Service 06 · Market intelligence & buyer outreach
Market intelligence and buyer outreach for food brands.
We research the category, find the buyers who decide and book the meetings, by email, by phone and at the trade shows where the food industry meets.
What is market intelligence and buyer outreach?
These are two pieces of work that belong together. Market intelligence answers whether there is room for your product: how the category is moving, who you compete with, what shoppers pay and how the channel is structured. Buyer outreach turns that into meetings with the people who decide: category buyers at retailers, distributors, importers and manufacturers.
When we quote a market figure, we name the source. Research draws on published data, licensed category reports where available and our own shelf checks, and we say which is which.
Who needs market intelligence and buyer outreach?
- Producers and brands deciding whether and how to enter the US, UK or EU.
- Brands exhibiting at trade shows that want meetings booked before the doors open.
- Brands with a new range that needs buyer feedback and first orders.
- Distributors and importers testing demand for a new category.
What research and outreach cover
- Category research. Market size and growth from cited sources, trends, channel structure and the regulatory checkpoints for your product.
- Shelf and competitor benchmarking. Competitor ranges, pack formats, shelf prices, promotions and claims, in store and online.
- Buyer mapping. Target accounts by channel and market, with the category buyers and decision makers at each, and contact details checked before use.
- Outreach campaigns. Email sequences, calls, follow-ups and sample requests, sent by us as your agent or under your brand. Outreach is run under the email and data-protection rules of each market, such as UK and EU GDPR and the US CAN-SPAM Act, and opt-out requests are honored.
- Trade-show meeting programs. Pre-booked buyer meetings at international food fairs such as SIAL Paris: invitations, scheduling, briefing notes for your team and follow-up after the show.
- Pipeline reporting. Who was contacted, who replied, which meetings happened and the next step for each account.
For SIAL Paris 2026 (17–21 October 2026, Hall 5B, Booth J052), we built a checked list of UK and European tea buyers in grocery, specialty and department-store retail and invited them to meet the Basilur team at the stand. Union Trade is Basilur's agent for UK and European retail. See brands we represent.
What you get from research and outreach
- Category fact pack with cited sources
- Competitor and shelf benchmark
- Target buyer list by market, channel and role
- Outreach copy and sequence, approved by you before sending
- Trade-show meeting calendar and briefing notes
- Regular pipeline reports
- Post-show follow-up plan
How does a research and outreach project run?
- Scope. Markets, channels and the question the research must answer.
- Research. Category data, shelf checks and competitor review.
- Map. Target accounts and named buyers.
- Reach out. Campaigns by email and phone, or invitations for a show.
- Meet. Meetings are booked, briefed and followed up.
- Report. Pipeline, buyer feedback and recommended next steps.
FAQ
Where does your market data come from?
From published sources such as government and trade statistics, licensed category reports where available, retailer websites and our own shelf checks. Every figure in a fact pack carries its source and date. Licensed reports are quoted with attribution and are not passed on in full. If reliable data does not exist for a question, we say so rather than estimate.
How does a trade-show meeting program work?
Ahead of the show we build the target buyer list, send invitations from your brand or from us as your agent, and book meetings into your stand calendar. Your team gets a briefing note for each meeting. After the show we send follow-ups, samples and offers, and track each account until it orders or declines.
Do you contact buyers under our brand name or yours?
Either, agreed at the start. Brands we represent are presented by Union Trade as their agent, which tells buyers who to deal with. For other projects we can send outreach under your company name. In both cases you approve the copy before anything is sent, and replies come back to a named contact.
Can you guarantee a number of meetings?
No. Buyer response depends on the category, the product, the timing and the buyer's calendar. We set out the target accounts and the planned activity before the campaign starts, report what happened as it goes and change the approach when a channel is not responding. You see the full pipeline, not only the wins.