Elizabeth Hemphill-Burns is a senior director of national sales at BrainJuice, a maker of nutrition supplements, and knows how to effectively work with brokers and distributors.
She will cover everything a business needs to prepare when speaking with, choosing, and working with a broker or distributor, on Saturday, June 24, during SFA’s The Basics at the 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show in New York. The Basics is an an all-day course featuring founders and principals from some of the most iconic brands in specialty foods. Information about The Basics can be found here.
Hemphill-Burns has over 10 years of industry experience working with top brands, distributors, and retailers, including Whole Foods Market, Vega, and KeHE. She spoke with SFA News Daily about working with brokers and distributors.
What information should specialty businesses get from brokers before working with them?
You should get information related to the business’ proof of performance. Do your due diligence!
Key considerations:
• An understanding of a brokerage's scope of coverage and areas of expertise per class of trade.
• Track records: Specific examples of how they have helped clients secure new business and strategize for growth via key account management and scaling strategies.
• High-touch retail support. Ask about whether they have services in-house or contract out and the associated cost—request details about how this integrates into their key account management and HQ call support.
At what stage of business should a brand consider working with a broker?
It depends on their desired growth trajectory and how much capital is available. Generally:
• When a business has more accounts than it can effectively manage with its internal team, it is time to consider hiring a broker.
• Suppose a business aims to target specific classes of trade or regions where they do not have a direct brand representative; in that case, brokers can help provide relationships or geographical reach for new business development and account management.
What do you hope attendees will get out of the session?
The value of instilling a partnership mindset when working with brokers and distributors. An essential toolkit that includes business acumen, tips, and tricks to inspire engagement and drive performance results, strategies for going to market, managing promotions, and practical financial management.
Does a brand need a broker to get into retail?
No. It's best to wait until the business is sizeable and the number of retail partners warrants a hire. Knowing how to utilize distributor relationships allows you to grow a brand considerably before onboarding a broker.
Do you have any advice for specialty food businesses looking to partner with a distributor?
Research which distributors are great partners and preferred by the retailers you aim to target. Ask questions about the prospective cost of onboarding and what low-cost support they will provide to help ignite the sales process. Unless you have a national chain anchoring multiple DCs or warehouses, start small, meaning regionally. Treat each warehouse as a business unit and carefully watch the assortment, inventory, SKU performance, fill rate, chargebacks, and new business growth. Utilize all low-cost resources they have for you to monitor business health regularly.
What mistakes do businesses tend to make when working with a third party like a broker or distributor?
Taking a gunshot approach to growth and not considering the best fit or the cost of doing business with a retailer can be catastrophic to growth-stage brands. Neither brokers nor distributor representatives will always provide the best advice about going to market with cost-effectiveness in mind.
The onboarding needs to be more organized, and the strategy needs to be clarified. Both broker and distributor partnerships must work in tandem to ensure that both parties are aiming to meet and exceed the goals and objectives proposed by the brand. A brand’s objectives and key results should be known by all and sync with financial and trade spend allocation to ensure profitability.
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