It is a huge opportunity to sell seasoning on Walmart and spread your brand visibility. One of the largest retailers in the world, Walmart, stands as a unique platform for sellers who want to scale their business. Entering the Walmart marketplace can be an extremely lucrative step given how many millions of customers they have and a very strong online presence. If you want to sell seasonings on Walmart, we have everything you need to know in this article, including the application process, costs, and ways to be successful on the platform.
Can I Sell Seasoning Products on Walmart?
So yes, you can in fact sell seasoning on Walmart and it’s not only possible but great for your business too because Walmart has a huge customer base to display your seasonings for. But, as with all products sold at Walmart, your seasoning items have to conform to its rigorous rules.
Walmart wants sellers with a good reputation and a proven sales history. This means you must have well-documented business practices, high-quality products that appeal to their customer base, and make sure your seasonings are compliant with FDA standards and any other relevant food safety guidelines. You should also have certifications to prove your seasonings are authentic and safe. You’re eligible to sell seasoning on Walmart, as long as your seasonings meet Walmart’s requirements and you regularly meet shipping deadlines, respond to customer inquiries, and keep a good seller rating.
– Read More: How to Sell Seasoning Online
Steps to Get Approved as a Seller on Walmart
In order to become a seller and be able to sell seasoning on Walmart Marketplace, you’ll need to go through a very thorough application process to make sure only reputable businesses are on the platform. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to gain approval:
1. Initial Application
First of all, you need to fill out the Walmart Marketplace Application form. You’ll need some basic information about the business like legal name and business address, Tax ID or License Number (not an SSN), operational history, and financial documents to show that your business is legitimate and capable of filling orders. Walmart wants experienced sellers with a record of reliability, and therefore, you are expected to have an established business with verifiable credentials.
2. Documentation and Verification
You must provide supporting documents demonstrating that your business is legitimate. Such proof can be business licenses, financial statements, and proof of partnership or supplier. If your seasoning products have organic or non-GMO certifications, then add these papers as this will strengthen your application to sell seasoning on Walmart.
3. Compliance Review
You can expect Walmart to review your business to ensure compliance with their standards. Make sure that your spice products are safe and your business follows ethical practices. In this step, you might have to verify your supply chain and sourcing methods to ensure your spices are safe for the consumers.
Note: If any of your seasoning ingredients are grown or sourced from restricted regions, such as Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, and some regions of Ukraine — then you will not be able to sell seasoning on Walmart.
4. Approval and Onboarding
If all goes as planned, you’ll be invited to the Walmart Seller Center where you can complete the onboarding process. It basically includes setting up your seller profile, integrating inventory management systems, and connecting payment processors.
5. Product Listing
Start listing out your seasoning products and make sure that your product titles, descriptions, and images are SEO optimized, and comply with Walmart’s content guidelines.
How Much Does It Cost to Sell Seasonings on Walmart?
If you’re going to sell seasoning on Walmart, you had better expect certain fees and costs associated with the process. Here’s what you can expect to sell spices on Walmart in terms of costs:
1. Referral Fees
Whereas other e-commerce platforms charge sellers an initial setup or subscription fee, Walmart doesn’t. Instead, they have a commission-based system whereby they charge sellers a referral fee for each sale. Walmart charges referral fees for every sale made on the platform and these fees vary by product category, ranging from 6% to 15%. This range also applies to food items such as seasonings. Let’s say the referral fee to sell seasoning on Walmart is 15%, and the price of your seasoning blend is $10, then you will owe Walmart $1.50 for each unit you sell.
2. Fulfillment Costs
If you prefer to handle your own shipping to sell spice on Walmart, you’ll have to include packaging, shipping materials, and courier fees. However, sellers can also choose to go with Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) which is similar to Amazon’s FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon). WFS fees are charged on storage (per cubic foot) and fulfillment, depending on the size and weight of your seasoning products. For smaller, relatively compact, and lightweight seasoning products, fulfillment costs are relatively low enough to make WFS an attractive option for the sellers.
3. Additional Costs
Other things you may need to spend on when you sell seasoning on Walmart would be marketing campaigns and advertising to maintain your visibility on the platform. By calculating these costs upfront you will be able to set a competitive pricing and still have a reasonable profit margin for your seasoning products.
