Selling food products on Amazon [Complete guide]

Selling food products on Amazon is an opportunity that more and more sellers are finding highly satisfying. However, the theoretical possibility of selling food on the marketplace should not overshadow the fact that there are much stricter and more specific requirements that Amazon has established for its food sellers compared to those for the general sellers.

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From unlocking your account to ensuring that the food products sold on your account are adequately certified, let’s explore the main features of a food business on Amazon together!

Selling Food on Amazon: Pros and Cons

Like every merchandise sector, the food sector has advantages and points of caution that every seller should consider before starting their business on Amazon.

We have tried to share them in this simplified table:

✅ ADVANTAGES

• Increase the number of customers. Amazon is the main online place where people look for the products they need. The trust the marketplace has inspired and its vast size allow every seller to easily reach new customers.
• Finding niches to exploit. With a bit of attention, you can enter the right food niche and achieve significant sales volumes. Naturally, not all food niches have high demand or search volume. This is why we are sure that our analysis products will be very useful to you!
• Using integrated marketing tools. Amazon has dozens of tools and services that help sellers grow successfully. Solutions for managing activities, promoting sales, growing brands, and automating workflows are just a small example of their quality!
• Taking advantage of food product storage. Amazon can eliminate the need to keep stock in your warehouse. Just activate the Amazon FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon) service, with which you can send your food products to an Amazon fulfillment center. The center will then handle the shipping on behalf of your company.
• Easily convert with product listings. Amazon’s product listings are designed to convert easily. You don’t need to be a web designer to improve your conversion rate with pages that consider the most important psychological principles of persuasion, such as authority, scarcity, urgency, and more!

❌ DISADVANTAGES

• Facing significant competition. Competition on Amazon is very fierce. While it’s true that you can find an untapped and profitable niche, it’s also true that you can often find a highly competitive niche where making sustainable profits could be difficult.
• Perishability of short-shelf-life products. Food products can be quickly perishable, which can pose a higher risk. If perishable products are not stored, handled, and shipped safely, their quality can deteriorate, impacting your business.
• Exposure to price competition. While it may not be sustainable in the long term, you might face scenarios where a competitor (or more) sells their products at a lower price to quickly gain market share and better exposure on Amazon.
• Payment of sales commissions. Shipping fees and other costs on optional services can reduce your margin on each product sold. Therefore, it is crucial to plan costs correctly with good programming. By the way, have you tried our services yet?
• Performance loss. Late shipments and other issues experienced by buyers can quickly erode your authority in the eyes of Amazon and customers, leading to performance loss.

How to Sell Food Products on Amazon: Requesting Authorisation

Now that you have some useful information on the characteristics, pros, and cons of selling food products on Amazon, we can focus on the peculiarities of this sector, which requires more caution and stringent requirements compared to the general merchandise you can sell on the marketplace.

Performance Objectives

For example, there are some performance targets that must be met, such as:

• order defect rate: <1%
• pre-fulfilment cancellation rate: <2.5%
• late shipment rate: <4%

Food Safety

Regarding food safety, sellers must remember that:

• food must be prepared, packaged, sealed, and labelled correctly;
• food products must comply with federal and state laws, including those not described in Amazon policies;
• all food and gourmet products must be sold as new, never as used;
• food must have an expiration date permanently marked on each unit, except for products that are exempt;
• the shelf-life details for food products in the Fulfilment Centre (FC) must be kept updated (in the inventory file template, set the field is_expiration_dated_product to “true”);
• food must be sealed in suitable packaging for shipping to avoid contamination or other damage;
• expiration dates on multi-pack packaging must correspond to the earliest expiration date of the products inside when selling multi-packs.

Specific Requirements

There are additional requirements for refrigerated, frozen, temperature-controlled food, and raw agricultural products. Specifically:

• refrigerated, frozen, and raw agricultural products must be securely packaged for shipping, ensuring temperature safety during transport;
• some food requires temperature control to maintain quality and efficacy;
• raw agricultural products without an expiration date must have an acceptable shelf life, meeting quality criteria related to:
  • ripeness,
  • mold prevention,
  • pest control,
  • contamination prevention.

