Beverage Distributors will Boost your Sales and Distribution"Beverage Distributors are the fastest way to get your beverage on the shelves of major retailers" I have worked with many major distributors and they deliver the majority of beverages that go into most retail accounts. The first thing you need to do is locate a beverage distributor that is able to distribute your type of beverage. That means they are currently selling a beverage similar to yours or services the retailer you would like to carry your product. You should also look for a beverage distributor that offers (DSD) direct store delivery and provides maintenance service of your product. You do not want to have your beverage distributed to a store with out knowing someone is going to stock, rotate and properly market your product. There are thousands of distributors that distribute different types of beverages. - Major CSD Distributors such as Pepsi Bottling Group - Wholesalers such as McLanes, Core-Mark and H.T. Hackney - Wagon Jobbers - Small Distributors that distribute straight from their van.. - Independent Network Marketing Distributors that sell to friends and family members... AKA (Direct Selling) If you would like to sell your beverage to convenience stores, then a Beer Distributor would be the best distributor of choice.
They will purchase your product from you and then sell it directly to the convenient stores. They are not considered DSD distributors because they will not merchandise your product. They will deliver the product to the retailer and just drop it off. It is up to the retailer or yourself to properly market and merchandise your product. Leave it up to the retailer and you already know what is going to happen. This type of distributor will typically want to make at least a 30% margin on your product. The problem with some beverage wholesalers such as Mclanes is that they are not great at selling a new product. They focus on selling your product via magazines and other electronic means. A beer distributor reps will go into the store and personally sell your product to the retailer. Some large beverage distributors will require you to sell your beverage to their accounts and they will deliver your beverage once accepted by the retailer. Most Convenience Store Chains will not purchase your beverage directly from you. They will want you to use their distributor of choice. For example, if 7-Eleven wanted your product they would need you to sell it to Mclane and they would order from Mclanes including hundreds of other items they get from Mclanes. - You must be able to financially support your product - Your product must have enough margin in it so the distributor and retail can make some money - They would like it if your product was already in some accounts with a good sales history - At the end of the day, they want a product that will turn over fast and add money to their bottom line. The sales rep also needs to feel comfortable with your product. They need to know that your products does what is says it does and they have enough sales material to market it. Product knowledge and support is very important to a distributor sales rep, if you want them to focus and sell your product. You also need to know what margin a distributor works off of and the allowances they will ask for. Most distributors will also require that you have a budget for trade shows. Some will ask for a minimum of $50,000 per year. They will also ask you to participate in their mailers or catalogs so buyers can request your product. This is done with wholesalers such as Mclanes. They will also want you to place and ad in specific trade magazines that are related to their retailers. This is the support they need to get retailers to ask for your product. Return from Beverage Distributors to Home Page
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