You can estimate what your fulfillment fees could be by going to this Walmart Fulfillment Pricing Page and using their fulfillment calculator.
— Read More: How Much Is The Cost of Starting a Spice Business in the USA?
How to Pitch Your Seasoning Brand to Walmart
If you’re pitching your brand to Walmart, you need to approach it strategically to catch their attention in their competitive landscape. Here’s how to make a successful pitch to sell seasoning on Walmart:
1. Creating a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
When you want to pitch your seasoning brand to Walmart, concentrate on the uniqueness and value of your products. This could be a new and innovative blend, a traditional family recipe, or health-conscious ingredients.
2. Product Information
Create product sheets with the ingredients, nutritional information, sourcing practices, and any certifications. The more detailed information about packaging, shelf life, and storage conditions will be better and will increase your chance to sell s[ices on Walmart.
3. Brand Storytelling
Also, to increase the chance to sell seasoning on Walmart, you need to work on crafting a great brand story for your seasonings, presenting what separates your seasonings from your competition and why customers will adore them—whether it’s special flavors, organic ingredients, or sustainable business practices.
4. Demonstrating Market Demand
Create a professional presentation or proposal that includes market research, sales projections, and customer testimonials which all support to sell spices on Walmart successfully. This also could be like presenting statistics on the increases in the demand for specialty seasonings or culinary preferences that align with your offerings.
5. Proof of Success
If you have sold your seasonings on other platforms or stores, then share your sales data, customer reviews, and testimonials. The more positive feedback and proven sales, the stronger your case and the more you have to show that people like your products and successfully sell seasoning on Walmart.
6- Final Steps
You could directly approach Walmart’s category managers or buyers by email, or through networking events to attach your pitch deck which should be professional, concise, and visually appealing.
– You can Read Also: A Comprehensive Guide to How to Start a Spice Business
Can International Sellers Sell Seasonings on Walmart?
Yes, international sellers can sell seasoning on Walmart in case of meet certain criteria. If you’re a seller from a different country than the United States, Walmart Marketplace is open to you, however, there are additional rules and processes you’ll need to follow.
International sellers must have a US phone number and US address for returns, a US-based business entity, and a bank account as well as to ensure their products comply with U.S. food safety regulations.
Also, as managing international shipping can be complicated, working with a U.S.-based Third Party Logistics (3PL) company will simplify the whole process for you to sell spices on Walmart. These partners will handle your warehousing, packaging, and shipping on your behalf so your spice products meet Walmart’s fulfillment standards.
Note: International sellers from China, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, and Singapore are not required to have a business entity incorporated in the United States – rather, they can have a business that is incorporated in one of the above countries.
Is It Worth It?
If you successfully navigate the complexities in cross-border e-commerce, then you can successfully sell seasoning on Walmart as an international vendor and the process will be rewarding. This platform can expand your seasoning business to millions of U.S. customers and give you an opportunity to grow your seasoning brand significantly.
Is It Challenging to Sell Seasonings on Walmart?
It can be challenging to sell seasoning on Walmart due to the high standards the platform sets for its sellers.
1. The Rigorous Approval Process
As was mentioned above, the process of approval includes deep background checks, verification of business legitimacy, and proof of operational history.
2. Regulatory Compliance
To sell spices on Walamrt you have to comply with FDA food safety regulations that include specific labeling practices and manufacturing standards as well as ingredient transparency.
3. Competitive Landscape
Walmart’s food and seasoning category is very competitive with many established brands and promising start-ups which means your seasonings have to be different, whether it’s a special mix, an organic certification, or environmentally friendly packaging.
4. Maintaining Inventory Levels
Another challenge you can encounter when you sell seasoning on Walmart is that spices with complex sourcing, or manufacturing processes, can have the risk of limited supply. If you don’t have the right inventory management practices, stockouts could cause your customers to get frustrated or lower your search ranking, thus affecting your ability to sell spices on Walmart!
5. Optimizing Listings
Walmart product listing requirements are another common challenge, that requires the inclusion of detailed descriptions, professional product images, and SEO-optimized content to increase product visibility.
