FMCG Selling & Merchandising Agency NZ

A distributor buys stock from the Brand Owner, sells the product, handles pick/pack/ship logistics, and collects payment from retailers. In this model, the distributor is seen as the vendor by the retailer.

A broker, such as KML, works differently. As an experienced FMCG broker, KML does not purchase the stock. Instead, we act on behalf of the Brand Owner by selling to supermarkets at the store level, managing supermarket merchandising, and providing national account management services. With a brokerage model, the Brand Owner remains the vendor in the eyes of the retailer. Brokers typically cost less than distributors, and offer greater flexibility in driving supermarket sales performance.

Commission-based compensation creates a performance-driven partnership. The more we sell, the more commission we earn, which directly aligns with your growth goals. This structure also helps cover increasing operational costs like staffing and travel. In some cases, a flat rate may be considered for large-scale brands with high sales volumes.

Our commission depends on the level of service you require. If you’re after field sales and store-level merchandising only, the cost is lower. If you also need national account management, which includes head office selling and promotional planning, the commission is higher. Generally, the greater your sales volume, the lower your commission percentage.

Unfortunately, no one can truly guarantee sales, as results rely heavily on factors within the Brand Owner’s control, such as product quality, pricing, and promotional efforts. That said, KML offers consistent support across field sales, head office engagement, and data analysis to maximise your potential. Regular reporting and accountability ensure visibility over how your products are being supported.

KML provides robust reporting tailored to FMCG brand performance. Our reports cover sales progress, distribution, in-store execution, and more. For example, our dunnhumby reporting suite identifies gaps where your core or recommended SKUs may not be stocked, allowing our sales team to close those gaps and drive increased supermarket sales.

Our National Account Managers are your key contacts and are responsible for representing your brand at supermarket head offices. Some of their support includes, working with you to determine the best allocation of the money you spend on growing your Supermarket business and then executing this plan with our field sales team. They also present your products at category reviews including driving CPT negotiations with Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island, booking promotional campaigns, and supplying tools for our field sales teams to use in-store to convince stores to range products, give your brand more shelf space and improved shelf location as well as secure in store displays. They also analyse data to find growth opportunities, ensuring you’re maximising your supermarket distribution footprint in New Zealand. They do many other things too.

Our Territory Managers are the frontline of your brand’s presence in-store. Some of their priorities are the below:

• In Foodstuffs supermarkets, they ensure core ranged products are on shelf and merchandised correctly, convince stores to stock Recommended Ranged lines, aim to increase shelf space and secure the best shelf position for your brand, ensure shelf special promotions are running in stores, ensure both mandatory and discretionary displays are executed, correct any problems with out of stocks or lower than acceptable amount of stock on shelf and provide in-depth reporting on store-level activity.
• In Woolworths supermarkets, they check planogram compliance, ensure all ranged lines are on shelf, resolve any out-of-stock or low stock issues, ensure displays and shelf special promotions are running, and provide in-depth reporting on store-level activity.

This dedicated field presence gives KML and Brand Owners full visibility and assurance that your products are being properly managed and promoted at the store level across New Zealand.

Our Merchandisers don’t just fill shelves with stock and build displays where necessary. They check that all products that are supposed to be ranged are on shelf, the correct pricing is in place for all products and that agreed displays are up and have sufficient stock. They are also the eyes and ears of our Territory Managers as they call on stores on a different day and time to our Territory Managers so they can relay what they see to our Territory Managers to capitalize on any opportunities and correct any problems. In most Pak n Save stores, for example, our Territory Managers call on each store once per week and our merchandisers call on each store 3 times per week. This high degree of call frequency in most Pak n Save, most large New World and most large Woolworths stores ensures that your brands are looked after, and your objectives are achieved.

This is best answered by the feedback that we get when Brand Owners join us which usually is that the communication and reporting from KML far exceeds that they’ve been used to previously. Our Net Promoter Score surveys give Brand Owners the opportunity to give us independent feedback which helps us constantly improve. Also, our employee engagement surveys year after year show that KML achieves close to 90% employee engagement which is in the top 10% of companies in NZ: this means our team is always very motivated to achieve great results for your brand which almost always exceed the category average growth.