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Brand requirements for McLane's Emerging Brands

  • Updated

Interested in joining Emerging Brands as a Brand? Apply here.

What are the requirements for Emerging Brands?

McLane's convenience stores have specific operational requirements that Brands must follow to stay in the program. Brands participating in the Emerging Brands program must be aware of the following key requirements:

Performance & History

  • To be eligible for the Emerging Brands program, your products must not have been previously or currently stocked in any of McLane's distribution centers.

    • If all your products are already in McLane's distribution centers, you are not eligible for Emerging Brands.
    • If some of your products are in McLane's distribution centers, you can still qualify for Emerging Brands, but only for the products not currently stocked there.
    • If you have questions, contact brands@meetmable.com.

Products & Pricing

  • Brands must offer (and pay for) samples
    • Brands must provide samples as requested by Retailers, covering the costs associated with sample provision.
  • 90+ Day Shelf Life
    • Ensure that products have a shelf life of 90 days or more upon delivery to Retailers. This guarantees product freshness and longevity, meeting Retailer and customer expectations.
  • Offer Base Wholesale Prices
    • Maintain transparent and competitive wholesale pricing. Set your prices at the base wholesale levels, without including shipping costs. Remember, these buyers cover the shipping costs.
  • Maintain Data & Limit Out of Stock (OOS)
    • Brands must consistently update and maintain product data to prevent out-of-stock (OOS) instances.
    • This ensures the availability of products to Retailers and avoids order cancellations.
  • Cancellation Rate
    • Keep cancellation rates under 5% to stay in the program.
    • Items out of stock may result in an order cancellation.
  • Damages & Replacements
    • Mable's support team will contact a Brand when damages have been reported by a McLane customer. The cost of damages should be covered by the Brand.
    • If a replacement shipment is requested (because an item was damaged in transit, for example), ship those replacements within 2 business days of the replacement request.

Shipping & Fulfillment

  • Dropship orders
    • All orders received through Emerging Brands must be dropshipped directly to the Retailer. Mable, McLane, and their Retailers do not hold any inventory.
  • Ship using trusted carriers
    • Ship using UPS & FedEx, and avoid USPS as often Retailers do not accept those deliveries.
  • Ship within 2 business days
    • Accept POs & enter tracking numbers within 2 business days to avoid automatic order cancellation
    • Orders will be automatically cancelled at 9pm EST on the second business day after you receive a PO (ex. a PO received on a Monday will cancel 9pm EST Wednesday)
  • Orders delivered within 5 business days
    • Ensure that orders are delivered within 5 business days of receiving the PO.
  • No order minimums
    • The McLane Emerging Brands program is not able to support order minimums, please be prepared to fulfill orders at your lowest packaging offering (ex. 1 case, or 1 mastercase)
  • Packaging Contents
    • Every shipment must include McLane's packing slip to facilitate smooth handling and identification of products, which is downloadable from Mable's Seller Portal.
  • No discount-based promotional materials in the shipment
    • Shipments should not contain any promotional materials with discounts or solicitation of any kind, and sharing more about your brand or products is okay.

Terms & Conditions

  1. View the full terms of the Emerging Brands Program here.
  2. Brands enrolled in this program must also comply with Mable's Brand Terms of Use, found here.

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