Getting your product into a national retailer is an exciting milestone for any product-based founder. But what happens when you finally get that opportunity? Are you prepared to deliver inventory, generate consumer awareness, and turn shelf placement into sales?
For Erica Haft, founder of Sweeter Collective, the journey into retail started with an idea to reinvent an overlooked category: hard candy.
After nearly a decade practicing law, Erica made the leap into entrepreneurship to create a modern hard candy brand featuring exciting flavors and ingredients that aligned with her vision for a better-for-you treat. Nearly two years of product development later, Sweeter Collective launched and secured an opportunity with Sprouts Farmers Market's innovation set.
Her experience offers valuable lessons for emerging brands preparing to pitch retailers, launch new products, and build a foundation for long-term retail growth.
1. Find a Gap in the Market Before You Build Your Product
Every successful product starts with a problem, a need, or an opportunity to serve consumers differently.
For Erica, the idea came from her own daily routine. While working as an attorney, she often reached for protein bars or candy to get through the afternoon. She realized that what she really wanted was something sweet with exciting flavor, rather than another snack that didn't quite satisfy her craving.
She also saw an opportunity to rethink traditional hard candy. The options she found lacked the flavors and ingredient profile she wanted, so she began exploring how to create a product that felt more relevant to today's consumer.
After searching for years and repeatedly failing to find what she wanted, Erica decided to create it herself.
The lesson for founders: Don't start with a product idea simply because you think it would be interesting to sell. Start by identifying a consumer need that isn't being adequately met.
Ask yourself:
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What problem am I solving for my target customer?
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What are consumers currently buying to solve this problem?
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What is missing from the products already available?
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Why would someone choose my product instead of an established competitor?
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Can I clearly communicate that difference to a retail buyer and a shopper?
A strong product concept should be more than different. It should give consumers a compelling reason to buy.
2. Product Development Takes Time, So Plan Accordingly
One of the most important parts of Erica's story is how long it took to bring Sweeter Collective to market.
From leaving her legal career to working with a research and development company, refining the formulation, scaling production with a manufacturer, securing packaging, and obtaining USDA organic certification, the process took nearly two years.
The formulation itself required experimentation with ingredients Erica wanted to incorporate into hard candy, including organic oats and organic tapioca fiber.
This is an important reminder for founders who underestimate the time required to move from concept to a retail-ready product.
Your product may need multiple formulation iterations. Your manufacturer may need to test production on its equipment. Packaging, certifications, ingredient sourcing, and production scheduling can all add time to your launch timeline.
The lesson for founders: Build your product development timeline around the work that must actually happen, not the date you'd ideally like to launch.
Before approaching a retailer with a firm launch commitment, understand:
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How much development and testing remain?
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Has the product been successfully produced at commercial scale?
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Are ingredients and packaging available in the quantities you need?
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What certifications or documentation are required?
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How long will production, packaging, freight, and fulfillment take?
A great product idea is only the beginning. You need a product that can be manufactured consistently, delivered on time, and supported as demand grows.
3. Start Building Retail Relationships Before Your Official Launch
One of Erica's smartest moves was beginning conversations with retailers before Sweeter Collective's full production run was complete.
Through Startup CPG, she applied for a meeting opportunity with Sprouts. She also connected with KeHE, a distributor, at Natural Products Expo West in 2025. After that initial connection, her product was presented to the Sprouts team.
Several months later, she had another opportunity to meet a Sprouts representative at the Summer Fancy Food Show. She eventually received the opportunity to participate in Sprouts' innovation set in January 2026, with the launch coinciding with Expo West earlier that year.
This wasn't an overnight success. It was a series of introductions, conversations, and opportunities that unfolded over time.
Erica's experience demonstrates why founders shouldn't wait until every detail of their product is finalized before beginning to understand the retail landscape and build relationships.
Industry events, founder organizations, distributors, and buyer meetings can all help you learn how retailers evaluate products and where your brand might fit.
The lesson for founders: Retail relationship-building should be part of your launch strategy, not something you begin after your product is ready to ship.
Start by identifying the retailers that make sense for your brand. Research their assortment, understand their target customer, and look for legitimate opportunities to connect with the people who influence buying decisions.
When you get a meeting, be ready to explain the consumer need, your product's differentiation, why it belongs in that retailer's assortment, and how you plan to support the launch.
4. Retail Buyers Want to Understand Why Your Product Belongs on the Shelf
When Erica connected with Sprouts, she emphasized the lack of innovation in the hard candy category and explained what made Sweeter Collective different.
