Asda teams up with RangeMe to find innovative suppliers

Big four UK grocer Asda has partnered with RangeMe to ensure buying teams have access to thousands of the most relevant products their customers demand. Through RangeMe’s global sourcing platform, Asda is aiming to increase the number of new and innovative products available in stores as it seeks emerging suppliers.

Asda is the first of the big four grocers to join RangeMe since the platform launched in the UK last month. This gives Asda an opportunity to grow its supplier base while RangeMe firmly plants its flag in the UK.

RangeMe first launched in 2014 and is used today by over 12,000 retail buyers in the UK, North America, and APAC region. It has quickly established itself as the industry leader for retail product discovery and sourcing, becoming the world’s biggest platform where brands can showcase their products to retail buyers.

RangeMe helps retailers and their buying teams scale product sourcing efforts through streamlined submissions, easy to use discovery tools, and an industry standard pitch process. Buyers can then filter searches to find brands and products that meet their exact sourcing needs, allowing them to seamlessly connect and collaborate with suppliers, and offering curated collections to help identify and understand category trends and emerging brands.

Ben Smith, Senior Director of Commercial Strategy at Asda, said: “We’ve already received hundreds of product pitches from really exciting, emerging suppliers as a result of our partnership with RangeMe. Through the launch of Asda’s incubator programme, we hope to work with some of these suppliers to get their products onto the shelves in our stores. We have a reputation for championing trend-led and innovative products, which this platform is enabling us to source at scale, so we can quickly find and introduce new products into our stores.”

“Asda is an iconic British retailer and supermarket chain and we welcome them to our community of top retailers from around the world to transform their product sourcing experience. This is also an excellent opportunity for suppliers to connect directly with Asda buyers and showcase their products” said Nicky Jackson, CEO of RangeMe.

Nicky Jackson added: “Our mission has always been to empower retailers and suppliers to be productive and successful whatever their objective. The platform offers retailers hyper local choices as well as innovative global options. We exist to help them offer an extraordinary experience for their customers.”

Asda recently announced it will launch a supplier incubation programme, aimed at supporting more emerging brands, discovering innovative products and working with suppliers who might not come from a ‘traditional’ retail supply base but can offer something different to customers.

The programme will utilise RangeMe to help source products, giving suppliers a front-row audience with one of the biggest names in retail.