The Shelf Summit 2026
Hosted by Terrapin Hall
Reserve your free seat now—$38,400 in placements & audits for live attendees only Register free
March 4, 2026 Free · Live online

The Shelf Summit 2026The Buyer's Room

Three hours with the category buyers who decide what gets stocked. Learn what actually moves an independent brand from pitch deck to planogram.

  • The pitch structures that survive a buyer's first 90 seconds
  • How assortment reviews really score a new SKU
  • Exclusive 2026 Independent Shelf Report
  • $38,400 in placements and audits for live attendees
Doors open in
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Host recording the summit trailer in a studio — photo by Ben Khatry on Pexels
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Reserve your free seat Meet the buyers

1,914 registered · Limited capacity

We're handing over the playbook our clients paid $180K to build.

For free. For three hours.

Then never again.

Why you shouldn't miss this

We're giving away $38,400 worth of shelf strategy, buyer time, and category tooling to live attendees.

4Placement slots

Fast-tracked into the spring assortment review

$18,000
6Buyer sessions

1-on-1 with a working category buyer

$9,600
24Shelf audits

Full velocity and margin teardown

$10,800
∞Templates

For every live attendee

Priceless
Releasing exclusively at this event

The Independent Shelf Report 2026

  • How assortment committees actually rank new entrants
  • The 7 patterns behind brands that survive their first reset
  • Pack formats and price ladders that clear the margin gate
  • Trade spend benchmarks beyond the standard slotting fee

Live teardown reveals

Real numbers from independent brands holding 3.4x the shelf velocity of their category average—with the planograms, pitch decks, and buyer emails that got them there.

Register to get access

Why this event exists

Retail discovery has broken almost everything independent brands were taught about growth.

Assortment models cut slow SKUs before a founder sees the data

Retail media prices shelf attention out of an indie budget

Private label reproduces your best seller inside two quarters

Buyer turnover resets every relationship you built last year

The problem?

Most independent brands are still:

  • Chasing doors that never convert to reorders
  • Optimising for sell-in instead of sell-through
  • Quoting velocity benchmarks that expired in 2023
  • Guessing what a category review actually rewards
Learn what actually works

By the time this is common knowledge, the brands that moved first will already hold the facing.

This event exists to make sure you're one of them.

What you'll learn in 3 hours

Three working buyers break down everything you need to hold a facing through 2026.

(1)

Shelf Space Is No Longer Won on Story

By Marguerite Oyelaran

  • Why distribution alone is the wrong growth metric
  • How assortment committees score a new entrant
  • The shift from listings to retained facings
Live prize drop
3 buyer sessions
(2)

Inside a Regional Chain: How Reviews Really Run

By Devon Yamashiro

  • How Fernbrook rebuilt its category review calendar
  • What changed internally (systems, teams, thresholds)
  • What's working—and what quietly didn't
Live prize drop
5 shelf audits
(3)

The Assortment Playbook for 2026

By Priya Raghunathan

  • How to restructure a range for margin review
  • Which pack formats buyers now prioritise
  • How to build defensibility into every SKU
Live prize drop
2 buyer sessions
(4)

Live Q&A + Closing

By Marguerite Oyelaran

  • Your specific category challenges
  • Commercial and operational questions
  • Implementation roadblocks and next steps
Live prize drop
Secret prizes revealed

Meet your buyers

These aren't conference regulars. They're the people other buyers call before a reset.

Portrait of Marguerite Oyelaran — photo by Thanh Xuan Nguyen Ly on Pexels

Marguerite Oyelaran

Founder, Terrapin Hall

Marguerite spent eleven years as a category lead before founding Terrapin Hall, the independent research room that now advises 340 emerging food and home brands on shelf strategy. She built and sold Cortland Provisions, a specialty grocery group, in a seven-figure exit, and writes the weekly Facing Notes letter read by 68,000 operators.

