During last year I started to write about the surge in interest from what was previously a supplier into the multi-channel retail sector establishing a direct relationship with the consumer.

Sure they have a lot to learn, and yes they will have to work out and possibly partner with other businesses in the established fulfilment and logistics sector but one thing is evident to me is that this crisis is proving to be a catalyst towards that goal for several FMCG and CPG brands.

Heinz has launched a new delivery service to help customers get their favourite tinned goods while self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic. Its first ever UK online shop - Heinz to Home - offers bundles of 16 tins made up of eight baked beans, four spaghetti hoops and four cream of tomato soup. The boxes of food costing £10 plus £3.50 for postage, will be delivered within three days of ordering and are available now from its website. source link below.

Over the years I've had the privilege of helping several B2B brands enter into the D2C space, here's what they, and I learned along the way - it might help you also?

Below are a relatively small number of provocations and potential solutions for companies considering entering into the D2C space - the main article can be found here.

  1. DISTRIBUTION: The challenges B2B have is no different than that facing a secret Avon project I worked on many years ago. As such they're all experimenting with ways to 'get closer' to you and me without annoying the plethora of wholesalers and retail stores they rely on for their distribution base.
  2. OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS: One of the biggest investment challenges are the operational and logistical changes required to re-engineer quite a lot of the business. Moving from shipping boxes for wholesale and retail to shipping parcels to consumers requires a different set of skills and infrastructure.
  3. MARKETING & CUSTOMER RECRUITMENT: When the people who are currently buying your product from an intermediary are invisible and you don't know who the end customer is how do you go about building a direct relationship in order to grow those sales.

One of those companies leveraging their own version of eCommerce, Operations and Logistics and looking to help what was a B2B health, wellness and beauty brand move into the D2C space is a company based in the North West of the UK called 'THG Ingenuity'.

THG Ingenuity, the technology services division of THG, today announces the signing of a major contract with Nestlé Health Science (NHSc). THG Ingenuity will deliver a fully serviced, global ecommerce platform, to internationally scale a number of NHSc’s brands.  

To find out how D2C brands can also recruit new customers for less than the traditional eCommerce and retail sector by leveraging 'Social Media' click here for the full article.