True North Nutrition was born out of our sister company, The Iron Warehouse, which specializes in the direct marketing of nutritional supplements in Canada. While our initial customers were individual fitness enthusiasts, retailers started calling, and we created True North Nutrition to meet their needs.
At True North Nutrition, we aim for high-quality brands, not a high quantity of brands. We sell unique and trend-setting products aimed at providing real solutions for our customers.
Our direct-marketing roots have helped us build a highly regarded bimonthly catalogue that reaches over 2,500 retailers across the country. We have a complete in-house graphics studio, where our designer and her staff produce the catalogue and price list, as well as all of our print advertising and trade show banners. They can also use that experience to create new labels and artwork for your products.
Our warehouse uses the latest efficiency model, and all packages can be tracked online. We pride ourselves on same-day shipment for most orders and maintain a 96 percent order fill ratio. We are proud of our team and encourage suppliers to visit our facilities.
We have built our name through outstanding service, and we aim to bring our customers the best available products.
"We will become synonymous with leadership and innovation in the industry, never settling for second-best." - from the True North Nutrition mission statement
Catalogue Program Our bimonthly full-colour catalogue goes to more than 2,500 retailers, including health-food stores, pharmacies, and mass-market accounts. We do not publish prices in this catalogue, but rather use it to advertise our products and educate both consumers and retailers. A separate two-colour price list accompanies each edition of the catalogue.
Co-op Advertising We believe in supporting our retail customers through co-op advertising. Rather than just giving our retailers a fixed percentage of sales towards advertising, we work with them to create effective ads and help them with placement. Retailers can get co-op advertising the first time they order a product, if the buy-in is large enough and the advertisement makes sense. With mass-market accounts, we build in a 5 percent co-op allowance as soon as the product is listed in the store.
Trade Shows True North Nutrition attends all major industry-only trade shows in Canada. Three trade shows are currently targeted solely at the health-food sector; another two are directed at pharmacy and mass market, although independent health-food retailers also attend. In April 2003, we were among the largest exhibitors at the Vancouver show.
We are also involved in all major bodybuilding exhibitions in Canada. We recently exhibited at the Fitness and Model Expo (FAME) in Toronto - with over 200 bodybuilders and fitness models in attendance, natural weight loss was a huge seller. We also support local and provincial events across Canada.
Consumer Shows True North Nutrition exhibits at consumer shows across Canada, including wellness fairs, cross-country skiing shows, and the like - wherever we see an opportunity.
Superior Retail Reach True North Nutrition lines now include comestics, digestive wellness, vitamins and minerals, and sports nutrition products. We are proud to be the number one third-party distributor to GNC Canada, with more than 14 product lines listed. We have also had great success with GNC Canada and other health-food chains. Our products can be found in Shoppers Drug Mart (810 stores), Pharmasave (315 stores), PharmaPrix (Quebec market), PharmaPlus (71 stores) as well as many independent pharmacies. We also list products with Wal-Mart Canada, the Loblaws group of stores, and Safeway.
Added Value We understand the challenges faced by American suppliers and can help you grow your business in Canada - as we have done with brands such as Pinnacle/Bodyonics, Cytodyne Technologies, and Muscle Marketing USA. Our consultants help suppliers with labeling and ingredients, ensuring that your products are fully compliant with Canadian laws. Should your product require a Drug Identification Number (DIN), we can help you complete the paperwork and submit it on your behalf.
Flexibility and Creativity We are aggressively adding sales agents in the field, and all of our representatives call on health food stores in their areas to seek out new opportunities for key brands.
U.S. manufacturers often say to us, "Give me one good reason I should sign with an exclusive distributor in Canada." We give them four.
1. We are a full-service distributor.
You could pay a broker 5 percent on sales, $100,000 for a brand manager, and 3 or 4 percent for warehousing and fulfillment. Or True North Nutrition can do it all. Our national accounts manager will present your product to all mass accounts in Canada, while our sales team will present to all health foods stores and gyms in the Canadian market. We not only represent your brand in Canada, we become your eyes and ears in the marketplace.
2. You won't get lost in the mix. While there are other distributors in Canada, they represent more than a hundred different manufacturers and approximately 7,500 skus. How much attention do you think your line is going to receive from a sales rep with that much to talk about? True North Nutrition has made a conscious decision not to dilute our product mix, and we choose our manufacturers carefully. We represent just over 500 skus in 21 lines, with a focus on 15 manufacturers (the others are add-on sales brands). Our representatives concentrate on these focus lines.
3. No more price wars. By working with multiple distributors, manufacturers inevitably face price wars. At True North Nutrition, price integrity is key. We set our prices, and we keep to our prices. To earn discounts, retailers must purchase in quantity and present viable merchandising plans - there is no sense in selling them a large amount of product that will sit on the bottom shelf.
4. Our sales reps are paid to grow your brand. Many distributors pay their outside sales reps a commission based on total sales. This is great for a manufacturer - if you happen to be one of their top five lines. True North Nutrition recognizes that not all manufacturers can afford to advertise heavily, so our sales reps are compensated on brand-by-brand growth. They do not need to talk about the number-one sku - it sells itself. Instead, they focus on other products, because it's money in their pocket when they grow your brand.
