What to Know About Selling Frozen Food Products on Amazon
As the country’s largest online retailer, Amazon is one of the most popular platforms for businesses to sell their products.
It’s a convenient solution for companies in nearly any industry to easily connect with customers and boost sales, but there are some potential issues you might have with this platform.
Some are unique to frozen and refrigerated food while others apply to all Amazon sellers. Understanding these can help you navigate them and succeed in selling via Amazon.
If you’re selling either frozen or refrigerated food via Amazon, the following are some specific things to keep in mind.
Self-Fulfillment Is Required
Amazon doesn’t currently offer Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) for frozen or refrigerated products. As a result, you will need to self-fulfill these products which Amazon calls Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM).
Companies selling temperature-controlled food products need to deliver their products within 1-2 days once shipped, so if you are only shipping once or twice a week, you need to make sure you have set the proper shipping and handling times in Amazon to manage customers expectations.
You will also be responsible for shipping on time and uploading tracking numbers into the Amazon system, once the items are shipped. If you are working with a third-party logistics provider (3PL), you can flow orders through an ecommerce website which syncs with Amazon and pushes orders to the 3PL’s fulfillment software.
When an order is fulfilled, it will push the tracking information back to the website and the website pushes that info. to Amazon. If you are using Shopify for example, the Codisto app works seamlessly behind the scenes to accomplish these tasks.
You Will Need to Promote Your Products
It’s also important to remember that, like Google and other platforms, it’s not enough to list your products on Amazon. You need to actively promote your products to get the best results and ensure people find you. Your top competitors will spend plenty of money on ads to get to the top of the Amazon search results, making it important to set aside a sufficient advertising budget.
There are specific optimizations that sellers can implement to improve their listings, so you should have a deep understanding of the process. It may be in your best interest to work with a digital marketing agency to help manage your Amazon presence.
A good Amazon agency knows how to optimize product listings to maximize conversions and help you rank organically within the Amazon search results. Additionally, understanding the competitive landscape is super important to set a pricing and promotion strategy.
Amazon adverting also requires a high level of skill to be successful with it, just like running paid Google Ads. This is best left to a professional.
Let’s not forget configuring your shipping and handling settings properly, which can be tricky if you are only shipping once a week for example.
Get Brand Registered
This is more or less mandatory if you want to be successful on Amazon. If you have either a pending or registered trademark, you can get brand registered. This will provide a level of intellectual property protection, but from a marketing perspective, brand registry unlocks a wealth of tools that are not available to non-registered sellers, from expanded listing options, more ad types and analytics.
There Are Several Costs to Consider
There are a multitude of costs associated with selling on Amazon. These include one-time fees, fixed and variable costs as follows:
Monthly Costs
Amazon Pro-Seller Account — As discussed, you can sign up for an Amazon Pro-Seller account for $39.99 per month (fixed).
Amazon Selling Fee — The Amazon Selling Fee depends on the type of product you’re selling and the value of the transaction, with many sellers facing a 15% charge for each transaction. For example, a transaction involving a $30 sale and a $7 shipping fee is the same to Amazon as a $37 transaction with free shipping (fixed).
Shipping — Amazon sellers are responsible for packaging and delivering temperature-controlled food products (variable).
Agency Costs — If you choose to work with a digital marketing consultant, you will need to make recurring payments to the consultant. A good Amazon management service will cost $1,000 or more per month (can be fixed or variable depending on whether the agency charges a sales commission as part of the retainer).
One-Time Fees
Some one-time fees to keep in mind include:
Ad Copywriting — Writing optimized ad copy that appeals to both the consumer and includes relevant keywords to rank well in Amazon search will cost around $200 per product on average.
Enhanced Brand Content (A+) — Brand Registered sellers have the option to include engaging visuals in their listings, which will cost approximately $500 or more when professionally designed.
Photos and Graphics — The estimated cost for images, including high-quality product photos and graphics, is around $300 per product, much like ad copy.
Videos — This can range from $500 on the low side to thousands depending on the complexity of the video. Can be used on the listing as well as for advertising.
Storefront — This is like having your own website on Amazon. You can use their store builder for free, but for the best result, have a professional do it, which starts around $1000.
Shipping Supplies — If you don’t have these supplies already, you will need to pay for shipping containers and liners for your products.
Other Third-Party Sites Exist for Frozen Food Items
Amazon can be a great way to reach customers if you incorporate the right strategy, but it’s far from your only option. You may obviously want to sell temperature-controlled food products on your own e-commerce website, or if you are just getting started, a platform such as Gold Belly is worth a look.
Approach Your Amazon Strategy the Right Way
Ultimately, Amazon can be a great platform, but you will need to take the right steps to get the most from Amazon selling. To learn more about how to sell frozen food products on Amazon and other platforms online, turn to Gray Growth Logistics for some guidance today.