In New Zealand’s foodservice market, gaining national ranging with a distributor such as Bidfood, Gilmours or Service Foods is often seen as a key milestone for suppliers launching a new product or expanding an existing category.
But while national listing is important, the process behind how those ranging decisions are made is not always well understood from the supplier side.
For many businesses, it can feel as though the decision sits behind a closed door, influenced by internal category strategy, supplier relationships and commercial priorities that aren’t always visible externally.
After 35 years working alongside foodservice suppliers and distributors in New Zealand, I’ve seen firsthand that ranging decisions are rarely based on product quality alone.
More often, they are shaped by a practical question:
“Will our end-users actually use this?”
