Home / Glossary

• MCBDeal & Money
  Manufacturer chargeback. A promotional allowance the distributor bills back to you after the fact — usually funding a discount they already gave the retailer. You agree to a rate; they subtract it from your payment. Why it matters: MCBs are the most common line on a deduction statement, and the most commonly wrong. Agree to the rate in writing, then check every one against what actually ran.
• OIDeal & Money
  Off-invoice. A discount taken directly off the invoice at the time of purchase instead of billed back later. Why it matters: cleaner than an MCB because there's nothing to reconcile months later. When you have the choice, take the OI.
• SlottingDeal & Money
  A fee charged for giving a new item shelf space. Ranges from nothing at independents to hundreds of dollars per SKU per store at large chains. Why it matters: slotting is negotiable far more often than founders assume, and the natural channel frequently trades it for free fills instead. Never treat the first number as the number.
• Free FillDeal & Money
  Opening inventory given free or deeply discounted to stock the shelf at launch — often one case per store, per SKU. Why it matters: it feels cheaper than slotting because no money leaves your account. It isn't. Multiply cases by case cost by every store before you agree. Price it here.
• DeductionDeal & Money
  Any amount subtracted from your invoice before you're paid: promotions, damages, shortages, compliance fines, spoilage. Why it matters: the burden of proof sits on you, and unchecked deductions commonly run 3–10% of gross. Read every line. We audit them free.
• ChargebackDeal & Money
  A penalty billed back for a compliance failure — wrong label, missing paperwork, late or short delivery, bad pallet configuration. Why it matters: these are avoidable and entirely administrative. Getting your item data right the first time eliminates most of them.
• ScanbackDeal & Money
  Promotional funding paid per unit actually scanned at the register, rather than on everything shipped. Why it matters: you only fund what genuinely sold. Almost always better for a small brand than funding an entire warehouse buy.
• Trade SpendDeal & Money
  The total money spent on discounts, allowances, and promotions to win and hold distribution. Why it matters: for most emerging brands it's the second-largest line after COGS — and the one nobody budgets before it's already being spent.
• TPRDeal & Money
  Temporary price reduction. A short-term shelf price cut, typically two to four weeks, usually funded by you. Why it matters: TPRs lift volume during the window. What matters is whether velocity holds after it ends — that's the number a buyer remembers.
• Dead NetDeal & Money
  Your true net price after every allowance, discount, deduction, and freight cost is subtracted. Why it matters: this is the only price that tells you whether the business works. Model it before the meeting, not after the first remittance.
• Retail MarginDeal & Money
  (Shelf price minus retailer cost) divided by shelf price. Not markup — margin is calculated on the selling price. Why it matters: conventional grocery generally builds to about 40% everyday; specialty and natural often hold 50%+. Your price must support their margin, not just yours. Run the math free.
• SRPDeal & Money
  Suggested retail price. What you'd like the shelf tag to say. Why it matters: it's a suggestion. The retailer sets the actual price — and if your structure only works at your SRP, it doesn't work.
• TermsDeal & Money
  When and how you get paid. "2/10 net 30" means a 2% discount if paid within ten days, otherwise the full amount is due in thirty. Why it matters: terms are a financing decision disguised as paperwork. Net 60 on a growing brand is how a great year becomes a cash crisis.
• SpoilsDeal & Money
  An allowance covering unsold, expired, or damaged product — often taken as a flat percentage of sales rather than itemized. Why it matters: flat spoilage percentages are rarely audited by the brand. Ask for the documentation behind the number at least once.
• Ad AllowanceDeal & Money
  A fee for inclusion in a retailer's circular, flyer, app, or feature program. Why it matters: features move real volume, but only when the shelf is already stocked and priced correctly. Paying for an ad on an out-of-stock item is a donation.
• Cut-InDeal & Money
  Physically adding your item into an existing shelf set between scheduled resets. Why it matters: a cut-in date is the difference between shipping next month and shipping next spring. Ask for it explicitly — authorization alone doesn't put you on shelf.