Her flavor strategy also helped the product stand out.
Instead of relying only on traditional flavor descriptions, Sweeter Collective launched with Island Spritz, Shirley Temple, Salted Caramel Cream, and Vanilla Latte. Erica had identified Shirley Temple as an emerging flavor opportunity during product development, before it became more widely visible across beverage launches.
That gave her a way to position the product around a flavor concept that felt familiar but fresh within the hard candy category.
The key takeaway is that product differentiation needs to be clear and relevant to the retailer you're pitching.
A buyer is evaluating more than whether your product tastes good. They need to understand how it fits the assortment, what makes it different from competing products, and why their customers would choose it.
The lesson for founders: Your pitch should answer three essential questions.
What is the opportunity? Explain the consumer need, category gap, or emerging trend that supports your product.
Why is your product different? Identify the specific attributes that distinguish it from existing options.
Why is this retailer the right fit? Connect your product to the retailer's customer, assortment strategy, and shopping environment.
Don't assume the buyer will make these connections for you. Make the case clearly and concisely.
5. Getting Into Retail Is Not the Same as Driving Retail Sales
This is one of the biggest lessons from Erica's experience.
Sweeter Collective secured an opportunity in Sprouts' innovation set, but the early sales results were not as strong as Erica had hoped. She identified several factors that influenced the experience, including pricing, consumer awareness, and the challenge of explaining a new product within a crowded retail environment.
The original retail price was $8.99. Erica also encountered instances where products were incorrectly ticketed at $9.99, creating additional friction for shoppers. She noted that correcting shelf tags wasn't always as straightforward as she expected.
She also realized that she had underestimated how much social media and brand awareness would matter in supporting retail sales.
The product was new, and consumers needed to understand why it was different from the hard candy they already knew.
Erica explored several promotional tactics, including in-store demonstrations, Instacart, and cashback promotions through Aisle. These efforts helped her learn more about consumer response, but the experience reinforced how much work is involved in generating demand.
The lesson for founders: A retail placement gives your product an opportunity to be discovered. It does not guarantee shoppers will notice it, understand it, or purchase it.
Before launch, think through the full shopper journey:
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Awareness: How will shoppers learn your product exists?
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Understanding: Can they quickly identify what makes it different?
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Trial: What will encourage them to try it for the first time?
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Conversion: Does the price feel appropriate for the value being offered?
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Repeat purchase: What will make customers want to buy it again?
Your retail strategy should include a plan for supporting the product after it reaches the shelf.
6. Your Packaging Must Communicate Your Differentiation Quickly
When shoppers encounter a new product, they don't have the benefit of hearing the founder's full story or listening to a detailed product explanation.
They make quick decisions based on what they see, what they understand, and whether the product appears relevant to them.
Erica recognized that Sweeter Collective's packaging needed to communicate more clearly how the brand was different. She also identified an opportunity to improve the way the product was presented during in-store demonstrations.
These are valuable lessons for any emerging brand, particularly one introducing a product that challenges established category expectations.
If your packaging doesn't communicate your value proposition quickly, shoppers may overlook your product even when the underlying concept is strong.
The lesson for founders: Evaluate your packaging from the perspective of someone who has never heard of your brand.
Can a shopper quickly understand what the product is, why it is different, and what makes it worth considering?
Ask people unfamiliar with your brand to look at your packaging for a few seconds and explain what they think the product offers. Their answers may reveal gaps between what you intend to communicate and what shoppers actually understand.
Packaging isn't just about looking attractive. It is one of your most important tools for communicating value at the point of purchase.
7. Pricing Is Part of Your Retail Strategy, Not Just Your Financial Model
Erica's initial retail experience also highlighted the importance of pricing.
Sweeter Collective entered the market at $8.99, but Erica later worked through the financials and found a way to lower the retail price by a full dollar. Her decision was influenced in part by what she learned during the Sprouts experience.
For founders, this illustrates the relationship between your financial model and the shopper's willingness to pay.
Your price needs to work for your business, account for the economics of selling through retail, and make sense to the consumer in the context of competing products.
A product can have excellent ingredients, thoughtful packaging, and a compelling concept, but the price still needs to align with the value shoppers perceive.
Before launching, evaluate your cost of goods, retailer and distributor economics where applicable, promotional expenses, and the price consumers will see on the shelf.
Then consider whether the product's benefits are communicated clearly enough to support that price.
The lesson for founders: Don't set your retail price based only on what you need to earn. Understand what the consumer is being asked to pay, how your product compares with alternatives, and whether the value is immediately clear.
