[lapova]

Hello everyone.

We’re a small consumer packaged goods brand preparing to enter the US market next quarter, and I’d love this community’s input on distribution strategy. Right now we’re weighing three paths: going direct to consumer through our own website, partnering with a regional distributor to get into independent grocery stores, or pursuing a national retailer relationship from day one.

Our budget is limited, our team is small, and we don’t have existing warehouse infrastructure. Has anyone here successfully scaled from zero into US retail? What worked, what didn’t, and how long did it realistically take before you saw meaningful shelf presence?

Appreciate any lessons learned.

[dexil]

With a limited budget and small team, I’d probably avoid going after a national retailer immediately. A phased US distribution strategy starting with DTC and a regional distributor can give you time to learn which products, pricing, and markets perform best without taking on too much operational complexity.

Independent grocery stores could also be a good middle ground because you can build relationships and collect real customer feedback before approaching larger retailers. I’d make sure you have reliable fulfillment, inventory tracking, packaging compliance, and enough margin to support distributor and retailer fees before scaling.

For timing, I’d expect the process to take several months rather than a few weeks. Building consistent retail demand and a proven sales history will make national expansion much easier later.

[Author]

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