Sell-out: The Key to Comparing the Performance of Your Products Across the Entire Foodservice Market

Claire Brunaud
Jan 12
2 min read

Understanding the True Performance of Your Products: a Daily Challenge

For a Category Manager, measuring product performance is not just about tracking volumes sold.

Between differences in distribution channels, varying promotional mechanics, and reporting delays, it becomes difficult to get a consistent, homogeneous view of the Foodservice market.

As a result, you know where you sell—but not always how your products are performing compared to others.

And without this comparative view, it is impossible to identify growth drivers or weaknesses within your ranges.

👉 That’s where sell-out data changes everything.

Sell-in Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

Sell-in data (your sales to distributors) shows the volumes leaving your warehouses, but it does not reflect what is actually sold on the market.

It often masks:

distributor stock build-ups or destocking effects,
differences in activation between depots,
and the real sell-through speed of products.

Sell-out data, on the other hand, gives you an exact picture of sales at the point of exit from the distributor.

This is the data that allows you to compare performance across distributors and truly understand Foodservice market dynamics as a whole.

Three Levels of Insight Made Possible Only by Sell-Out Data

1. Comparing performance across distributors

Harmonized sell-out data allows you to objectively assess the sales performance of your products by retailer, depot, or geographic area.

You can identify:

distributors that overperform on certain ranges,
those whose volumes stagnate despite distribution coverage,
and areas with untapped potential.

2. Identifying high- and low-performing products

With sell-out indicators, you can precisely measure product rotation by depot.

Overperforming products help shape your next activations, while underperforming references become priorities for field support.

3. Measuring market responsiveness to innovations

Analyzing sell-through in the first weeks after launch shows whether an innovation is truly being adopted—or if it requires additional support.

A More Granular View for More Accurate Decisions

With a platform like KaryonFood, you gain access to consolidated sell-out data—regardless of your distributors’ formats or networks.

In just a few clicks, you can:

compare performance across retailers,
track the progression of your assortments,
identify gaps in numeric distribution (DN) and execution,
and prioritize your next marketing and sales actions.

This unified view allows you to speak the same language as your distributors and steer your activation plans based on concrete, shared numbers.

From Analysis to Growth

Comparing performance is not just about measurement—it’s about preparing for what comes next.

With harmonized sell-out data, you can build your assortment, innovation, and promotion plans on a solid, shared foundation.

👉 Discover how KaryonFood helps you analyze and compare your Foodservice performance across distributors—so you can drive growth with confidence.

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