8. Use Early Retail Data to Make Better Decisions
Not every retail launch will produce the results you expect. The important question is what you do with the information you receive.
Erica described her early experience as a valuable learning opportunity. In-store demonstrations and customer feedback helped her understand what consumers responded to, while the sales experience highlighted opportunities to improve pricing, packaging, and awareness.
She also learned that launching directly into a national retail opportunity while simultaneously building a new brand and educating consumers was a substantial undertaking.
Rather than treating the experience as a final verdict on the business, she used it to inform the next stage of growth.
For founders, this is where disciplined learning becomes essential.
Review sales performance, customer feedback, promotional results, and differences in shopper response. Look for patterns that can help you identify what is working and what needs to change.
If shoppers are interested but not purchasing, investigate potential barriers. If they try the product during demonstrations but don't return to buy it, consider what might be affecting repeat purchase. If customers don't understand the product, revisit your messaging and packaging.
The lesson for founders: Don't just ask whether your product sold. Ask what the results tell you about your customer, your product, your price, and your marketing.
Every launch should generate information you can use to make the next decision more intelligently.
9. Retail Is Not the Only Way to Reach Your Customer
Although Sweeter Collective's story includes a major retail opportunity, Erica is also investing in direct-to-consumer sales and alternative channels.
She explained that online sales provide more space to communicate the brand's story and educate consumers about how the product differs from traditional hard candy.
She also shared that Sweeter Collective had reached more than 100 hotels through a connection with Pecure Impact, an organization that helps hotels and hospitality networks source local and women-led brands.
These channels offer a different way to introduce the product to potential customers.
For a brand that requires consumer education, a direct-to-consumer website can provide room to explain the product, share the founder's story, and answer questions. Hotels and independent retailers can create additional opportunities for discovery and trial.
Building a presence across channels can also help founders learn which audiences respond most strongly to their products.
The lesson for founders: Don't limit your growth strategy to traditional retail chains.
Consider whether independent retailers, hospitality, pop-ups, specialty stores, online sales, or other relevant channels could help you reach the right consumers.
The best channel strategy depends on your product, your customer, your margins, and your ability to support each opportunity. The goal is to choose channels that help you build demand and create a stronger foundation for sustainable retail growth.
10. Build Brand Demand So Retailers Have a Reason to Keep Saying Yes
One of Erica's goals is to continue building Sweeter Collective's brand awareness so that retailers increasingly recognize the demand for the product.
This is an important distinction for emerging founders. Securing an initial placement is a milestone, but long-term retail growth depends on demonstrating that your brand can connect with shoppers and generate sales.
Retailers want products that serve their customers and contribute to the performance of their assortment. Founders need to be prepared to support that objective through consumer education, marketing, promotions, and a consistent brand message.
Erica's experience is a reminder that a strong retail strategy doesn't end when a buyer says yes. It continues through launch execution, shopper engagement, performance analysis, and ongoing improvements.
The lesson for founders: Think beyond your next retail placement. Build a brand that consumers recognize, understand, and want to purchase.
That means consistently communicating your value proposition, showing up where your customers spend time, learning from their feedback, and making it easy for them to discover and buy your product.
The stronger your connection with consumers, the better positioned you may be to build lasting retail relationships.
Final Takeaway: Getting on the Shelf Is Just the Beginning
Erica Haft's journey with Sweeter Collective demonstrates what it takes to bring a new product from concept to market. It also highlights the realities founders face when a retail opportunity arrives earlier than expected.
From spending nearly two years on product development to building relationships through industry events, securing an innovation-set opportunity with Sprouts, and learning from early sales, her experience offers a practical reminder that retail success involves much more than winning a buyer meeting.
You need a product that solves a real consumer need, a clear point of differentiation, a realistic production plan, pricing that works, packaging that communicates value, and a strategy for building shopper awareness.
Most importantly, you need to be willing to learn.
Not every decision will produce the result you expected. But when you pay attention to the data, listen to customers, and use what you learn to improve your strategy, each stage of the journey can prepare you for the next opportunity.
If you're building a product-based business and working toward retail, remember this: getting a yes from a buyer is a milestone. Building a brand that shoppers want to buy again is the work that follows.
Continue Learning With Shelf Talks
Want to hear Erica share her story in her own words? Listen to the Shelf Talks Podcast episode featuring Erica Haft, founder of Sweeter Collective, for the full conversation about product development, retail strategy, and lessons from launching a new brand.
Follow Shelf Talks for more practical insights to help you prepare your product, pitch retailers, and grow your business.
Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or watch on You Tube.
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