Find the distributor who will champion your product

You need someone who has the relationships and can open the doors: to distributors, importers, and retail buyers who will actually champion your product.

A senior operator in your target market runs the search: identification, outreach, qualification, and negotiation support, through to a signed agreement.

180+ experts 40+ countries

Talk to us about your target market

Vietnam Go-to-Market & Sales Growth Expert

The right distributor will not be on a list. They are a relationship someone already has.

Who this is for

Four situations bring companies to a distributor and partner search.

You have product-market conviction, but no in-market relationships.
Distributor conversations are not converting.
Your current distributor is underperforming or leaves you exposed.
You need franchise or licensing partners, not distribution alone.

Choosing the market itself, or need the whole entry run, not just the partner? That is market entry, a scoped project on an explicit go or no-go. See market entry.

What you get

One search, run end to end in three phases by a senior operator in your market.

Phase 1

Search foundation

The operator sets the search up to find the right partner, not just any partner. You receive:

Positioning refinement, so your product is put in front of partners the way it lands in this market
Partner criteria agreed with you: the profile of the distributor, importer, or partner worth pursuing
A target long-list of named accounts, not a category description

Phase 2

Funnelling to a shortlist

The same operator works the long-list down to partners worth your time:

Outreach to the long-list, led by an operator the market already knows
Qualification against the agreed criteria, so only genuine fits move forward
A shortlist you meet, with meeting support from someone in the room

Phase 3

Closing the agreement

The operator stays at the table through the commercial close:

Commercial advisory on deal structure and terms
Support through negotiation, to a signed agreement

Every engagement starts with a co-developed brief and a scoped first phase. See how we work.

Who runs the search

The operator is the offer. These are already-public channel and partnership operators from the GourmetPro network, the kind matched to your market and category when you engage:

Jeff Cheng

GourmetPro Expert

Distributor and retail channel leader

Singapore · APAC

Food and beverage

Jeff is a strategic business leader expert in general management, sales, marketing, and distributor and retail management.

Anthony Harb

GourmetPro Expert

Retail buying and channel entry

Australia · New Zealand

Food, beverage, FMCG

FMCG entrepreneur with 25 years launching brands into retail and foodservice; former private-label buying manager at Franklins Supermarkets.

Alvin Sabai

GourmetPro Expert

Franchise and licensing partnerships

Singapore

Food and beverage

CEO of the iFood group for 22 years, where he grew the company from a single outlet to 28 café-bakeries and restaurants, achieving consistent 15%+ yearly growth.

Client work in practice

Published client stories showing the work and outcomes in their original context.

Establishing an artisanal brand across Southeast Asia

How an Austrian specialty foods brand entered Singapore in 3 months, then Thailand and Indonesia, with GourmetPro expert-led distributor matching.

Read the case study

Expert: Kathryn Read

Kathryn Read, with 25+ years of experience, excels in helping SMEs expand globally through expert consulting.

Where we do this

Each market guide covers the route to retail, import mechanics, and the operators we field there.

How the engagement is shaped

Typically a milestone-weighted engagement: staged fees tied to search milestones, with a success-weighted component at signing.
Never commission-only.

How engagements are structured. See how we work.

Preparing your own shortlist? Use the distributor qualification scorecard and supplier pitch template.

Distributor and partner search questions

Can you replace our current distributor without damaging the relationship?

Yes. Transition planning is part of the engagement. We can run the search discreetly and manage the handover, so a new partner is lined up before the current relationship is unwound, rather than after.

Do you just hand us a list, or do you run the outreach?

We run the outreach. You get named accounts, not a category description; outreach led by an operator the market already knows; qualification against the criteria we agree; and activity reporting throughout, so you always know where the search stands.

What if none of the candidates fit?

We refine the criteria and go back to the market. The first shortlist reads fit as much as it names candidates. If none fit, we tighten the profile and run the funnel again, and there is an explicit go or no-go, so you are never carried past the point that is working.

Franchise and licensing too, or only distribution?

Both. The search covers franchise and licensing partners, not only distribution. The criteria are set to the kind of partner your product needs, whichever that is.

Questions about how engagements work, cost shapes, or stopping? See the “How we work” FAQ

Bring us your target market

Tell us the market and the kind of partner you need. A senior operator takes it from there.

Engagements start with a small scoped first phase.

Talk to us about your target market