The buyer who used to decide about your product.
Now on your side.
16 years in German retail buying. Strategic advisory for market entry, positioning, and negotiation.
Your product is ready.
But is it ready for the German buyer?
Germany is the largest and most competitive grocery market in Europe. Low margins, hard-nosed negotiations, and buying organizations that operate by rules you won’t find in any playbook.Your product might be excellent. Your pricing might make sense at home. But the EDEKA buyer sees something different when he looks at the shelf. The question isn’t whether your product is good enough.It’s whether the buyer can see himself putting it on the shelf.That’s the difference between getting a meeting and getting a listing.
The person who used to decide whether your product gets shelf space.
Now helping you earn it.
WFR Advisory doesn’t deliver slide decks or frameworks from a textbook. The perspective here comes from 16 years inside the buying offices of EDEKA, REWE, and Lidl.
The signals buyers send, the margins they expect, the mistakes that end conversations before they start.
This is the knowledge that was previously only available on the retail side.
Now it works for you.
16 years
German Retail Buying
3 top retailers
Core market leads
200+ facilities
Inspected globally
Show me your product.
I’ll show you what the buyer sees.
German Market Entry
Entering Germany?
We’ll show you what the buyer sees before you walk into the room. Market structure, the right retail partner, pricing that works in the German margin system –
and preparation that makes sure your first meeting isn’t your last.
Positioning & Pricing
Your margin looks fine on paper. But does it look fine to the buyer? Price architecture, assortment logic, and margin expectations –
decoded by someone who set them for 16 years.
Negotiation Preparation
The annual meeting is in four weeks.
Are you prepared – or just hoping?
How buyers run meetings, what they look for in the first five minutes, and what gets your folder moved to the bottom of the pile. Preparation that’s based on having sat in the buyer’s chair.
Strategic Assessment
You need an answer by Friday.
Not a 40-page report.
An honest second opinion on your retail strategy from someone who’s seen hundreds of them –
from the other side.
You have a product and a question.
I have 16 years of answers.
The best next step is a 20-minute conversation.
No pitch, no obligation.
Just clarity on whether the German market works for you –
and what the buyer would need to see.
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Founder & Managing Director
Jan Lars Wapelhorst
16 years of deciding which products make it onto the shelf at Lidl, REWE and EDEKA.Now helping manufacturers understand what the buyer really looks for, before they walk into the room.Languages: German, English + Spanish, French, Italian. Based in Cologne, Germany.