The Key to Winning Route to Market Relationships

“My job is to make my distributors rich.” A brand owner said that to me some time ago, and it got me thinking. I don’t know if he was right or wrong, but at least he was thinking about the situation from the other person’s perspective. On balance, I’m going to say he was right—because about a year later, he sold his brand to a multinational corporation and made a very nice return on his investment.

Hello everyone, my name is Ronan Gillespie. I’m an independent business development consultant with 35 years of experience in the beverage alcohol industry. I help brand owners build their distribution networks. Earlier, we heard from Jennie, Nishat, and Chris about the market structures here in the UK and what brand owners and distributors look for in one another. I want to give you a few practical tips on how to make those commercial relationships far more successful.

Finding the right distributor for your brand is a lot like modern online dating. If a distributor is looking for a new brand, they will typically try to get a warm third-party introduction. But for a brand owner, taking a direct approach is far more practical. The challenge—as Chris alluded to—is that the really good distributors in the UK are constantly inundated with “will you distribute my brand?” requests.

To get a distributor to “swipe right,” your initial pitch has to be irresistibly attractive and seductive.

When entering a market, a brand owner brings a distinct set of objectives. It could be securing an initial foothold, driving medium- to long-term profitable growth, capturing market share, or building awareness among consumers, trade gatekeepers, and potential acquirers.

Given those objectives, you need a clear checklist of attributes to evaluate prospective distributors objectively:

• Execution & Planning Capability: Can the distributor actually deliver what they promise? You will need to ask searching questions about other brands in their existing portfolio to verify their track record.

• Portfolio Strategy: Do you want to be the exclusive mezcal in their portfolio, or do you want to join a distributor that carries five or six mezcals at different price tiers? There is no right or wrong answer; it’s a strategic choice you must make.

• Customer Base & Focus: Are they on-trade or off-trade heavy? Do they supply high-end, premium accounts or high-volume discounters?

• Market Intelligence & Data: Do they subscribe to and utilize NielsenIQ data, which is vital for measuring rate of sale and category health in the UK?

• Cultural Fit: While the other criteria are objective, cultural fit is inherently subjective. What will your working relationship look like when inevitable operational problems arise—such as out-of-stock situations or delayed shipments? That resilience depends heavily on how well you engage during early discussions.

I strongly encourage brand owners to flip the script and put themselves in the distributor’s shoes. A distributor’s primary objectives revolve around profitable growth, market share expansion, and curating a portfolio of brands they are genuinely proud to represent.

A distributor’s internal checklist likely includes:

• Market Traction: Does the brand already have existing sales in the UK? How strong is its performance in its home market?

• Margin & Profitability: Is this liquid going to drive meaningful, healthy margin for their business?

• Portfolio Complementarity: Will adding this new SKU complement their current operations, or will it distract their sales force from driving existing core volume?

Patrick Borg, an industry expert in Australia who has built multiple distribution companies and brand ventures throughout his career, offers a crucial observation from seeing both sides of the coin: the more brands a distributor holds in their portfolio, the less focus each individual brand receives.

Simply adding another brand to a portfolio doesn’t automatically accelerate growth; in fact, portfolio bloat can hinder performance. His conclusion is that elite distributors focus their energy on brands they truly believe in—not necessarily the ones offering the biggest marketing budgets.

How do you get a distributor to fall in love with your brand? Naturally, you need to articulate your target consumer, your origin story, and your liquid credentials. But equally, you must communicate how you do business.

Be prepared to explain how you will interact with their teams, as well as what your baseline customer service, logistics support, and commercial engagement will look like. You need to map out these operational touchpoints in advance.

Expectation management is vital:

• The First 100 Days: As a brand owner, you want to move at lightning speed out of the gate. However, you must recognize that your distributor manages existing short-term priorities.

• Tender & Listing Windows: If you sign a distribution deal right after a major retailer or multi-site venue chain has closed their annual menu or listing window, your timeline will stall. It might be another 12 months before that window opens again. Managing expectations up front prevents unnecessary frustration.

• Commercial Transparency: There is zero room for hidden agendas. Full transparency between the brand owner and distributor is essential. If your long-term plan is to start with a boutique distributor and switch to a multinational player once you gain traction, have an open conversation about it. They may offer a dedicated brand incubator model specifically tailored for that transition.

• Communication Across All Levels: Maintain seamless, multi-tiered communication across leadership, sales, marketing, supply chain, and customer service.

When you align on strategy, clarify who pays for what, and focus on mutual profitability, both the brand owner and the distributor win.

Thank you very much, and I wish you all the best in building and deepening your distribution partnerships.