6 Tips for Working with a Food Distributor

Written by By Jeannie Andolena of VedgeCo

It’s an exciting time for plant-based food startups. From innovative plant-based meat and deli products to dairy milk and cheese alternatives, the possibilities are endless.

If you’ve created a product that’s ready for its big debut and you’re looking to scale up and take it national, consider the following tips for how to work with a distributor.

Understand your product category. Knowledge is power, and it’s incredibly important when it comes to getting your product out into the world. You should have a good understanding of the competitive landscape, your key product differentiators, how your category is growing, who your target customers are, and what’s selling and what’s not in your category. It’s also important to think about your customers and their needs.
If you’re selling to restaurants, for example, is the product made to simply heat and serve or does it require more culinary expertise? What’s the preparation time and the lift involved? Who will ultimately be buying your product now and in the future? JUST products are a great example of the different ways a single product can be sold and prepared. They sell their liquid “egg” in bulk to foodservice operators and their heat-and-serve folded vegan egg to restaurants as well as to consumers through grocery stores.
Focus on one awesome product. When you think of some of the most successful product companies in the plant-based industry (Miyoko’s, Impossible, Tofurky, to name a few), chances are, they started out with one ground-breaking product and built from there. The same applies to you and your company: Create one thing right and better than anyone else. Once you perfect that one offering and gain traction, you can look to expand your assortment to other flavors, varieties, etc. Master that one product first and then go from there.
Start local. While you may have aspirations of going national, it’s smart to begin by getting your product into a few local restaurants and stores. Ask your favorite local restaurant or grocery store if they will work with you on a limited-time offer. You may need to give them free product or heavily discount it, but this is a way to get the ball rolling. Then you can ask for consumer and retailer feedback, perfect your offering, and improve your supply chain. From there, you can take your offering to a regional distributor and then a nationwide distributor. Plant Ranch (formerly Cena Vegan), for example, started as a food truck, developed a cult following, and then built their company from there. Blackbird Foods started as a pizzeria in Philadelphia and then went on to develop products for other foodservice businesses.
Improve your supply chain. Be prepared to scale in different ways. What can you create in your kitchen when you’re just starting out and when will you need to get capital to outsource production to a third party? It’s great to start local and scrappy but before you start talking to distributors you need to have a plan to scale production. A distributor won’t work with you if you can’t guarantee timely shipments of products.
Price to scale. Thinking ahead is the name of the game when it comes to growing your new brand. While your product may start out being distributed locally, if you want to go national, you need to plan your pricing accordingly. Think long-term on the MSRP and bake in the necessary room for distributor and retailer/restaurant margins. Remember: It's always easier to reduce price than to raise price down the road! Many brands start with direct-to-consumer offerings, only baking in their own manufacturer margins. Then they struggle to scale nationwide. The good news is that your manufacturing costs should go down with scale.
Perfect your packaging. Distributors typically ship the product by the case so your product and case need to be the right size. The product’s packaging also needs to be secure so it doesn't get damaged during shipping. Also, will your product be sold in retail shops or be for foodservice? Retail needs to be shelf-ready (e.g. looks attractive on the shelf), while foodservice packaging is much more functional and typically less costly. In either case, make sure to do stability testing by shipping cases to yourself to ensure it can handle the shipment.

Remember that by thinking and planning ahead, you can save yourself money, time, and heartache. In no time, you’ll be able to work successfully and seamlessly with a national distributor to get your product into the hands of as many customers as possible.

Jeannie Andolena is the COO of VEDGEco, the first national plant-based food wholesaler. You can reach her at hello@vedgeco.com