– Get to know the Essential Spice Business Equipment: Tools You Need to Succeed
Can Individual Sellers List Seasonings on Walmart?
Walmart’s platform is intended more for established businesses than for individual or hobby sellers. This policy makes sure that their marketplace is still professional and consistent in product quality and service. To be able to list products and sell seasoning on Walmart, individual sellers often have to formalize their business structure to fit with the platform standards.
If you’re currently running your business as a sole proprietor, think about setting it up as an LLC or corporation. This can help make your application easier and will increase your credibility. Make sure also that you have needed licenses, and business credentials, like a tax ID, a registered business name, and required food product certifications.
Do You Need to Pay to Sell Seasonings on Walmart?
Walmart charges no upfront fee to have products for sale in their marketplace, however, sellers pay costs for each sale.
These costs, as mentioned above, include a referral fee which is a percentage of the sale price, as well as fulfillment fees if you use Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS). Furthermore, if sellers choose to fulfill orders themselves, they’re also responsible for paying shipping costs. If you want to run ads or promotions then you should also think of the marketing costs.
Other optional costs to sell seasoning on Walmart could include buying software to help you track inventory or help you manage listings, or contracting with third-party services to do packaging or quality testing for you.
But remember, these fees have to be included when setting your price strategy to make selling on Walmart profitable.
Is Selling Seasonings on Walmart Profitable?
Millions of customers visit Walmart’s platform monthly, giving seasoning brands reach to an extraordinarily large and diverse customer base. That exposure combined with Walmart’s fantastic reputation should help to build trust and increase the chance to sell spices on Walmart.
When deciding to sell seasoning on Walmart, many factors will affect your profitability which includes your pricing strategy, production costs, and marketing efforts. It’s important that you set a competitive, but sustainable, pricing model taking into account referral fees and fulfillment costs (if you choose Walmart Fulfillment Services) and other operational expenses.
The advantage of selling seasonings on Walmart is that they have a long shelf life. This advantage enables greater flexibility of inventory management and reduces loss from expired products, thus making higher profitability for your business.
To sell spice on Walmart, you should consider maintaining high product quality and giving excellent customer service as it affects profitability. If those customers are happy, they’re more likely to leave a good review, as well as buy again, which can increase your product rankings, and visibility.
Profitability Tips
– Focus on High-Margin Products: If you provide several seasonings, choose the seasonings with the highest profit margins and market those most.
– Leverage Customer Loyalty: Loyal customers are your best customers because they help to increase profitability with less effort. You can try to employ such strategies as discounts for bulk purchases or loyalty rewards for repeat sales thus improving your ability to sell seasoning on Walmart.
– Analyze Sales Data: Having a regular check on your sales performance will give you a chance to think about which strategies are working best, and accordingly make adjustments to your seasoning business strategies.
Do You Need a Trademark to Sell Seasonings on Walmart?
You do not need a trademark to sell seasoning on Walmart, but it is highly recommended. A registered trademark will protect your seasoning brand and make your product different from other brands in the crowded seasoning market. In addition, it helps build trust with the customer as the customers are more likely to buy from recognized brands. Furthermore, a trademark helps you take control of your listings and reduces the risk of counterfeit products. A trademark is not mandatory, but can actually help you to sell spices on Walmart and make your brand stronger in Walmart’s marketplace.
Choosing ZestyHut as Your Seasoning Business Partner
With ZestyHut, the spice businesses are empowered by our years of seasoning experience to encourage the creation of unique and top-quality spice blends tailored to market needs. ZestyHut’s years of expertise work to differentiate companies, improve customer satisfaction, and make such unique product development, resulting in competitive and flavorful seasonings that impress customers and increase sales.
Conclusion
There’s a great opportunity for businesses big or small to sell seasoning on Walmart. If you understand the approval process, associated costs, and the steps to successfully pitch your brand then you can leverage Walmart’s extensive reach and customer base. Whether you’re an individual seller or already an established business, you should know Walmart’s rules, including packaging guidelines, referral fees, and fulfillment logistics. Selling seasonings on Walmart can be a highly profitable venture if prepared and marketed carefully.
Sources:
– Walmart fulfillment fees calculator
– Walmart for international sellers
