Vendor Readiness Program for co-packers, manufacturers and distributors
Startups that show up ready.
Your next small brand already knows its MOQ, its COGS and its retail margin before it calls you. Rocket to Retail gets founders ready before they reach your production line or your warehouse.
Three founding partners this winter. Free for the pilot.
Sound familiar?
Every week, a founder with a great idea and no plan takes up time you could spend on business that closes.
Co-packers
The call that goes nowhere
A great recipe, no spec sheet, no budget and a first order far below your minimum. You spend an hour explaining the basics, and they never call back.
Branded and private label manufacturers
Capacity you want to fill, with brands that will not stall your line
Small brands can fill open capacity, but only if they arrive with a realistic run size, approved packaging and the cash to pay for it.
Distributors
New items that never earn a reorder
A brand that cannot fund promotions, price for every margin in the chain or drive sell-through costs you slotting, space and time.
What your vendors work through
The Rocket to Retail Roadmap: 11 chapters, a bonus chapter and 24 fillable worksheets that take a founder from idea to shelf.
01
Know your customer
02
A clear, defensible USP
03
A brand that means business
04
Channel strategy and margin math
05
Sourcing, co-packers, RFQs and MOQs
06
Packaging that is compliant and sells
07
Distribution, brokers and logistics
08
Marketing that drives sell-through
09
When and how to expand
10
Unit economics and funding
11
The founder's mindset and support system
BONUS
Entity and financial setup
What you get as a partner
1
Vendors who arrive ready
Real costs, a realistic first run, compliant packaging, a sell sheet and a plan to drive sales.
2
Fewer wasted first meetings
Send unready founders to the course instead of teaching the basics on your time.
3
Proof of the work
Vendors bring their completed workbook pages to your first meeting, so you see exactly where they stand.
Limited to three partners
The Founding Partner Pilot
I am choosing three partners this winter to try the program with startups they are working with now. No cost, no contract. If it saves you time, we talk about what comes next.
What the pilot includes
- 3 free seats for startup vendors you choose
- The full course, all 24 fillable worksheets and the glossary for each vendor
- A short kickoff with me to pick the right 3 vendors
- A 60-day check-in on what changed
What I ask in return
- Honest feedback at 60 days
- A quote I can share, if the program earned it
Applications close December 21, 2026. Pilot vendors start in January.
How it works
STEP 1
Apply in 2 minutes
Tell me who you are and the kind of startups you see.
STEP 2
Pick your 3 vendors
A quick kickoff to choose the startups who will get the most from it.
STEP 3
They do the work
Self-paced chapters and worksheets, at their own speed.
STEP 4
60-day check-in
We look at what changed and decide together what comes next.
Built by someone who has sat on both sides of the table
I have spent three decades in the consumer products industry. I have helped major retailers build private label programs from scratch, worked with hundreds of manufacturers and dozens of startups, and touched over 20,000 SKUs across nearly every category, from frozen food to hair care to general merchandise.
I built Rocket to Retail because I kept watching good products fail for lack of a plan. Your vendors get that plan before they get to you.
Deborah Ginsburg | Retail Strategist, Branding Expert, Founder of Shelf to Stove
Three ways in. Pick the one that fits.
No pressure and no sales pitch. Apply, take the details with you, or just ask a question.
Ask Deborah a question
Not sure it fits your business? Send a note. I answer every one myself.
info@rockettoretail.com