Bep Dhailwal, Trade Communications Manager, Mars
Bep Dhaliwal is the Trade Communications Manager for Mars Chocolate UK. Bep is responsible for communicating to independent retailers either through the trade media or the reps that come to visit your store. Our betterRetailers were given an exclusive opportunity to ask Bep any question they wanted answering.
Questions and answers covered how to get in touch with Mars to organise a rep visit, fairtrade products, Mars’ category tool Capital, and a lot more besides. Click on the tabs above to navigate through the questions, and leave a comment below if you have more questions for Bep.
Ralph Patel: I’ve noticed that over the past five years Mars’s marketing strategy has not been as proactive. Since the Masterfoods takeover it seems to have reduced the number of sales rep visits. We miss this. We used to see the rep every six to eight weeks, but visits are now a lot less frequent. It is good to get regular planogram advice and we always appreciated the incentive schemes (e.g. getting a free outer if undertaking to stock in a particular way). What are Mars’ future plans for reps?
Bep Dhaiwal: This is a bit of a surprise to us as we’ve recently upweighted the resource that we have out there. We’ve got more than 350 reps, a huge increase in the amount of feet we’ve got on the street.
The independent sector is really important to us, and our salesforce work very closely with each retailer to create a solution that meets their individual needs concerning the right lines to stock, forthcoming campaigns and how to grow sales of the overall category. Our sales team offer advice on how to grow confectionery sales from the main fixture, but also from other areas around the store.
If Ralph, or another retailer, isn’t getting the advice they feel they need, I’d advise calling 01844 262 517 and requesting a rep visit. We can sort that out straight away.
Steve Denham: How important is it for a retailer to use a merchandising system such as Capital in today’s challenging market place? Also Capital is now around 15 years old; is it still the best?Bep Dhaiwal: Capital is still the key tool we use and it works really well. It’s something that is also being constantly reviewed – for example as we speak we’ve got trials being conducted in stores to see whether there is anything we can alter.
Capital has always been about putting the right products in the right places to ensure that consumers interact with the display in a meaningful way. Grouping by category is key, as we don’t believe that a shopper necessarily goes into a store to buy a product by a particular manufacturer. They go in to buy a product to cater for the needs they have at that moment.
Capital looks at the shop’s main display, and then we have other schemes to look beyond that.
Jai Singh: What are the likes of Mars doing with regards to fairtrade products?Bep Dhaiwal: Our work with the Rainforest Alliance, and the Rainforest Alliance branding on our Galaxy bars, is the first step in our plan to secure sustainably-grown cocoa across all of our products by 2020.
We’re really proud of the work we’ve been doing in this area.
It’s not necessarily about selling more. It’s about doing the right thing.
GALAXY® was the right place to start. It’s our biggest brand, and as it is made with the highest volume of cocoa it’s the brand where we can make the most difference to farmers and their families.
Des Barr: Why is the barcode on Minstrels placed where it is? It doesn’t sit tight on the back of the wrapper and is impossible to scan. Is this something Mars is aware of?Bep Dhaiwal: If this is relating to the single Minstrels pack, then we have recently made some changes that should help with this problem. I’ll look into it directly though, and if it’s still happening we’ll have to take a look at where our cutting guides are sitting and sort it out.
Dee Sedani: Confectionery manufacturers continue to ignore regional and location specifics in their planograms. We no longer stock by brand but by best sellers. Has Mars got any plans to produce planograms that take regional and location factors into account?Bep Dhaiwal: Our Field Team is trained to work with retailers to identify their own best sellers and offer advice about the bestsellers around the country as well. For instance they will take a look at whether a store is near a building site, or a hospital – for example – and advise accordingly. We have flexible principles and reps should be taking these into account.
We know what sells, and we know that we have to adopt a flexible approach. Our reps should be offering this advice.
Christine Hope: Which products do Mars perceive as designed for the smaller independent retailers and which ones are for the supermarkets?Bep Dhaiwal: Simply, single-serve countlines are ideal for the smaller ‘impulse’ store, and supermarkets are all about the take-home ranges such as multipacks, for example.
Jai Singh: Can emails be sent to retailers regarding recent store visits? Providing information of how our current display looks and also a little information of regional sales data, as I may currently stock a line that in my region may be regarded as a poor seller and maybe missing out on another product that we may not stock.Bep Dhaiwal: The trouble is that our sales reps are visiting 32,000 stores – so sending follow-up emails after every visit would be very difficult.
Each rep should be leaving information about what they’ve said during the sales visit. Our reward customers will have everything recorded in a folder.
If there are any questions though, simply ask the rep. They’re there to answer your questions, so don’t be afraid to ask them.
Tom Searle: What is Mars’s future policy for supporting independent retails on Easter Eggs? This year I finally bit the bullet and bought eggs in my local supermarket on a buy one get one free offer.Bep Dhaiwal: The retailer has to decide what works for him, really. Is he a distress retailer? We can’t control offers that the supermarkets put on, unfortunately, but what we can do is provide independent retailers with information about what product ranges will work well for them.
We have some very good research about the importance of the convenience sector. Small retailers have a unique opportunity on the ‘self eat’ sector, but we also found that premium eggs worked very well in the convenience channel, so that’s well worth considering.
Christine Hope: When will Mars start labeling what percentage of Mars (or any product line) product is grown in the UK?Bep Dhaiwal: The trouble with this is that not every ingredient that goes into one of products will be from the UK. With the best will in the world, sugar and cocoa won’t ever be grown here.
We do put on our packaging if a product is manufactured in the UK – for example our Mars bars state that they were ‘manufactured in Slough’.
Des Barr: What is Mars doing to support retailers throughout the Olympics?Bep Dhaiwal: We will definitely be doing something. Although the guidelines are tight and we aren’t a main sponsor, we will be working really hard to get the key brands in retailer’s hands.
We’re really keen to work with retailers to find out what they want us to do as well. Do they want PoS materials and help in-store? Activities? We’re really, really open to hearing what retailers want from us and want to get involved that way.
