IRI Data Explained

What iri data is

IRI is the industry standard for measuring retail sell-through. Understanding what it is tells you why buyers care about it.

IRI, now merged with and operating as Circana, is a market research firm that aggregates point-of-sale scan data from retail accounts across the United States. When a consumer buys a bottle of spirits, wine, or beer at a participating retail chain, that transaction is recorded and uploaded to IRI's database. IRI aggregates those transactions across thousands of retail locations and sells the resulting data to manufacturers, distributors, and retailers who use it to measure category performance, track brand velocity, and inform buying decisions.

The data IRI produces is organized around a core set of metrics. Volume, meaning the number of units or cases sold in a given period. Dollar sales, meaning the total retail sales dollars generated. Velocity, meaning volume per store per week. Distribution, meaning the percentage of stores in a defined universe that carry a given product. And various indexed comparisons that show how a brand's performance compares to its category or to defined competitive sets. These metrics are the language chain retail buyers speak when evaluating the performance of the brands in their category.

IRI data is collected from participating retail chains, not from all retail accounts. Independent liquor stores, smaller regional chains, and most on-premise accounts are not part of the IRI reporting universe. This means that a new brand selling primarily through independent accounts or on-premise placements may be generating real consumer velocity that does not appear in IRI at all. Understanding this distinction is essential for knowing how to talk about your performance when IRI data is absent or limited.

The most commonly referenced IRI product in the beverage industry is the MULO data set, which stands for Multi-Outlet, representing total US retail sales across grocery, drug, and mass channel stores. IRI also produces FDM data covering food, drug, and mass channels, and channel-specific data for convenience, liquor, and other trade classes. When a chain buyer asks for your IRI data, they are typically asking for MULO or for the specific channel data relevant to their store format.

The data hierarchy

IRI MULO data is the most comprehensive and most cited. Channel-specific IRI data is useful for conversations with buyers in specific trade classes. Distributor depletion data covers the three-tier system channels IRI does not fully capture, including independent liquor stores and on-premise. All three types of data tell a different part of the same story.

Why chain buyers ask for it

Chain buyers use IRI data to make category decisions with confidence. When you understand what they are looking for, you can give them what they need even without it.

Chain buyers use IRI data as the primary lens for evaluating category performance and making item authorization decisions. Before authorizing a new item, a buyer will typically look at the IRI data for their category to understand which segments are growing, which brands are gaining velocity, where there are pricing gaps or distribution white space, and how their current assortment is performing relative to the market. Your brand is being evaluated against that backdrop.

When a buyer asks for your IRI data, they are asking whether your brand has already demonstrated meaningful velocity in a retail environment comparable to theirs. A brand with strong IRI velocity at a regional or national level has already proven that consumers buy it when it is available at retail. That proof dramatically lowers the buyer's risk in authorizing the brand. A brand with no IRI presence requires the buyer to take a risk on unproven performance, which they are less willing to do without a compelling alternative case.

IRI data is also used for ongoing performance management. Once a brand is authorized, the buyer tracks its IRI velocity to determine whether it is earning its shelf space. A brand that is authorized but underperforms the category velocity threshold will be cut at the next planogram reset. Understanding this from the outset clarifies why velocity at the shelf, not just the number of store authorizations, is what determines long-term chain retail success.

The IRI request from a buyer is also sometimes a screen. A buyer who is not genuinely interested in a brand may ask for IRI data knowing that a new brand will not have it, as a way of politely closing the conversation. Recognizing this allows you to reframe the conversation rather than accepting the implicit no. A founder who responds to an IRI request with a well-constructed alternative data package often re-opens a door that appeared closed.

Reading the iri request

When a buyer asks for your IRI data, the underlying question is not specifically about IRI. It is about whether you have evidence that consumers buy your product in retail environments similar to theirs. If you can answer that question with a different form of credible evidence, many buyers will accept it. The key word is credible. Verbal descriptions of how well the product is selling are not credible evidence. Documented data is.

What to use when you do not have iri data

No IRI data does not mean no velocity data. Know what you have and present it as professionally as possible.

The most useful substitute for IRI data when you are new to the market is distributor depletion data. A depletion report from your distributor showing consistent month-over-month sell-through across a meaningful number of accounts is real evidence of consumer demand. It is not IRI, but it covers channels IRI does not fully measure and it demonstrates actual purchase behavior rather than projected demand. Pull your depletion data into a clean summary format that shows accounts, volume, velocity per account, and trend before any buyer meeting.

Individual account scan data is the closest substitute for IRI data on a per-account basis. Many retailers, including some regional chains, will share their own scan data with suppliers who ask for it and have an established relationship. If you have any chain accounts where your product is selling, request the scan data from your distributor contact at that account. Even a small set of store-level scan data from a single regional chain is more persuasive to a chain buyer than distributor depletion data alone because it comes from their peer environment.

On-premise velocity from notable accounts is another useful data point. A well-known restaurant or bar that has been serving your product consistently and reordering regularly is evidence of consumer demand in a high-visibility setting. Quantify this data wherever possible. Not just the names of the accounts but the volume they are moving and for how long. A buyer who recognizes those accounts will give meaningful weight to their endorsement through continued reordering.

Distributor depletion reports. Month-over-month velocity across your account base. Present as a clean summary, not a raw spreadsheet.

Individual account scan data. Store-level point-of-sale data from any retail accounts where you have placement. Even limited chain scan data is valuable.

On-premise velocity. Quantified reorder frequency and volume from notable on-premise accounts in the buyer's market.

Comparable market performance. If you have IRI data from a comparable market, even a smaller one, it provides meaningful directional evidence.

How to present your case without iri

The absence of IRI data is a positioning challenge, not a disqualifying condition. How you frame the absence matters as much as what you have.

When approaching a chain buyer without IRI data, lead with your distributor depletion data and frame it explicitly. State that your brand is primarily distributed through independent and on-premise channels not captured in syndicated scan data, and that your depletion data from the three-tier system is the most accurate representation of your market performance.

Structure your velocity presentation around the metrics buyers look for even when the source is depletion data rather than IRI. Accounts active, cases per account per month, trend over the last three to six months, and reorder rate. Presenting them clearly and professionally signals that you understand what the buyer is evaluating.

Propose a test authorization explicitly as a response to the data gap. A 90-day test in 10 to 20 stores with specific performance targets and a rollout pathway is a lower-risk way for the buyer to generate the IRI data they want to see on a full authorization, while giving you the chain retail presence that builds toward the proof.

Set a timeline for when you expect to appear in IRI. Buyers who like a brand but cannot yet see it in IRI will sometimes defer rather than pass outright if the founder can give them a credible timeline for when that proof will exist.

The bottom line

IRI data is the standard chain buyers use to evaluate velocity, but its absence is not the absence of velocity. Build the strongest possible case from your distributor depletion data, any account-level scan data you can access, and your on-premise performance. Present it professionally with the same metrics a buyer looks for in IRI. Propose a test authorization as the path to the chain retail data that comes next.

Want a complete chain retail entry playbook?

The Chain Retail Entry Playbook covers the full path from independent velocity to chain authorization, including how to structure your depletion data presentation when IRI data is not yet available.