Last updated: September 2026. Getting a product onto a major retailer’s shelf is a compliance exercise before it is a sales exercise. The buyer is not the first hurdle; the paperwork is. Suppliers who approach a large retailer with a good product and no barcode, no traceability and no food safety certification are declined before anyone tastes anything. Work through the requirements first, then ask for the meeting.
The route below applies broadly to the large South African grocery retailers, not only one of them.
1. Be a properly registered supplier
A registered company with current annual returns at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, a tax number and compliant status with SARS, a bank account in the business name, and a B-BBEE affidavit or certificate. Exempt micro enterprises get the affidavit free, and retailers do ask for it.
This is not optional and it is where most first approaches end. Retailers cannot load an unregistered supplier onto their system.
2. Get the product right before you pitch
Consistency matters more than brilliance. A retailer needs the product to be identical in every unit, every week, for years. Decide your recipe or specification and lock it.
Think about shelf life honestly, because it determines how the product is distributed and how much risk the retailer carries. And think about packaging durability, since products are handled repeatedly through a distribution centre before a customer sees them.
3. Know your costing and your margin
Retail is a margin business and the retailer’s margin comes out of your price. Before any meeting, know what one unit costs you to make, package and deliver, and what price you need to make it worthwhile at the volumes being discussed.
Factor in what suppliers consistently underestimate: listing fees, promotional and advertising contributions, rebates, the cost of returns and short-dated stock, and the cost of waiting to be paid. Retailers pay on terms, often lengthy ones, while you pay for ingredients and packaging upfront. That gap is the single most common reason small suppliers fail after winning a listing.
Do not accept volumes you cannot fund. A large order you cannot deliver damages you more than no order at all.
4. Labelling and barcodes
Food labelling is regulated, covering the product name, ingredient list, allergens, nutritional information where required, net quantity, batch identification, date marking, country of origin and the name and address of the responsible party. Claims such as low fat, natural or organic are separately controlled and must be supportable.
You also need a genuine barcode, obtained through the official numbering organisation rather than generated by free software. Retailers scan at point of sale and through the distribution centre, and an invalid barcode stops the product moving.
Get labelling checked by someone competent before printing. Reprinting packaging because an allergen declaration was wrong is an expensive and entirely avoidable cost.
5. Traceability
You must be able to identify, for any unit sold, which batch it came from, which raw materials went into it and where they came from. That means batch coding on every unit and records connecting raw material receipts to production runs and to deliveries.
The reason is recall. If a problem arises, a retailer needs to remove exactly the affected batch rather than your entire range. A supplier who cannot do that gets delisted rather than recalled.
6. Food safety audit and certification
For food products, retailers require an independent food safety audit of your production facility. Larger listings typically require certification against a recognised international standard, and the audit covers premises and hygiene, pest control, staff training, allergen management, cleaning, temperature control and your documented systems.
Certification takes months and costs real money, so start early and budget for it. You will also need your municipal Certificate of Acceptability regardless of any private certification.
Where the cost is out of reach initially, some retailers run small supplier and enterprise development programmes that fund or support suppliers through certification. Ask about them.
7. Apply through the supplier portal
Major retailers take new supplier applications through an online portal rather than through individual store managers. Pick n Pay’s is the PnP supplier portal, and the others operate similarly.
Prepare before applying: product specifications, certifications, pricing, capacity, and photographs. A complete application is assessed; an incomplete one waits.
Selling into a few local stores first, where a regional manager has discretion, is a legitimate route. It proves the product sells, and sales data is the most persuasive thing you can bring to a national buyer.
8. Logistics and distribution
Understand whether you deliver to stores directly or into a distribution centre, because the requirements differ considerably in packaging, palletisation, delivery windows and documentation.
Delivering into a DC generally means meeting strict booking and labelling requirements, where missed slots carry penalties. Whichever applies, confirm it before committing to volumes, since logistics failures cost listings faster than product problems do.
Frequently asked questions
What stops most small suppliers getting listed?
Compliance, not the product. No company registration, no valid barcode, no traceability and no food safety certification end an approach before the product is assessed.
Do I need food safety certification?
For food products at national scale, yes. Retailers require an independent audit, and larger listings generally require certification against a recognised standard. Budget months for it.
What is the biggest financial risk?
Cash flow. Retailers pay on terms while you fund ingredients, packaging and production upfront. Never accept volumes you cannot finance.
Can I approach a store directly?
For a national listing, no, you apply through the supplier portal. Selling into a few local stores first is a valid way to prove demand before approaching a national buyer.
Where do I get a barcode?
From the official numbering organisation. Numbers generated by free tools are not valid in retail systems and will stop the product moving.
What does traceability mean in practice?
Being able to link any unit sold to its batch, its raw materials and its supplier, so a recall removes only the affected batch rather than your whole range.
Originally published in September 2018. Updated September 2026 to set out the compliance, costing and certification requirements a retail listing actually depends on.
