17 Feb Wegmans Launch

In January we launched Rebel Crumbles at Wegmans in King of Prussia! This is very exciting for the Rebel Crew because this is our first time launching in a Wegman’s retailer. This is our second time introducing Rebel Crumbles into a major grocery chain, following ShopRite at Parkside in West Philly. Rebel is always trying to spread our products and message, and this is just another example of us completing that goal. To celebrate the launch we hosted a Meet the Creator event, which gave customers the opportunity to meet Rebel Crew Members and taste Rebel Crumbles. 

Me and some of the Rebel crew at Wegmans

Our launch in Wegmans was a result of our crew networking at a conference in 2018. We attended the Choose Food Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. While there we attended a presentation facilitated by a woman named Ms. Gillian, who worked for Wegmans. She presented on Wegmans’ values and discussed how they care about the well-being and success of every customer and how they want to make a difference in every community they serve. After her presentation, we sampled Rebel Crumbles in the lobby, and she came by our table which sparked a conversation. 

We continued to keep in contact with Ms.Gillian, and within a few months, she connected us to Joe, the Regional Bakery Manager at Wegmans in King Of Prussia. This connection started the process of getting Crumbles into Wegmans. Our first meeting required us to send over Crumble samples to Joe and his team to taste test. From there we had a second meeting to discuss the possibility of getting Rebel Crumbles into Wegmans. That meeting revealed that Wegmans has a strict system for allowing new products into their stores. They only want food that is as good or better than what they already serve. 

 After all this hard work, Rebel Crumbles launched at Wegmans on January,11th 2020! Originally they were supposed to launch in the fall for apple season but we learned through this process that everything takes time in business. After perfecting the business plan, we were invited to participate in one of their called Meet The Creator events, which gives customers an opportunity to meet the creators of new products that have been launched into the Wegmans store. There we met many amazing Wegmans customers that enjoyed the Rebel Crumbles and our mission and values.

Our stand at the Meet the Creator event!

 My favorite part of Meet The Creator was that many of the customers that we met had previously seen Rebel Crumbles in their schools and were super excited that Crumbles were in a location near them. And to hear about how Rebel got the Crumbles into Wegmans.

The Rebel Crew gained some great experience from this amazing journey. We realized that making connections with people is helpful because you never know how far a connection can take you. Along with that, in the business world, it’s always good to network and attend conferences because it pushes us to reflect and grow as a business.