How to find stockists for your product: every channel for food and drink
To find stockists for your product, pick one or two channels and work them every week: contact independent shops directly, list on wholesale marketplaces, talk to wholesalers and distributors, meet buyers at trade shows, and ask the people who already buy from you for introductions. For a small food or drink brand, contacting local independents is the cheapest place to start, because you can deliver, visit and follow up yourself. This guide explains how to find stockists for your product through each channel, how to choose where to start, and gives you a weekly routine for finding and contacting shops.
1. How to find stockists for your product: the five channels
Every stockist you win will come through one of five routes.
| Channel | How it works | What it costs you | Suits you when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent shops, direct | You find shops, email or visit, and sell to them at your trade price | Your time, samples and delivery | You can deliver or post, and want to know your buyers |
| Wholesalers and distributors | They buy from you and sell on to shops | A lower price per unit, because they need their own margin | You can make volume and want shops you can't reach yourself |
| Wholesale marketplaces | Shops find you online and order through the platform | Commission on each order | You want shops outside your delivery area to find you |
| Trade shows | Buyers walk the aisles looking for new products | Travel, samples, and a stand if you exhibit | You have a trade sheet and room for new accounts |
| Social and word of mouth | Stockists, customers and other makers recommend you | Time | You already have a few stockists and loyal customers |
Whichever you use, a buyer will ask the same questions: trade price, RRP, case size, minimum order, delivery and shelf life. Put the answers on one page before you contact anyone. Our guide to building a wholesale price list and trade sheet shows what to include.
2. How to get your food product in stores by contacting shops
Going direct means building your own list of shops and writing to them one at a time. It is slow, but you keep the full trade price and you learn what buyers think of your product.
Build a list of shops that fit
- Search maps for each shop type in your area. "Deli", "farm shop", "fine food", "café" and "bottle shop" plus each town within your delivery range.
- Read other makers' stockist pages. Brands in categories next to yours (a cheese maker if you make chutney, a coffee roaster if you make biscuits) list the shops that stock them. Those shops already buy from small producers.
- Look at local food groups and county food networks. Their member lists and events pages name shops that support local makers.
For each shop, write one line on why it fits: a product it stocks next to which yours would sit, a gap on its shelves, or a post asking for local suppliers. If you can't write that line, leave the shop off the list for now.
Make contact
Email the owner or buyer by name, keep it short, and offer samples. Our guide to writing a pitch email to shop buyers has example emails and the rules on emailing businesses. Visiting in person works well for shops on your delivery route, as long as you pick a quiet time and ask before you open your bag.
Farm shop suppliers in the UK: how to become one
If a farm shop says on its website or signage that it stocks local makers, your postcode is part of your pitch. Before you approach one, register as a food business with your local council (it's free, and you must do it at least 28 days before you start trading), label your products to UK rules, and have product liability insurance in place. Our guide to getting stocked in farm shops and delis covers pricing for their margin, samples, follow-ups and turning a first order into reorders.
3. How to find retailers for your product through wholesalers and distributors
A wholesaler buys your stock, holds it, and sells it on to shops alongside hundreds of other products. A distributor does the same and may also have sales reps who show your range to shops. Either way, one relationship can put you in front of shops you would never reach on your own.
They need their own margin, and the shop still needs its margin at the same shelf price. So you sell to them for less than your normal trade price. Work out before the first conversation what the lowest price is that still covers your costs and leaves you a margin you can live with. Our guide to how to price a food product shows how to find that floor.
When to approach them
- Shops already reorder from you, and you can show which ones and how often.
- You can supply the volume they ask for, on time, every time.
- Your shelf life suits sitting in a warehouse before it reaches a shop.
- Your price still works after their margin and the shop's.
How to find them
- Ask your stockists. "Who do you buy most of your deli range through?" Buyers will tell you, and their answer is a wholesaler that already sells to shops like theirs.
- Check wholesalers' websites. Some have a page for producers who want to supply them, with what to send.
- Walk trade shows. Wholesalers and distributors exhibit and visit.
Expect them to ask for your price list, current stockists, how much you can make each month, shelf life, barcodes, lead times and insurance.
4. Marketplaces, trade shows and word of mouth
Wholesale marketplaces: Faire, Ankorstore and DELLI Marketplace
Faire, Ankorstore and DELLI Marketplace are wholesale marketplaces where shops browse brands and order online. Faire and Ankorstore charge commission on orders, so check each platform's current terms before you list and build the cost into your numbers.