• BrokerDistribution
  A sales agency that represents your brand to retailers and distributors — buyer relationships, submissions, and retail execution. Why it matters: a broker works for you. A distributor doesn't. Confusing the two is the most expensive misunderstanding in emerging CPG.
• DistributorDistribution
  A warehouse and delivery network that buys from you and sells to retailers. Why it matters: a distributor is a warehouse, not a sales force. Getting listed makes you available — it doesn't make you sell.
• DSDDistribution
  Direct store delivery. Product delivered straight to each store, bypassing the retailer's warehouse — and usually serviced on the shelf by the delivery rep. Why it matters: DSD gives you control of the shelf and the reorder. It's also the most labor-intensive route to market there is.
• Anchor AccountDistribution
  The retailer commitment that justifies a distributor bringing you into their warehouse in the first place. Why it matters: sequence decides everything. Secure the retailer, then the distributor — not the other way around.
• TurnsDistribution
  How many times inventory sells through and is reordered over a period. Why it matters: this is the number a distributor actually judges you on. Slow turns get you cut from the warehouse long before a retailer discontinues you.
• NIFDistribution
  New item form. The paperwork a buyer or distributor requires to consider and set up your item. Why it matters: incomplete forms are the quietest reason deals die. Nobody calls to tell you a field was blank — the submission simply doesn't move.
• Item SetupDistribution
  Loading your product into a distributor or retailer system: specs, dimensions, pricing, images, certifications. Why it matters: an item that's authorized but not set up correctly cannot be ordered. This is where weeks disappear with no explanation.
• Pull PlanDistribution
  The demos, promotions, and marketing that move product off the shelf once distribution exists. Why it matters: distribution without a pull plan is the most expensive mistake in CPG. You pay to get in, then pay again when it doesn't move.
• Landed CostDistribution
  The distributor's total cost to get your product into their warehouse — your price plus freight and any inbound charges. Why it matters: their margin is calculated on landed cost, not your invoice price. Freight you ignore becomes margin they demand back.
• FOBDistribution
  Free on board. Defines the point where ownership and freight responsibility transfer from you to the buyer. Why it matters: "FOB origin" and "delivered" are completely different businesses at the same headline price.
• Fill Rate / OTIFDistribution
  The percentage of ordered product shipped complete and on time. Why it matters: miss the threshold and you're fined automatically, no conversation. Under-promising your capacity beats explaining a short ship.
• Emerging Brand ProgramsDistribution
  Structured onboarding programs run by major distributors for newer brands, bundling setup, marketing, and visibility for a fee. Why it matters: they can be genuinely useful or an expensive shortcut, depending entirely on whether you already have retailer demand.
• Category ReviewRetail & Shelf
  The scheduled process where a retailer evaluates an entire category and decides what stays, what's cut, and what comes in. Why it matters: reviews run on the retailer's calendar, not yours. Timing beats quality — a great submission outside the window isn't rejected, it's ignored.
• ResetRetail & Shelf
  The physical rebuild of a shelf set after category decisions are made — usually overnight, often seasonal. Why it matters: your authorization becomes real revenue on reset day. Until then, you're a decision on paper.
• Planogram (POG)Retail & Shelf
  The shelf map dictating exactly what goes where, at what height, and with how many facings. Why it matters: eye level and facing count drive velocity more than packaging design does. Where you sit is a negotiation, not an accident.
• FacingsRetail & Shelf
  How many units of your product face the shopper on shelf. Why it matters: one facing on a fast set means you sell out mid-week and read as a slow mover. Fight for two.
• AuthorizationRetail & Shelf
  Approval for your item to be carried by a retailer — often chain-wide, sometimes by region or store cluster. Why it matters: authorized doesn't mean stocked. Chasing the gap between the two is most of the work after a yes.
• VoidRetail & Shelf
  An authorized item missing from the shelf where it should be. Why it matters: voids count as zero velocity, not as an error. Nobody at the store is checking for you — that's retail execution.
