Why your product catalog is the foundation of everything
Every retailer interaction starts with product data. When a buyer at Whole Foods asks for your case pack size, when UNFI needs your UPC codes for onboarding, when a broker wants your pricing tiers — all of that comes from your product catalog.
The problem? Most brands at the $100K–$2M stage are managing this data across Google Sheets, Canva files, email threads, and their own memory. That works until you're pitching your fifth retailer and realize your sell sheet has last quarter's pricing.
A structured product catalog gives you three things:
- One source of truth — change a price once, and it updates everywhere
- Instant material generation — sell sheets, line sheets, and catalogs pull directly from your data
- Retailer confidence — organized data signals that your brand is operationally ready
In Thello, your product catalog is the engine that powers everything. Enter your data once in the Products page, and it automatically flows into sell sheets, line sheets, web links, and pitch materials — always current, always consistent.
What data do retailers actually need?
Not all product data is created equal. Here's what matters most, broken into what you need on day one versus what you can add over time.
Must-have fields (required for your first sell sheet)
| Field | Why it matters | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Product name | How the buyer identifies your product. Be specific — "Organic Oat Milk, Original" not just "Oat Milk." | Required |
| Hero image | Your pack shot. Clean, high-res, white or transparent background. This is the first thing a buyer sees. | Required |
| Marketing description | A buyer-facing paragraph about what makes your product special. Not your DTC copy — write for a category manager. | Required |
| MSRP | What consumers pay on shelf. Buyers use this to calculate their margin. | Required |
| Wholesale price | What the retailer pays per unit. This is the number they care about most. | Required |
A typical retailer expects a 35–50% margin. If your MSRP is $7.99, your wholesale price should be around $4.00–$5.20. Use Thello's margin calculator in the Toolkit to check your numbers.
Important fields (add these before pitching distributors)
| Field | Why it matters | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| UPC / GTIN | Every product on a retail shelf needs a barcode. Register yours at GS1 US if you haven't already. | Required |
| SKU | Your internal identifier. Keeps things organized when you have multiple products and variants. | Recommended |
| Case pack | How many units per case? Retailers and distributors need this for ordering and warehousing. Example: "12 units/case." | Required |
| Net weight | The weight per unit. Goes on your sell sheet and is required by most distributors. | Required |
| Shelf life | How long your product lasts from manufacture. Retailers need this for inventory planning. | Required |
| Storage type | Ambient, refrigerated, or frozen. Determines which distribution channel your product goes through. | Required |
Nice-to-have fields (strengthen your pitch over time)
| Field | Why it matters | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Ingredients list | Required for compliance and expected by natural/specialty retailers. List major allergens in bold per FDA FALCPA. | Recommended |
| Certifications | USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Kosher, Gluten-Free, etc. These are table stakes for natural channel. | Recommended |
| Nutrition facts | Upload your nutrition panel image or enter structured data. Some retailers require this on sell sheets. | Optional |
| Case dimensions & weight | L×W×H of the shipping case plus weight. Required by distributors for warehouse slotting and freight quotes. | Optional |
| Pallet configuration | Cases per pallet, cases per layer, pallet height. Matters when you're shipping in volume. | Optional |
| Selling points | 3 bullet points that summarize why a buyer should care. Appear directly on your sell sheet. | Recommended |
Every field listed above has a dedicated input in Thello's product editor. Required fields are marked, and optional fields are organized into collapsible sections so you can fill them in over time. The more you complete, the richer your generated sell sheets become.
Setting up your catalog: step by step
- Start with your hero product. Don't try to enter all your SKUs on day one. Pick the product you're most confident pitching and get it complete. This is the one you'll generate your first sell sheet from.
- Get your pack shot right. Use a clean, high-resolution product photo on a white or transparent background. This appears on every sell sheet, line sheet, and web link. If you don't have a professional photo, a well-lit iPhone shot on a white backdrop works for now.
- Write a buyer-facing description. This is not your DTC marketing copy. Buyers don't care about your Instagram aesthetic — they care about why your product will sell on their shelves. Focus on: what it is, who buys it, and what makes it different from what's already there.
- Set your pricing. Enter your MSRP and wholesale price. If you sell through distributors too, set up a second pricing tier (e.g., "Distributor") with the lower price. Thello generates a separate sell sheet for each pricing tier automatically.
- Add your specs. UPC, case pack, net weight, shelf life, storage type. These are the fields that distributors like UNFI and KeHE will ask for during onboarding — having them ready saves weeks of back-and-forth.
- Generate your first sell sheet. Once your product has a name, image, description, and pricing, you can generate a professional sell sheet in one click. You can always come back and add more data — the sell sheet updates automatically when your product data changes.
If you already have product data in a spreadsheet, you can use Thello's CSV Import to bring it all in at once. Go to Products → Import → Download Template to get a pre-formatted spreadsheet with the right column headers, fill it in, then upload.
Common mistakes to avoid
Using DTC copy for wholesale buyers
Your website says "Handcrafted with love in small batches from our family kitchen." A buyer hears: "Can't scale." Rewrite your descriptions to focus on sell-through potential, margin opportunity, and category differentiation.
Inconsistent pricing across documents
If your sell sheet says $4.80 wholesale but you quoted the buyer $4.50 last month, you've created confusion. A single-source catalog eliminates this — update the price once, every document updates automatically.
Missing UPC codes
Many emerging brands delay UPC registration until a retailer asks for them, then scramble to get them. Register with GS1 US early — it takes a few days to process and costs around $250 for a small business. You need unique UPCs for every product and variant.
One brand accumulated nearly $100,000 in UNFI compliance fines from improperly labeled cases because their manual tracking system failed. Getting your product data right from the start isn't just about looking professional — it protects your margins.
Skipping case pack and logistics specs
You can get away with this for your first independent retailer, but the moment you approach a distributor, they'll need case dimensions, pallet configurations, and shipping origin. Add these to your catalog early so you're not scrambling when the opportunity comes.
What a "complete" product looks like
Here's a benchmark. A product that's ready for distributor-level pitching should have all of these filled in:
- Product name + marketing description
- High-res hero image
- UPC code (registered with GS1)
- MSRP + wholesale price (at least one pricing tier)
- Case pack quantity + net weight
- Shelf life + storage type
- Ingredients list with allergens
- At least one certification (if applicable)
- 3 key selling points
- Case dimensions + pallet configuration
You don't need all of this on day one. Start with the must-haves, generate your first sell sheet, and fill in the rest as you grow. The important thing is having a system that keeps it all organized and connected.
Check your Retail Readiness score in the Toolkit to see exactly which fields you're missing across all your products. Each item links directly to the page where you can fill it in — no hunting through menus.