Excess grocery and FMCG stock buyers

Every food and grocery business ends up with stock it didn't plan for. A retailer cancels a promotion, a flavour doesn't take off, a label changes, or a container lands three weeks late and eats half the shelf life. We have been buying excess grocery stock and FMCG overstocks for over 30 years, and food moves on a clock that most other categories don't.

We buy the parcel ourselves and resell it through our own network. There are no broking fees and no consulting fees. You send the details, John discreetly surveys the market, and in most cases he makes an offer to buy all of it.

What food and grocery stock do you buy?

We buy most packaged grocery and FMCG lines, in any quantity, from anywhere in Australia, New Zealand and overseas.

Over the years that has included:

• Drinks: soft drinks, juice (including 37 semi-trailers of short-dated orange juice) and health drinks
• Confectionery: gum, jellies, party mixes
• Pantry lines: tea, coffee, gravy and dried fruit
• Bulk and ingredient stock: diced fruit, packaging and cartons
• Grocery non-food: cleaning products, washing powder, nappies and personal care that sits in the same aisle

We once bought a discontinued line of glass bottles, had them filled with soft drink by a beverage company with spare capacity, and sold the finished product to a discount retailer. That's the kind of thinking a food parcel sometimes needs.

What makes surplus food stock easier or harder to sell?

The date is the single biggest factor, but it isn't the only one.

Best-before versus use-by matters most. Food Standards Australia New Zealand explains that food with a best-before date can legally be sold after that date provided it is fit for human consumption, but food can't legally be sold after its use-by date. That's general information, not advice on your product. Check with your own food safety or regulatory adviser if you're unsure. Our guide on what out-of-date food labels really mean goes into more detail.

Shelf life left decides who can buy. Major retailers usually want plenty of life remaining. Discount chains, overseas buyers and charities can often work with less. That's why we buy so much short-dated stock. The buyers exist, but they need to hear about it in time.

Labelling can be fixed or worked around. Wrong packaging, an outdated claim or a label meant for another market doesn't always kill a parcel. We are transparent with buyers about what's wrong and can often still find one, sometimes overseas where the label suits better.

How do grocery brand owners protect their brand?

You protect the brand by controlling where the stock goes and at what price, and we put that in writing before we buy.

The worry in grocery is simple. You don't want your product turning up at half price two kilometres from a supermarket that pays you full price. Our first guarantee is "We strictly follow your guidelines in relation to pricing and distribution locations." In practice that means:

• Channel exclusions. Tell us which retailers, regions or online channels are off limits.
• Export-only. Some parcels go overseas only. We once bought 19 containers of washing powder in New Zealand and sold them to Singapore without meeting the buyer or seller.
• Charity and community channels. Good for stock that's short-dated but sound.
• Discretion. We survey the market quietly, without broadcasting your brand name.

Our guide to protecting your brand when clearing stock covers this in more depth.

What should I send you?

Send a stock list spreadsheet and photos, and we can start straight away. For food, include:

1. SKU and product description, including flavour and pack size
2. Quantity, in units and cartons, and how many units are in a carton
3. Best-before or use-by date for each line, and whether it's a best-before or a use-by
4. Storage type: ambient, chilled or frozen
5. Cost or RRP, if you're happy to share it
6. Photos of the retail pack, the outer carton and the date coding
7. Location of the stock, and whether it's palletised
8. Any restrictions: channels or regions to avoid, and whether it must leave the country

Collection is flexible and agreed per parcel. We're happy to arrange it, or you can deliver.

Real food and grocery parcels we've handled

These are real parcels from our files. The names and prices stay confidential, but the details show the range:

• 6,700kg of diced cranberries and 2,400kg of diced blueberries. This was bulk ingredient stock with a firm expiry date.
• 31 pallets of tea overstocks: cubes, sachets, loose leaf and tins, with a supplier letter extending the best-before date.
• 17,676 units of surplus confectionery: party mix, jelly babies, gummy bears and more.
• 43,000 packets of branded gum. This was a leading brand, so we never published the name.
• 3,750 bottles of aloe vera drink, short-dated and in Sydney.

The tea parcel shows something worth knowing. A letter from the manufacturer extending the best-before date can change a parcel's value a great deal. If you have one, send it.

Should I sell it myself, donate it, or sell it to a buyer?

It depends on the quantity, the time left and how much your brand matters.

• Sell it yourself through your own customers if you have time and a buyer who won't undercut your regular trade.
• Donate it if the value is low and you want it gone with goodwill attached. Food relief charities do good work with sound short-dated food.
• Sell it to us if you want one offer for the whole parcel, paid promptly as agreed, with your channel rules respected.

If you're weighing up a food broker instead, our article on whether to hire a food broker sets out the trade-offs honestly. When you're ready, send us your stock list or call John on 0411 430 047.