- Use the same photos, trade prices and RRPs as on your trade sheet, so a shop sees the same numbers wherever it finds you.
- When a shop outside your delivery area replies to an email, a marketplace link gives it an easy way to place the first order.
Trade shows
Trade shows put you in a room full of buyers who came to find new products. The Farm Shop & Deli Show at the NEC in Birmingham is usually in April, and the Speciality & Fine Food Fair at Olympia London is usually in September. Check dates on each organiser's website, and see our guide to food and drink trade shows in the UK for which to choose and how to prepare. If you have never been, go as a visitor first to see who exhibits and how buyers move around the hall.
Social media and word of mouth
- Ask stockists for introductions. Shop owners know other shop owners. A happy stockist may pass on a name if you ask.
- Ask customers where they shop. At markets and events, ask "Which shop near you would you like to buy this in?" and note the answers.
- Post about your stockists. Tag each shop when it takes you on. Other buyers follow those accounts, and a tagged post shows them you are already on shelves.
- Put a trade link in your bio. Buyers who find you on Instagram need a way to see prices without messaging you.
5. How to get stockists: which channel to start with
Pick one main channel and one supporting channel. Trying all five at once spreads your time too thin to follow anything up properly.
| If this describes you | Start with | Then add |
|---|---|---|
| You can deliver locally and have a few hours a week | Direct contact with independents within your delivery range | Word of mouth from your first stockists |
| Your product has a long shelf life and posts well | Direct contact, nationwide | A wholesale marketplace so distant shops can order easily |
| Shops reorder and you can make more than you sell | Wholesalers and distributors | A trade show where they exhibit |
| You're launching a new range and want feedback fast | A trade show, as a visitor first | Direct follow-up with every buyer you met |
Give a channel three months before you judge it. Track five numbers for each one: shops contacted, replies, samples sent, first orders and reorders.
6. A weekly routine for finding and contacting shops
Finding stockists works best as a small, fixed task each week. This routine takes about three hours and fits around production.
| Day | Task | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Find 10 new shops. Add each to your list with one line on why it fits and the buyer's name. | 45 minutes |
| Tuesday | Research and email five to ten of them, each with something specific to that shop. | 1 hour |
| Wednesday | Send follow-ups: first ones to shops you emailed last week, final ones to shops you emailed three weeks ago. | 20 minutes |
| Thursday | Post samples, or drop them in to shops on your delivery route. | 30 minutes |
| Friday | Update your tracker. Check in with stockists who are due to reorder. | 20 minutes |
A spreadsheet works as a tracker. Use these columns:
- Shop name, town and type (deli, farm shop, café, pub, hotel)
- Why it fits, in one line
- Buyer's name and email, and whether the business is a limited company
- Date contacted, date of follow-up 1, date of follow-up 2
- Sample sent (date)
- Outcome: ordered, not now, no, or no reply
- Next action and date
The "next action and date" column keeps the list moving. A shop that says "not now, try us in spring" gets a date in March, and you write to it again then.
Questions about finding stockists
How do I find stockists for my product?
Build a list of independent shops that already sell products like yours, write to each buyer by name with a short email offering samples, and follow up twice. Add a wholesale marketplace, trade shows and introductions from existing stockists as you grow.
How many shops should I contact each week?
Start with five to ten new shops a week. That is enough to keep a steady flow of replies while leaving time to research each shop properly and send two follow-ups.
Do I need a distributor to get my food product into shops?
No. Independent shops buy direct from makers, so you can start without one. A wholesaler or distributor makes sense once shops reorder and you can supply more than you can sell yourself.
Should I sell on Faire or Ankorstore?
They are wholesale marketplaces where shops find brands and order online, and they charge commission on orders. They help most when you want shops outside your delivery area to order easily, so check their current terms and compare the cost with selling direct.
How do I become a farm shop supplier in the UK?
Register as a food business with your local council at least 28 days before trading (it's free), label your products to UK rules, get product liability insurance and prepare a trade sheet. Then contact farm shops that stock products like yours, starting with those closest to you.
Find the shops that should stock you.
DELLI Growth finds UK buyers who fit what you make, writes the email, sends it from your inbox and follows up.