Melissa Traverse:
Hello, and thank you for joining. I am Melissa Traverse, Director of Community here at BevNET Inosh, and I am pleased to welcome you to the Nombase Podcast. Do not forget to check out nombase.com, BevNETs platform built for the CPG community. It is where you can find episodes of this podcast and so much more.
Independent retail is one of the most dynamic channels for growing CPG brands. After creating a great product, founders must choose retailers that fit their capital constraints, provide meaningful feedback, and connect them with the right consumers. Platforms like Faire, an online wholesale marketplace that connects brands with independent retailers, are reshaping that journey, helping entrepreneurs connect with independent retailers, launch products, and expand their footprint more strategically.
Joining us today in conversation are two leaders who can break it all down for us. From Faire, we have Kyle Hughes, who leads retailer partnerships and helps brands optimize their presence and build lasting buyer relationships. Representing the brand strategy side is Caroline Grace, founder of Product and Prosper, who helps CPG entrepreneurs use tools like Faire to refine strategy, boost sales, and thrive in retail.
In this conversation, we are going to talk about who the Faire customer really is, how to integrate Faire into your distribution strategy, best practices for product listings and pricing, and the trends shaping the independent retail landscape. Kyle and Caroline, it is such a pleasure to have you here. Thank you so much for joining us.
Caroline, I think you and I started talking about Faire and what a great topic this would be, and then you brought in Kyle. Thank you both so much. This is a topic our audience wants to hear more about because it holds so much potential for the emerging brands listening.
We set the stage a little bit with what Faire is and why independent retail matters, but I would love to start with your perspective. Kyle, why do we not take it from the Faire side first. Can you give us a sense of who the typical Faire customer is, both on the brand and the retailer side
Kyle Hughes:
First of all, thank you so much for having me, and thank you Caroline for looping me in. It is a pleasure to be here. I have been following BevNET for a long time, and I am thrilled to have this conversation. I have been with the Faire team for just over four years and have seen both sides of our marketplace.
It is hard to describe an average Faire customer because our marketplace spans so many categories, from food and beverage to apparel to gift and home and even pets. The way I describe it is to think about your local community boutique or that local store you love to shop in. It might be on the main street of your hometown or a place you visit on vacation. It is a shop that makes you feel part of the community and stocks products that show the store owners personality, what they care about, and what they are passionate about, from local items to products from the region or beyond.
Melissa Traverse:
Caroline, from your perspective, who is the Faire customer. You focus on food and beverage CPG. What trends are you seeing among the brands you work with and the retailers they sell into
Caroline Grace:
Kyle covered so much of it. To step back, I run an agency called The Prosper Lab, a Faire growth agency. I have worked with more than three hundred brands to help them grow on Faire and have seen the ins and outs of many profiles.
For CPG brands on Faire I see two kinds. First, brands that do really well in the shoppy shops Kyle mentioned. Second, the alternative brands no one expects to do well that are actually doing millions in sales on Faire. For branded CPG with known product lines, the brands that tend to perform best are already expanding through channels like TikTok or natural retail. They are in independent local grocers and specialty shops. On the other side of the marketplace are alternative retailers who buy gift cards, makers with candle lines that sell on Etsy, or Amazon sellers with hundreds of products. There is so much on Faire, which makes it a huge opportunity but also challenging to stand out. That is a lot of what we will talk about today.
Melissa Traverse:
My ears perked up when you said some brands are selling millions. Are there patterns. Who are those brands
Caroline Grace:
Several factors. One is number of products in the catalog. The more products, the more discoverability you get in the algorithm. The way I understand it, individual products are listed, not variants. So the more items you list and keyword optimize, the more often you show up.
Another pattern is pre existing traction outside of Faire. Already known brands get searched in the algorithm. Faire then becomes a management platform that centralizes first orders and discoverability and helps manage and nurture reorders over time.
Melissa Traverse:
We will get to those pointers later. Caroline, you also help with go to market strategy. How does Faire fit into a brands go to market and why is independent retail so important
Caroline Grace:
Independent retail is like training wheels retail because the buyers are usually the owners. Independent retail fits into strategy in two ways. First, as a market entry path. Faire is a discoverability platform for those early independent accounts. You distribute to independents, gain traction, learn what works, and grow slowly while supporting cash flow. You also see market potential by geography. If your product sells well in New York or Boston, you will see that through independent retail.