  • Seven-figure exit (Cortland Provisions)
  • 68,000 Facing Notes subscribers
  • Eleven years as a category lead
Portrait of Devon Yamashiro — photo by Korede Adenola on Pexels

Devon Yamashiro

VP Merchandising, Fernbrook Markets

Devon runs merchandising across 214 Fernbrook stores, where he rebuilt the category review process that emerging brands now pitch into four times a year. Named to the Provisions Quarterly list of retail operators to watch, he has spoken on assortment strategy at Aisle North and the Independent Grocers Forum.

  • Merchandising across 214 stores
  • Provisions Quarterly operators list
  • Rebuilt the Fernbrook review cycle
Portrait of Priya Raghunathan — photo by Foto Sushi on Pexels

Priya Raghunathan

Head of Category, Halden Grocers

Priya leads category planning at Halden Grocers and has spent sixteen years building assortment systems for regional chains across the Midwest. She has run resets for Wexler Pantry, Marlowe Home, and Ostend Foods, and now specialises in the margin-and-velocity model most committees quietly score against.

  • Sixteen years in category planning
  • Resets for Wexler Pantry, Marlowe Home
  • Built Halden's velocity scoring model

All three buyers on one stage, for one event. This won't happen again.

Event agenda

3 hours of high-impact learning · March 4, 2026 · Starting at 2PM GMT

2:00 PM·30 min

Shelf Space Is No Longer Won on Story

By Marguerite Oyelaran

Why distribution is the wrong metric now, how assortment committees decide what stays, and the shift from listings to retained facings.

Prize drops during this session
• 3 buyer sessions
2:30 PM·60 min

Inside Fernbrook: Strategy, Systems, and Trade-offs

By Devon Yamashiro

A rare behind-the-counter look at how a 214-store chain rebuilt its category review — what changed, what's working, and what they're prioritising next. Includes a 15-minute live Q&A.

Prize drops during this session
• 5 shelf audits
3:30 PM·60 min

The Assortment Playbook for 2026

By Priya Raghunathan

How to restructure a range for margin review, which pack formats buyers now prioritise, and how to build defensibility into every SKU you launch.

Prize drops during this session
• 2 buyer sessions
4:30 PM·30 min

Live Q&A + Closing

By Marguerite Oyelaran

Open floor. Bring your category, your margins, and the reset that's coming for you.

Prize drops during this session
• Secret prizes revealed

Who should attend

This event is built for people who need to stay on shelf:

  • Founders of emerging food, drink and home brands
  • Sales and national account teams
  • Category and trade marketing managers
  • Distributors and broker partners
  • Anyone who can't afford to lose a facing at the next reset

If your business depends on being stocked, this is mandatory.

Register free

The clock is ticking

March 4, 2026 is 6 days away.

06
Days
11
Hours
42
Min
09
Sec
  • $38,400 in placements and audits—only for live attendees
  • Exclusive Independent Shelf Report 2026
  • 3 working buyers sharing what nobody else will
  • Planogram and pitch templates you can't get elsewhere

Replays won't include the live prizes. These numbers won't stay quiet for long.

Claim your free seat now

Limited capacity · 1,914 already registered

Frequently asked questions

Is this really free?

Yes. Terrapin Hall runs the summit once a year at no cost. There's no upsell segment and no paid tier — the prize pool is funded by our retail partners.

Will there be a replay?

A trimmed replay goes out 72 hours after the event to everyone who registered. It won't include the live prize drops, the Q&A, or the buyer teardowns.

How long is the event?

Three hours, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM GMT, including a 15-minute live Q&A inside the Fernbrook session and an open floor at the close.

What if I can't attend live?

Register anyway and you'll get the replay plus the Independent Shelf Report 2026. Placements, audits and buyer sessions are only drawn among live attendees.

Who is this event for?

Founders, national account leads, category managers and broker partners working with emerging food, drink and home brands — from first listing to national range.

How do I win a prize?

Every live attendee is entered automatically. Drops are drawn at four points during the broadcast and announced on stage; winners are contacted within 48 hours.

Don't get left behind

The brands that fix their assortment case in Q1 2026 will hold their categories.

The ones that wait will be delisted by Q3.

Register free before capacity fills

Live on March 4, 2026