How did Mekor Corporation 10X its business and expand from one line of products to over a dozen? By listening closely to buyers' needs and finding ways to solve for them (along with a lot of patience, persistence and perseverance with a dash of luck thrown in).

In this interview with Joseph Tarnowski at ECRM's recent Center Store Sessions in Jacksonville, CEO Sapan Nainani discusses the importance of consistency over the longterm in building relationships with buyers, and how input from buyers has provided guidance in where he takes his product innovation.

Sapan has been to 21 ECRM Sessions over the past decade, and he uses each buyer meeting as an opportunity to learn where he should direct his product innovation efforts to best meet their needs.

The result: When he participated in his first Session, he only had a line of wellness teas. Now he has spices, nondairy creamers, Aloe vera drinks, coconut water, cookies and other products on the shelves of the largest national retailers, many as private label products.

This kind of growth doesn't happen from just one meeting, however; indeed, Sapan notes that his success has come from consistently showing up at Sessions and meeting with buyers year after year. Sometimes things can happen in months, but in other cases it has taken years. But by showing up regularly and never giving up, eventually you have the chance to break through.

Click here to see ECRM's full lineup of categoryspecific Sessions: https://ecrm.marketgate.com/sessions

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