• DiscontinuationRetail & Shelf
  Removal from the set, almost always for velocity below the category threshold. Why it matters: the warning signs appear about ninety days out in the data. Brands that read them can still save the listing.
• EndcapRetail & Shelf
  The display at the end of an aisle — the highest-traffic real estate in the store, usually paid for. Why it matters: an endcap can double a month and teach you nothing about true shelf velocity. Judge the aisle, not the display.
• Category ManagerRetail & Shelf
  The person who owns the category's profit and loss and decides which items live and die. Why it matters: they aren't evaluating your brand. They're evaluating what your item does to their category. Pitch accordingly.
• ForagerRetail & Shelf
  A local and emerging brand buyer role used in the natural channel to bring in regional products outside the main category process. Why it matters: for a small brand this is often the only realistic door into a national natural banner. Start local before you pitch national.
• VelocityData & Velocity
  Units sold per store per week — often written UPSPW. Why it matters: this single number decides whether you keep the shelf. Everything else on your sell sheet is context for it.
• %ACVData & Velocity
  All commodity volume. A measure of distribution weighted by store sales volume rather than store count. Why it matters: 100 small stores and 100 high-volume stores are not the same distribution. Buyers speak in %ACV; learn to answer in it.
• Sell-In vs Sell-ThroughData & Velocity
  Sell-in is what you shipped into the warehouse or store. Sell-through is what shoppers actually bought. Why it matters: a big first order is sell-in. Founders celebrate it and then get discontinued when sell-through never follows.
• Repeat RateData & Velocity
  The share of buyers who purchase your product again. Why it matters: trial can be bought with a demo and a discount. Repeat can't. It's the honest verdict on the product itself.
• Syndicated DataData & Velocity
  Third-party market data on category and item performance, sold by providers such as SPINS, Circana, and Nielsen. Why it matters: buyers already have this data about your category. Walking in without knowing what it says is walking in blind to your own review.
• GS1 / UPC / GTINProduct & Compliance
  The global standard behind your barcode. GS1 issues the company prefix; the GTIN is the number; the UPC is the printed barcode itself. Why it matters: register through GS1 directly. Resold or borrowed barcodes get rejected at major retailers, and changing a barcode later means redoing every listing.
• Case PackProduct & Compliance
  How many units ship in a case — commonly 6, 8, or 12 depending on category. Why it matters: too large and a small store won't take the risk; too small and the freight math breaks. Changing it after launch means new cases, new specs, and new paperwork everywhere.
• Ti-HiProduct & Compliance
  Cases per layer on a pallet (Ti) and layers per pallet (Hi). Why it matters: it's on every distributor form and most founders can't answer it. Bad pallet math turns into freight cost and compliance chargebacks.
• Shelf LifeProduct & Compliance
  The guaranteed period your product stays saleable, plus the percentage of life that must remain when it arrives at the warehouse. Why it matters: short shelf life isn't disqualifying, but it changes everything about order size, promotion timing, and spoilage exposure.
• Co-Man / Co-PackerProduct & Compliance
  A contract manufacturer that produces and packages your product for you. Why it matters: minimum order quantities and run charges set the floor on your COGS — and therefore on whether your retail price can ever work.
• COGSProduct & Compliance
  Cost of goods sold — the full cost to produce one saleable unit, including packaging, labor, and overhead absorbed per unit. Why it matters: buyers compute COGS differently than founders do. If yours excludes packaging or freight, your margin story falls apart under one question.
• Spec SheetProduct & Compliance
  One page carrying every hard fact about your item: dimensions, case pack, weights, UPC, shelf life, ingredients, certifications. Why it matters: if you can't produce it in under a minute when a buyer asks, you look early. Have it built before you need it.
• COIProduct & Compliance
  Certificate of insurance. Proof of product liability coverage, typically at limits the retailer specifies and naming them as additional insured. Why it matters: this is a hard gate, not a preference. No certificate, no purchase order — and getting it issued takes longer than founders expect.

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