---
title: "Only 10% Success Rate: Which New Products Have a 'Long Life'? Keep Your Eyes Open and Avoid Traps!"
description: "New products are an eternal topic in the food industry, especially in recent years as manufacturers' production capacity has greatly increased and product updates have accelerated, giving distributors more opportunities to access and represent new products. However, although manufacturers are keen on innovation, not every new product has a 'long life.' It is understood that the success rate of new products is only 10%, with some products falling into poor sales within just a few months of launch and even being ruthlessly eliminated by the market. For manufacturers, this may be just a failed attempt, but for distributors, a new product that is not accepted by the market and difficult to sell brings many risks, such as delayed payments, tying up capital flow, causing inventory buildup, occupying warehousing and labor resources, and disrupting overall plans. So, before representing a new product, how should distributors avoid falling into traps?"
author: "郑倩"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2018-05-25"
language: "en"
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# Only 10% Success Rate: Which New Products Have a 'Long Life'? Keep Your Eyes Open and Avoid Traps!

> New products are an eternal topic in the food industry, especially in recent years as manufacturers' production capacity has greatly increased and product updates have accelerated, giving distributors more opportunities to access and represent new products. However, although manufacturers are keen on innovation, not every new product has a 'long life.' It is understood that the success rate of new products is only 10%, with some products falling into poor sales within just a few months of launch and even being ruthlessly eliminated by the market. For manufacturers, this may be just a failed attempt, but for distributors, a new product that is not accepted by the market and difficult to sell brings many risks, such as delayed payments, tying up capital flow, causing inventory buildup, occupying warehousing and labor resources, and disrupting overall plans. So, before representing a new product, how should distributors avoid falling into traps?

New products are an eternal topic in the food industry, especially in recent years as manufacturers' production capacity has greatly increased and product updates have accelerated, giving distributors more opportunities to access and represent new products. **However, although manufacturers are keen on innovation, not every new product has a 'long life.'** It is understood that the success rate of new products is only 10%, with some products falling into poor sales within just a few months of launch and even being ruthlessly eliminated by the market.
**For manufacturers, this may be just a failed attempt.** But for distributors, a new product that is not accepted by the market and difficult to sell brings many risks, such as delayed payments, tying up capital flow; causing inventory buildup, occupying warehousing and labor resources; and hindering layout advancement, disrupting overall plans. So, before representing a new product, how should distributors proceed to minimize the risk of falling into traps?
Follow the "Five Checks" strategy to keep your eyes open and choose good products
In manufacturers' recruitment advertisements, new products are often praised to the skies, with terms like "new concept," "hot product," and "new blue ocean in the industry" confusing distributors. However, when distributors enthusiastically take on these products, few live up to the manufacturer's claims, making distributors realize the importance of "product selection." In fact, the topic of how to select products is often discussed, but it essentially boils down to focusing on five aspects: **"check the company," "check the trend," "check the product," "check the market," and "check yourself."**
Check the company
Checking the company is not just about looking at external factors like brand, scale, and leadership, but also about digging deeper during interactions with the company. The following questions are recommended for distributors to understand in depth: **First, who are the partners in the upstream chain such as packaging, raw materials, design, R&D, and OEM? Second, has the company completed promotional materials and advertisements? Third, what is the actual sales performance in the sample market? Fourth, what is the budget for special expenses?**
Take the sample market as an example: distributors can ask about the sample market situation during negotiations and propose a field visit. If the manufacturer's personnel are vague, it may indicate poor sales or no sample market at all. **If the manufacturer enthusiastically arranges a visit, distributors should also consider whether it is a disguised fake sample market.** Pan Wenfu, an expert on distributor issues, once provided a method to judge the authenticity of a sample market: "Generally, manufacturers truly testing products will not stay in one place for the sample market but will arrange several sample markets representing certain regions based on different consumption characteristics across the country. Therefore, the number of sample markets is usually more than four, while fake sample markets are mostly only one or two."
Check the trend
For product selection, the easiest and most successful approach is to follow trends, track emerging categories, and explore new business opportunities at the consumption peak. Similarly, whether a new product aligns with industry development trends largely determines its survival space.
**Currently, it can be observed in the market that products with labels like 'healthy' and 'green,' fashionable or cute packaging, or functional attributes can meet the consumption demands of mainstream groups.** At the same time, in the context of consumption upgrading, a product must achieve 'both internal and external excellence,' balancing taste and quality, to win an advantage in the current market. Yu Xiuwei from Tangshan Baozhu Food has deep insights into 'product selection' and suggests: "Distributors should select multiple brands from popular categories for comparison, choose the best brand for cooperation. Generally, those ranked at the forefront in category rankings are mostly worth considering."
Check the product
Although countless new products emerge in the market each year, truly innovative ones are still a minority. Most new products are improvements based on existing products—some are old products revamped, some have adjusted packaging or flavors, and some are previously poor-selling products quietly relaunched under a new brand name. Generally, such products lack strong market competitiveness and sales are hard to break through, but because they have a certain market cultivation period, operational risks are correspondingly lower. If distributors plan to represent them, they can investigate and compare the sales data of the original products in advance. If within an acceptable range, they are also worth considering.
