01
The opportunity
Buyers are under pressure to source more local and specialty produce while complying with FSMA 204 and squeezing shrink. They lack a single trusted way to find vetted regional growers with the right crop at the right week. BAU is that single trusted source.
- FSMA 204 traceability is enforceable Jan 2026 — spreadsheet-based audit trails won't pass.
- Local & specialty SKUs grew 11% YoY in regional banners; sourcing teams are understaffed.
- Wholesalers face thinner margins and want forecast visibility to reduce fills and dump loss.
- F2S / F2I programs (schools, hospitals) have funded local-procurement mandates.
02
Who we sell to (ICP by segment)
| Segment | Ideal customer profile | Decision maker | Yr-1 target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional grocers & co-ops | 5–80 stores; SE, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest | VP Produce / Category Mgr | 40 chains |
| Wholesalers / distributors | Terminal-market or DSD; specialty SKUs | Sourcing Director | 12 firms |
| Foodservice & institutions | K-12, hospitals, universities, GPOs | Procurement / F2S Mgr | 25 accounts |
| National retailers | Top-20 with supplier-dev programs | Local Sourcing Lead | 2 pilots |
Disqualifiers: <3-store buyers with no local mandate; pure commodity row-crop buyers; regions with <5 vetted growers.
03
Positioning & message hierarchy
“BAU is the fastest way to source vetted local and specialty produce — with FSMA-ready traceability built in.”
Three proof pillars
- Supply density. 4,400+ paid acres across 9 specialty crops in the SE / Mid-Atlantic by end of Yr 1.
- Match speed. Buyers get ranked grower matches in under 60 seconds vs. 2–3 weeks of phone calls.
- Audit-grade traceability. Every load carries lot history, certifications, and recall packet.
- Cost savings & less shrink. Forecast-matched loads cut dump loss, mark-downs, and emergency fills.
Message by segment
| Segment | Headline | Proof point |
|---|---|---|
| Regional grocers | “Your local program, on autopilot.” | Per-store local SKU lift +18% in pilot. |
| Wholesalers | “Know the gap before your buyer calls.” | Fill-rate +6 pts, dump loss −12%. |
| Foodservice / inst. | “F2S compliance without the binders.” | Audit packets generated in 1 click. |
| National retailers | “Scale a local supplier-dev program from one dashboard.” | Onboard 50 growers in 30 days. |
04
Economic value — cost savings & less shrink
Local & specialty SKUs are where buyers bleed the most margin: mis-forecasted volumes, short fills covered by spot-market premiums, and shrink from produce that arrives too ripe or too late. BAU's forecast-matched sourcing closes that gap and pays for itself inside the 90-day pilot.
| Cost lever | Typical baseline | With BAU (pilot avg) | Per-store annual impact* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Produce shrink % | 8–12% of category | 5–7% | $18k–$32k recovered |
| Emergency / spot fills | 9–14% of orders | ≤ 4% | $11k–$19k avoided premiums |
| Mark-downs on local SKUs | 6–9% of sell-through | 3–4% | $7k–$12k margin saved |
| Sourcing-team hours / wk | 10–14 hrs | 3–5 hrs | ~$9k labor redeployed |
| Audit & recall prep | 40–60 hrs / event | < 5 hrs (auto packet) | Risk + fines avoided |
*Per-store ranges based on a $2.4M annual produce department; scales linearly for wholesalers and foodservice on category COGS.
- Typical 10-store regional grocer: $450k–$720k recovered margin in Yr 1 vs. BAU spend of $14k–$24k.
- Wholesalers: 6–9 pt fill-rate lift translates to fewer chargebacks and retained buyer accounts.
- Foodservice: menu-cycle stability reduces sub-outs and protects fixed per-plate food cost.
Before vs. after — by segment
| Segment | Metric | Before (current) | After (with BAU) | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional grocers | Shrink % | 9–11% | 5–6% | −4 pts |
| Regional grocers | Local SKU mark-downs | 7% | 3% | −4 pts |
| Wholesalers | Fill rate | 86–90% | 95–97% | +6–9 pts |
| Wholesalers | Dump loss | 10–14% | 4–5% | −6–9 pts |
| Foodservice / inst. | Menu sub-outs / wk | 6–9 | 1–2 | −75% |
| Foodservice / inst. | Food-cost variance | ±3.2% | ±1.1% | −2.1 pts |
| National retailers | Local supplier onboarding | 60–90 days | 20–30 days | ~3× faster |
| National retailers | Audit/recall prep | 40–60 hrs | < 5 hrs | −90% |
Deltas reflect pilot averages across 2024–2025 reference accounts; individual results vary by region, crop mix, and store count.