Second, as a market roundout strategy for larger brands. There are alternative retailers your reps or brokers may not touch. Individually they are small, but in aggregate they are powerful. Faire helps you capture that white space while you expand.
Kyle Hughes:
I love this topic. There are two main ways brands benefit from independent retail and both have to do with recall in the customers mind. We have seen many brands launch wholesale through Faire, from restaurants or home kitchens, and leverage independent store owners as champions. Those owners talk about the products in their community and with shoppers, building a groundswell in specific markets. That can catch the attention of a buyer at a larger chain.
Major retail teams visit small stores to look for what is cool and next. If you are in many of those stores across a region, you build recognition that carries into larger doors. On the flip side, larger brands now use Faire to capture white space in smaller markets.
When a customer sees you at a local butcher with your spice blend and then later at a Whole Foods or Target, there is positive recognition. As you grow, you cannot talk to every individual store. Starting small with independents gives you direct access to buyers, helps you learn what drives conversion in store, and lets you test positioning.
Melissa Traverse:
I have seen independents help with positioning too. Fish Wifes tinned fish showed up in Boston area bookstores, not just in Whole Foods, reframing it as a gift. That kind of placement builds visibility.
Kyle Hughes:
It is useful to think from the buyers perspective. A sporting goods store wanting beef jerky, tinned fish, or on the go coffee used to face distributor setup or separate brand setups for terms, payments, and info. Faire consolidates that. As a brand, showing up in unexpected channels like bookstores or outdoor shops adds up and creates growth.
Melissa Traverse:
There are so many products and brands on Faire. Kyle, ballpark how many
Kyle Hughes:
Hundreds of thousands of retailers globally across Europe, Australia, and North America, and thousands of brands. In food alone, it is extensive.
Melissa Traverse:
Faire is a discovery engine. How do brands optimize so they get seen by the right retailers
Caroline Grace:
Growth has two parts. First orders and reorders, both important. For first orders you must optimize for the algorithm and do outbound with your Faire Direct link. Algorithm factors include:
One, keyword matches between retailer searches and your profile. Every written element should be keyword optimized. Brand description, collections, product names, product descriptions. Product descriptions recently expanded from one thousand characters to three thousand, which allows adding keyword banks at the bottom.
Two, brand performance. Conversion rate, top shop status, accounts you bring in, responsiveness, campaigns. The algorithm rewards brands that actively use the tool.
Three, retailer specific feeds based on search history. Using your Faire Direct link to bring accounts in makes you appear in those retailers feeds more often.
Four, promoted listings. Only invest after optimizing keywords and performance.
Kyle Hughes:
I like to pair the technical with the real world. Treat buyers on Faire as you would in person. Would you use a five word description or explain sourcing, process, and flavor. Be comprehensive. You are building relationships. A real person unboxes and shelves your product.
From a buyers view I want to see a full catalog, accurate and keyword rich descriptions, clear images, accurate pricing. These drive conversion. As conversion rises we learn which stores convert best and show your products to similar stores, creating a flywheel.
Melissa Traverse:
Can brands see how many retailers viewed and passed versus visibility at all
Caroline Grace:
In the backend you get traffic and conversion data. It is relatively simple, but there are third party tools to dig deeper. We use one at The Prosper Lab. If you have a brand rep, ask for visits per product and conversion per product over time to measure the impact of optimizations.
Kyle Hughes:
The most common question I get is how to do more on Faire. I ask what brands know about their own business. Reorder rate, one and done customers, best sellers. Our analytics help inform decisions. You can add bundles like a grocery starter kit and include the word grocery to capture searches. Run promotions, use Faire Direct, and watch traffic and conversion shift. Learn what promotions work seasonally. Analytics show the results so you can iterate.
Melissa Traverse:
Great ideas. Caroline, what else can brands do if numbers are not climbing
Caroline Grace:
Remember Faire is a relationship platform. The most reliable sales come from long term relationships. Start with a solid foundation. Do not paste consumer facing copy. Write buyer facing listings that explain why your product deserves shelf space. Tell a visual story with images beyond front and back. Show use cases and merchandising.
Set accessible order minimums aligned with case sizes to incentivize trial. The value is consistent reorders over time. On the backend, message every new account. Thank them, ask how they found you, share your story, learn theirs. Fulfillment matters. Meet ship dates and fill orders accurately.
Run segmented promotions and campaigns. Reviews are crucial for ranking and conversion. Ask for reviews and offer a code for a future order in exchange. Be proactive.
