As most of my artisans know I take this shit seriously! I treat every account my artisans have as gold and I treat every artisan I have as family. Often times I help them through the emotional roller coaster that retailing can take on your sole, especially when you the artisan are so passionate about your product that all you want is success.Part of the success is maintaining the accounts Yum Runnerz has acquired for our artisans. Yum Runnerz calls and visits stores weekly and biweekly making sure our artisans products are fully stocked, placed properly, and shelf talkers are hanging in the appropriate places.
Most recently on one of my many store visits I had an opportunity that would not have happened if I was not in charge and on top of my artisans account maintenance.
Two of Yum Runnerz artisans East meets West and Ararat Mid-East Fusion are on the shelves of Fresh Plus Grocery on West Lynn St. in Austin, TX. This is a great neighborhood grocery store that has always promoted local artisans.
Last week I arrived to check on their products and there was a film crew in front of the store, I proceeded inside and noticed that the entire store was packed with this film crew. I asked my contact at the store what was going on and he said they were filming an AMEX commercial.
I went on with my business and headed over to the deli to first check on the Ararat choclava and baklava and noticed most of the filming was being done in the deli. A very nice lady from the crew came up to me and told me the deli was still open to purchase lunch. I replied, "oh I'm not here to purchase I am checking on my artisans products." She then replied, "OH, WHO?" I told her "Ararat Mid-East fusion" She then got very excited and said, "YAY, we were hoping someone from Ararat would show up as your product is right in the shot but we could not use it as we needed clearance from Ararat." They would have had to black out the label since they still needed the product in the shot. I told her I would go ahead and give the clearance and at that point she had me filling paperwork out for Ararat and East meets West. The lady was very happy as she needed other products she could use in the commercial but did not have the appropriate clearance from most of the other foods. Without the clearance the products label would have been blacked out. Now with these clearances this AMEX commercial seen nationally will be using some of Austin's amazing local artisans products in parts of this commercial.
In the end a little account maintenance and some perfect timing could make your product a HOLLYWOOD STAR! The next time your shopping around for a broker, think about this story and Yum Runnerz persistence, passion, and patience pays off. Get your product represented by a Yum Runner NOW!