Methodology & calculation notes
- Baseline ranges: pulled from buyer-supplied P&Ls and category reviews across 14 reference accounts (8 regional grocers, 3 wholesalers, 2 K-12 districts, 1 hospital system), 2024–Q1 2026.
- Per-store reference dept: $2.4M annual produce sales, ~28% local/specialty mix. Scale linearly by store count or by category COGS for wholesalers and foodservice.
- Shrink recovered = (baseline shrink % − BAU shrink %) × local/specialty COGS. Example: (10% − 6%) × $672k local COGS ≈ $27k per store.
- Avoided spot-fill premiums = (baseline spot-fill % − BAU spot-fill %) × order volume × 18% spot premium (vs. contracted price).
- Mark-down savings = (baseline MD % − BAU MD %) × local/specialty retail sell-through. MD % from POS reason-code data where available, else category average.
- Labor redeployed = (hrs/wk saved) × 50 wks × $35 fully-loaded sourcing wage. Treated as redeployed, not headcount cut.
- Fill rate / dump loss / sub-outs: measured from BAU's load-level traceability records vs. buyer's pre-BAU 12-week trailing average.
- Audit/recall prep delta: time-stamped from incident logs; BAU figure is the auto-generated recall packet runtime, excluding regulator response time.
- Confidence: per-store impact ranges are P25–P75 of the pilot cohort. Numbers are illustrative for sourcing diligence, not a contractual guarantee.
05
Acquisition channels & funnel
Channel mix (Yr 1)
35%
Field reps
20%
Co-ops & GPOs
15%
Trade shows
15%
Content / inbound
15%
Grower referrals
Funnel (blended, Yr 1)
| Stage | Volume | Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| Prospects in list | 1,200 | — |
| Discovery calls | 260 | 22% |
| Pilot LOIs | 120 | 46% |
| Active buyers | 79 | 66% |
06
Onboarding — the 90-day pilot
| Week | Buyer milestone | BAU action |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Discovery & match brief | Map buyer footprint, shortlist 5–10 growers |
| 2–4 | Intros + LOIs | BAU joins 3 grower calls, drafts contracts |
| 4–8 | First deliveries | Live traceability dashboard, weekly QA review |
| 8–12 | Scorecard + expansion | Joint review: fill rate, shrink, audit; propose tier |
Success criteria (any 2 of 3 → convert)
- ≥1 new local SKU launched and re-ordered.
- Fill rate on pilot SKUs ≥ 95%, dump loss ≤ 5%, shrink down ≥ 3 pts vs. baseline.
- Buyer-side NPS ≥ 50; sourcing-team time saved ≥ 4 hrs/wk.
07
Pricing & expansion
| Tier | Best for | Seats | API / SSO | Price (USD/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot (90 d) | First crop, 2–3 growers | 1 | — | Free |
| Starter | 1–2 crops | 1 | — | $500 |
| Standard | 3–5 crops | 3 | API | $1,200 |
| Enterprise | Multi-region | 10+ | API + SSO + CSM | $2,000+ |
- Crop expansion: +1 crop/quarter post-activation (avg +$300 ARR/crop).
- Seat expansion: additional buyer seats at $150/mo each.
- API tier: direct ERP integration (NetSuite, SAP, Famous) at $400/mo.
- Co-marketing case study unlocks 10–20% acquisition discount on next tier.
08
KPIs, risks & 12-month plan
| Metric | Yr-1 target | How measured |
|---|---|---|
| Active buyers | 79 | Paid (post-pilot) accounts at month 12 |
| Pilot → paid conversion | ≥ 60% | Cohort by quarter |
| Blended CAC / linked acre | ≤ $22 | S&M spend / acres reachable via buyer |
| Buyer-side churn | < 5% | Logo churn, trailing 12m |
| Avg crops per buyer | 2.3 | Active SKUs in dashboard |
| NPS | ≥ 50 | Quarterly survey |
12-month rollout
| Quarter | Focus | Exit criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Hire 2 reps; 5 lighthouse grocer pilots | ≥ 3 active paid buyers |
| Q2 | Wholesaler push + GPO contract | ≥ 15 active buyers; first GPO signed |
| Q3 | F2S / F2I expansion (state-by-state) | ≥ 35 active buyers; 1 case study |
| Q4 | National-retailer lighthouse + co-marketing | ≥ 79 active buyers; 2 enterprise LOIs |
Confidential. For discussion purposes only. © BAU Farm Intelligence.
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