How to Find Distributors for Your Product

A good distributor puts your product into hundreds of shops you'd never reach one by one. A bad one takes an exclusive territory and sits on your stock. So you need two things: a list of distributors who already sell into the stores you want, and enough information to tell the good ones from the rest.

The best candidates carry products next to yours but not in direct competition. They already have the buyers and the trucks. You're giving them one more thing to sell on calls they're making anyway.

Distributor, wholesaler or rep?

These words get used loosely, but they describe different partners, and pitching the wrong one wastes time.

Many brands start with reps or direct retail, then add distributors once there's proof the product sells.

The three kinds of partner, and how each one works.

Five places to find distributors

1. Competitors' distributor pages

Brands in your category often list their distributors by region on a "where to buy" or "distributors" page. Those companies already sell your category to the shops you want. Note which distributors appear for several brands. Our guide to finding retailers to stock your product uses the same idea one step down the chain.

2. US import records

For products that come into the US by sea, customs bill of lading records show who received the shipment. Sites built on that data, such as ImportYeti, let you search a brand or supplier and see the US companies receiving its goods. If a competitor's products arrive at a distribution company, that company is a candidate for you.

3. Trade associations

Most industries have a distributors' association, and many publish member directories. They're a quick way to get every serious distributor in a sector and region in one place.

4. Trade show exhibitor lists

Distributors exhibit at industry shows, and the exhibitor lists are usually public on the show's website for months afterwards. Past years' lists are often still online too.

5. The retailers you want to reach

This one's underrated. Ask a few shops you'd love to be in which distributors they order your category from. They'll often just tell you, and now you know exactly who covers those stores.

How to qualify a distributor

Before you pitch, find out:

• Territory. Which regions they cover, and whether they really sell there or just list it.

• Customers. The kinds of retailers or businesses they sell to. They should match your channel.

• Lines carried. Complementary brands are good. A direct competitor in their catalogue usually means they won't push yours.

• Sales team. Whether they have reps who visit stores, or mainly take orders.

• References. Ask a brand they carry how it's going. One phone call tells you more than any brochure.

What distributors want to see

Distributors take a margin between what they pay you and what retailers pay them. Your price to the distributor has to leave room for that and still give the retailer their markup. Work the numbers backwards from the shelf price before you contact anyone, because unworkable margins end the conversation immediately.

Beyond price, they want proof the product moves: sales through existing stores, reorder rates, online reviews, and what marketing support you'll provide. A first email should carry the headline numbers:

Hi [Name], we make [product], currently sold in [number] stores including [names, if true], with [reorder rate, review count or another proof point you can back up]. I noticed you carry [complementary brand], and I think [product] would sell to the same buyers. Our distributor price is [price], suggested retail [price], with [minimum order] as a first order. Could I send you samples and our sell-through numbers?

Doing it with ManyPI

Disclosure: ManyPI is our product.

You can describe the distributors you want in a sentence, for example "food and beverage distributors in the Pacific Northwest that carry craft sodas or kombucha, with the purchasing or category manager's email". The agent reads distributor and brand websites live and records where each lead came from. Every email is checked before sending, and sequences go out from your own inbox and stop when someone replies. The wholesale leads page covers both distributors and retailers.

A distributor search described in one sentence in ManyPI.

One warning: many distributors will ask for exclusivity in their territory. Don't give it without performance targets in writing, such as a minimum order volume per quarter. An exclusive distributor who doesn't sell your product blocks the region for everyone who would.