In addition to the usual Amazon selling rules, remember that to sell food products on the marketplace, you must obtain specific approval. Don’t worry, though, getting it is relatively simple.

Take the ASIN of a food product you want to sell and add it to your account. If you haven’t obtained approval in the past, you will be asked to request approval to sell in the food category. After that, you will have to wait a while for Amazon’s approval. It could take a few minutes, hours, or a few days.

Qualifying as an Operator

Remember that Amazon wants to know not only what you sell but also how you sell it. You will need to qualify as a reseller or distributor, producer, or both. You may also be asked to submit one or more purchase invoices from the producer or distributor to prove that you are correctly handling the products you want to sell.

The required documents must:

• be relatively recent (max 180 days from the request),
• include your name and address,
• include the name and address of the producer or distributor,
• show the purchase of at least 10 units of the product.

However, you can omit some pricing information.

It’s also possible, at least in theory, that the person approving your account may wish to contact your suppliers directly to verify the data. Make sure all details are entered correctly.

Among the required details, there are also additional information elements on the food products and their photos. If all the data is provided correctly, you should receive approval to start selling in the food category.

Optimising Product Listings for the Food Sector

When it comes to selling food products on Amazon, creating high-quality product listings is even more essential to attract customers and promote sales. We recommend all our readers follow these essential tips to create compelling and compliant product listings to stand out from the competition, a factor that could be your key to success when selling food on the world’s most famous marketplace.

Creating Clear and Persuasive Listings

Start by writing a clear and concise title that includes important keywords and accurately describes the food product. In the description, provide more detailed product information, highlighting its unique features and benefits, including any certifications or awards.

Take Multiple Photographs of the Product

In addition to well-written text, product photographs can showcase your food products on Amazon. Make sure to:

• photograph your products from multiple angles,
• choose good lighting,
• include images of the product packaging,
• show nutritional labels and ingredients.

Use Effective Keywords

Using the right keywords is crucial to making your food products visible to potential customers on Amazon. Use Amazon’s search bar to find relevant keywords. Then include them:

• in the product title,
• in the description,
• in the backend search terms.

Set Competitive Prices

Setting competitive prices is important to stimulate sales and remain competitive in a category like food on Amazon:

• research your competitors’ prices,
• set prices accordingly,
• consider additional costs such as shipping or packaging,
• assess the desired margin.

Prepare a Promotional Programme

In addition to competitive prices, offering promotions and discounts can help attract customers and promote sales on Amazon. Consider offering free shipping or bulk purchase discounts to encourage customers to buy your food products.

How to Increase Food Product Sales on Amazon

As you can imagine by now, selling food items on Amazon can be a profitable business but also incredibly competitive. More and more operators are joining this platform!

Therefore, to stand out and increase sales, effective marketing strategies are needed. Let’s evaluate some together.

Use Amazon Sponsored Products

One effective way to increase the visibility of your food products on Amazon is to use Amazon Sponsored Products. This is a promotional programme that allows you to promote products on search result pages and product detail pages. In return, you’ll pay a small fee when someone clicks on your ad.

To start using Amazon Sponsored Products, create an advertising campaign. Then, select the products you want to promote. You’ll be able to set the budget and bid for keywords relevant to your products.

Optimise Amazon SEO

Another way to increase sales on Amazon is to optimise product listings for Amazon SEO. Use, for example – as we’ve already mentioned – relevant keywords:

• in the titles,
• in the descriptions,
• in the product bullet points.

to help them appear higher in Amazon’s search results.

To optimise product listings for Amazon SEO, first conduct keyword research to find the most useful and functional ones for your products. Then incorporate these keywords naturally and informatively into the product listings

Actively Manage Customer Reviews

When your customers leave reviews on products, respond promptly and professionally. This shows that you appreciate their feedback and are committed to providing excellent customer service.

Remember that you can also use customer reviews to improve your products. A common complaint in your buyers’ reviews should not be ignored.

Choosing the Best Shipping Options for Food Products

When selling food products on Amazon, an important choice is the right shipping option. This choice will significantly impact your business’s success. Considering we’ve discussed the differences between Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfilment by Merchant (FBM) several times, we refer you to those focuses.

Happy selling!