In the last week alone, I got asked multiple times about how to find consumer product distributors, so it merits a quick post. My answer is to contact the retailers that you want to sell to and ask them who the distributors are that they work with. Some retailers prefer that you go through a [...]
This is a Quora question I was asked. Here is my answer. Since I do not know who your customer is, I will give you a more general answer that may help you regardless if you sell products to other manufacturers, wholesale for retail sale, direct-to-consumer, or all of the above. I would search for [...]
I was asked this question on Quora and here is my answer. If I am not using a broker - and I prefer to use brokers - I check their website to find out the retailer's process for reviewing new products. If that info is not available, then a cold call works as well. If [...]
In my experience, a great startup business idea is one with 1, or better yet, 2 or even all three of these characteristics: Intellectual Property You have some sort of defensible intellectual property, like a process, a patent, data, expertise or a product. By defensible, I mean you can defend it from competitors copying, reverse [...]
There are 3 problem areas every consumer product startup encounters. But there are ways to overcome them if you think ahead and build those solutions into your growth strategy. Problem #1: Product-Market Fit This is the most classic problem every startup encounters. Does your product and it's benefits or outcomes it provides, fit with the [...]
Everyone wants to sell to Whole Foods Market. At least in my world of consumer products, most companies I come across who sell food and are not selling to Whole Foods Market, want to. I admit that Whole Foods Market has a great reputation and associating with them as vendors can elevate their brand to [...]
This is a question I received and here is my answer. In terms of retail legal requirements, here's what comes to mind: Do you need to or should you file any relevant trademark/wordmark/copyright filings with USPTO to protect your works? Check with an attorney about this. Retailer's won't care, but should you be trying to [...]
This is a question I received and here is my answer. I would think about differentiating your core product/service offering from everyone else. Don't be like everyone else. Identify who your customer is (or who you want your customer to be) and figure out what their needs/desires are and create your product offering to meet [...]
Successfully marketing and selling a product is the goal. but you need to make sure you think through and plan for resource security - a reliable supply of your product's raw materials in order to be successful. Not being able to meet demand because of supply chain issues is just as bad as not having [...]
This is a Quora question I was asked about setting up a relationship between a CPG manufacturer and distributor. My answer is below. I know and work in food, so I can only respond from that context. Does the distributor serve the market you want to directly target? Obvious question but needs to be asked. [...]
