How to sell to independent retailers: every route, compared
How to sell to independent retailers comes down to one question: who starts the conversation with the store? A broker, a rep, a marketplace, a buyer platform or you. Each route suits a different stage, and most brands end up using two or three of them.
The comparisons
Each page sets one route next to reaching store owners yourself, says what each is good at, and says when to use which.
- Food broker vs your own outreach. Brokers sell to chains and wholesalers on commission. Outreach wins the independents a broker will later ask about.
- RangeMe vs reaching owners yourself. A buyer platform waits for chain buyers to find you. Outreach goes to the independent owners near you.
- Faire vs selling direct. A marketplace handles ordering for stores already on it. Outreach reaches the many stores that never shop there.
Where most brands start
Almost every route into a chain asks for the same thing: proof that your product sells. For an emerging brand, that proof comes from independent stores that stock it and order again. So the first stockists usually come from direct contact with owners, and the other routes join later.
Our guide to getting your product into stores walks through that first stage, and how to find a distributor covers the step after it.
How we write these pages
We sell one of the routes, so read us with that in mind. Anything we say about another company is a fact from its own public pages, with the date we checked and a link, so you can check it yourself. Where another route is the better choice for you, we say so.
In this section
- Food broker vs outreachWhat a food broker does, what your own outreach does, and the order most brands use them in.
- RangeMe vs reaching ownersRangeMe waits for chain buyers to find you. Outreach goes to the independent owners near you. When to use each.
- Faire vs selling directFaire takes orders from stores already on it. Outreach reaches the stores that are not, on your own terms.
Questions brands ask
What is the best way to sell to independent retailers?
For a new brand, direct contact with the owner or buyer: a short email that shows you know their store, followed up two or three times. Brokers and distributors come once independents are reordering.
Should I use a broker, a marketplace or my own outreach?
They do different jobs. A broker sells to chains, a marketplace takes orders from stores already on it, and your own outreach finds stores that have never heard of you. Most brands use more than one.
Can LaunchPal get me into a supermarket chain?
Not directly. Chains want sales history first. We help you win the independent stockists and reorders that become that history.
Are the facts about other companies up to date?
They were checked on the date shown on each page, against that company's own site, which is linked. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you decide.
Read next
- CompareFood broker vs outreachWhat a food broker does, what your own outreach does, and the order most brands use them in.
- CompareRangeMe vs reaching ownersRangeMe waits for chain buyers to find you. Outreach goes to the independent owners near you. When to use each.
- CompareFaire vs selling directFaire takes orders from stores already on it. Outreach reaches the stores that are not, on your own terms.