be on a particular promotion, often BOGOF or 3 for 2.

The other, less used, method is to create a clearance section or stand in your store to rid yourself of lines that haven't sold, are short of date or you no longer stick.

Can you survive as a retailer without moving to sale, promotion or clearance?

I think that the ideal scenario would be to never have to end up with any of these situations, as your pricing strategy will determine the sales levels of your products.  Say you have a line available in 5 different colours, and 1 colour is being left behind. Well, a price drop would perhaps be a better way of selling that line through than clearance, or editing for the sales.

Some retailers rarely have a sale, some never use promotional periods, so what would be the way forward to become a retailer that stands on your own merits? Would being respected enough to have your products bought at full price all year round be desirable?

I say "yes."

And I point to independent local retailers as both the answer and the solution to this. A strong local retailer that satisfies a local demand by producing or sourcing products that people need at an attainable price should have no need for promotions of sales, but could strike deals with individual customers.

"I'll buy 2 if you knock £10 off the price"

This is a better way for an independent retailer to do business than to sale or promotion their way through stock.

There is another solution that I have mentioned regularly in my blogs - Click & Collect, where you open up your range to internet buyers and have the item ready to collect in your store.  This opens up the potential buyers, and can be used to sell nationally or overseas if the shipping costs are not too burdensome. This increases sales and allows you to clear your range more quickly.