Questions

I'm starting a new cosmetic company and I am not sure how to distribute it. I want to do more than just walk into beauty supply stores. Wholesale? Who does distributing?

The actual outreach and "pitching" to distributors (retail, wholesale, online, whatever) all comes back to the value proposition of the product and its value or perceived value in the marketplace.

If you're walking in cold (a product, in a jar, with a fancy label), without any history of sales, interest, features, testimonials, endorsements, results and sales (yes I included that twice)... you'll have a mostly unpleasant experience in your pitches.

While small retailers may give it a test, the entire setup of that process, sending them product and the paper trail will likely prove less fruitful than any in-store sales it generates (let alone the profits you take from that).

My recommend is get out to all of the beauty tradeshows and events. Network online and offline. With not just distributors but also influencers, bloggers and media.

That's assuming you don't have the budget for a few founds of creative blitz marketing and PR... if you can fund your own popularity, then that should be your first step.

The best way to get a product into major retailers........ is to have the retailers calling you. Which means you need to get the buzz and sales engine started on your own.


Answered 7 years ago

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