Check the market
Before representing a product, distributors can observe its performance in other markets, especially in trial sales areas, which can largely reflect the actual situation of the new product. Among these, sales volume, turnover rate, and distribution coverage are the most intuitive criteria. In addition, distributors can combine new product advertisements to judge whether a product can withstand market tests. **Pan Wenfu proposed: 'Generally, within half a month after a new product advertisement airs, the product should be visible in the downstream market, even if it's just one box. Because within half a month to a month of advertising, the first cycle in the market should have formed. If there is no product at the terminal, it indicates a potential problem with the product.'**
Check yourself
After considering external conditions comprehensively, distributors should also have a clear understanding of themselves. **On one hand, distributors should fully inventory their channel networks, number of outlets, personnel structure, warehousing scale, and capital strength, assess whether they can afford a series of layout operations, and choose products that match their capabilities. On the other hand, each region in China has distinct characteristics, and acceptance of new products varies. Sometimes, a product that sells well in City A may not sell well in nearby City B. Therefore, distributors should not only look at the sample market but also fully understand local market characteristics to consider the operational space for the new product locally.**
Stay calm and consider the retreat plan for new products
When a product meets the above "Five Checks" criteria, distributors can proceed to negotiate cooperation with the manufacturer. However, it is still recommended that distributors not act impulsively and consider one question before formal operation: "Once the new product enters the market, if sales are poor, where is the retreat?" Many distributors' first reaction is to return goods to the manufacturer, **but as the saying goes, 'It's easier to invite a god than to send one away.' Manufacturers often have reasons to delay or even refuse to honor returns or exchanges, shifting most of the risk to distributors.** This situation can be avoided when signing the contract. Distributors should have risk awareness and clearly specify direct return/exchange and assistance handling matters in the contract to prevent manufacturers from shirking responsibility.
However, manufacturers that accept returns are still a minority, and distributors should also have the ability to solve problems themselves. In addition to basic promotional methods like bundling and price reductions, there are other plans to help digest accumulated inventory on a larger scale.
**First,** distributors can check if they have special closed channels. When products are unsalable, they can be partially transferred through special channels. **Second,** townships tend to prefer cost-effective products. Distributors can enhance distribution capabilities in township markets and sell at discounted prices at high-traffic outlets. **Third,** if there are one or two regions nearby where the product sells well, distributors can transfer some products there through cooperation or enterprise bridging. If distributors do not have special channels or township distribution channels and cannot reach a return/exchange agreement with the enterprise, it is recommended that distributors first purchase in small quantities and then add more later.
Shen Feng from Guangdong Baoli Trading Co., Ltd. pointed out: "Generally, from taking on a product to large-scale investment, distributors should have at least about 1 month of observation and buffer period. During this month, distributors can carefully observe market performance. Once signs of poor sales appear, they can decisively retreat." In addition, the previously mentioned 'advertising observation method' can also be applied here. Within 1 to 1.5 months after the new product advertisement goes online, there will be significant sales growth at the terminal, especially at outlets where consumers gather, such as school stores and community stores. If there is no sales at some important outlets, the new product may have problems, and distributors should adjust their distribution strategy in time.
Prepare a core team and create a personalized layout plan
**As the saying goes, 'Preparation ensures success; lack of preparation leads to failure.'** Before representing a new product, distributors should make corresponding adjustments and preparations, creating a comprehensive and personalized plan for the new product. Often, distributors do not deliberately distinguish between new and old products, and many new products are mixed with old ones, with no difference in positioning or personnel configuration. They often follow the mature standards of old products during operation, which can lead to the awkward situation of taking on a good product but 'raising it to waste.'
Therefore, when distributors decide to represent a new product, the most core preparation is to set up a separate core team and select suitable salespeople to handle this product. Generally, after a new product enters a trading company, distributors do not directly assign tasks to all salespeople. **On one hand, some salespeople cannot well handle the promotion of new products due to ability or personality reasons; on the other hand, employees have their own work and arrangements, and a new product does not need to tie up everyone's energy. Therefore, many distributors will specifically select some people or even form a team to be responsible for the promotion of new products.**
**So, what kind of people are suitable to take over new products? Li Chengwei from Shandong Runze Trading Co., Ltd. gave three choices: middle-level supervisors, newly hired employees, and salespeople with drive and exploratory spirit.** Middle-level supervisors are experienced and responsible, with a well-coordinated team, making them a more stable choice for new products, but the disadvantage is that they tend to follow routines and find it hard to innovate. Newly hired employees are flexible, not limited in thinking, enthusiastic, and strong in execution. Operating new products also helps them learn professional knowledge and expand channels and networks. However, new employees are not familiar with business and need more attention and support from leaders and experienced colleagues. On the issue of new products, old salespeople are not the best choice for distributors because the distribution of new products requires down-to-earth effort and enthusiasm, but many old employees are in a work fatigue period, and some even show signs of laziness, not investing much energy in cultivating the market. However, some salespeople have an exploratory spirit and are best at 'gnawing hard bones.' Distributor bosses can also select suitable candidates from among them.
In addition to building a core team, distributors should also adjust warehouse locations in advance, recheck transport vehicles, and prepare corresponding indicator labels. **After preparing the necessary materials, distributors can convene the team to discuss the specific layout plan for this new product, detailing how to conduct brand promotion in the early stage, how to efficiently and time-savingly distribute to terminals, and at which outlets to carry out promotional pushes, assigning specific responsibilities to maximize understanding of the new product's sales at the terminal.**
After completing the above preparations, distributors can confidently welcome a new product and quickly engage in operation. **During this process, distributors should also promptly follow up on market conditions, establish a return visit and reporting mechanism, and be alert to leftover inventory in downstream distribution channels...** As long as they plan ahead, have a sense of urgency, and stay closely connected with the market, distributors can minimize the risk of representing new products and achieve smooth terminal sales.
Source: Food Business (ID: tyjzksp)
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