Melissa Traverse:
What about retailer segmentation
Caroline Grace:
Two buckets. Direct message segments and campaign segments. For DMs, hit abandoned carts and those with Faire Direct credits. For campaigns, segment by retailer type, orders in the last year, order value, or inactivity windows. We usually run two or three campaigns per cycle to test. Examples include lapsed accounts beyond sixty days, grocery buyers with merchandising tips, or seasonal collections like Halloween.
Kyle Hughes:
Another successful approach is doubling down on Faire Direct to grow beyond the marketplace. When you refer a new retailer you can offer half off the first order and a year of free shipping with zero percent commission on those orders. Embed your Faire wholesale link on your website, social, email signatures, and trade show QR codes. It makes ordering frictionless and teaches you who is looking. Brands using Faire Direct generally see about fifty percent more sales on Faire than those who do not. It turns wholesale into a mix of passive and active and signals to our systems where to show your products.
Melissa Traverse:
Advertising tools can help too. For emerging brands with limited budgets, what are the best ways to use Faire ads
Kyle Hughes:
Promoted listings connect your products with verified retailers searching for items like yours. More than seven thousand brands use them. Set a budget and our machine learning handles placement. Start with clear goals and a defined customer acquisition cost. Measure return on ad spend, impressions, conversions, and the impact on reorders and new customer orders. On average, brands starting ads see about a seventy percent increase in product views and more than twenty five percent sales growth.
Melissa Traverse:
Caroline, how do you guide brands on ads
Caroline Grace:
Promoted listings are set and forget, so strategy lives in your foundation. If Faire is not spending your budget, two likely causes. One, your listings are not keyword optimized, so you are not placed effectively. Fix that first. Two, in early stages smaller budgets often spend more efficiently, then you increase over time as the algorithm learns.
Promoted listings will not fix a dormant account. If you have zero sales and traffic, kickstart with Faire Direct outbound and the website widget. Ads accelerate momentum; they do not create it. Optimize profile, test spend levels, and keep inviting accounts through Faire Direct to support placement.
Melissa Traverse:
Pricing and order minimums matter too. Kyle, advice for setting those numbers
Kyle Hughes:
Faire requires parity with your direct wholesale price. If a tin of fish is three dollars wholesale direct, it should be three dollars on Faire. That keeps MSRP consistent across channels and avoids channel conflict.
For order minimums, think like a buyer. Lower minimums make trial more likely, especially on first orders. In food and beverage we see an average around one hundred fifty dollars. Lower can be more enticing, but balance against your operations so you are not overwhelmed with single case orders.
Caroline Grace:
Pricing strategy starts before Faire. You must build in shipping and logistics, trade spend for promotions, and a budget for broker or distributor costs. Faire commission lives in the same strategic bucket. If margins cannot support wholesale, that is a product market fit or value perception issue to solve first.
Melissa Traverse:
Sometimes a retailer will not use Faire. What then
Caroline Grace:
Kyle, how do you approach that
Kyle Hughes:
Brands should do what is best for their business. I would ask why the retailer is opposed. Often they are surprised by the strength of terms like net sixty and first order incentives. Faire Direct allows zero percent commission for referred orders. We also have an invoicing tool so you can write an order on the trade show floor.
Caroline is right that Faire makes scaling communication and POs far easier for both sides. I would funnel most independent retail through Faire so you can grow over time, compounding discovery as more accounts join you there.
Melissa Traverse:
You both see so many interactions. What trends should entrepreneurs keep in mind. Kyle
Kyle Hughes:
Larger multi location retailers are using Faire to source, which gives brands options to control margin and promotions with efficient 3PL support. Distributors remain vital, but Faire has become another path to control distribution.
Our marketing team released the Faire Forecast, a useful read on category trends. Consumers are shopping dinner at home themes, matcha continues to rise, and retailers are already searching Halloween and Christmas. I also watch Startup CPG and SnackShot for broader CPG trends.
Caroline Grace:
Independent retail is no longer a trend. It is a necessity for omni channel brands. It increases brand awareness and gives you a digital to physical bridge between ecommerce and big retail. On Faire, prepare now for holiday and Faire Market. Think consumer style promotions for the holidays, then plan your January Faire Market push.
Melissa Traverse:
Lots of exciting developments and great information. Kyle Hughes of Faire and Caroline Grace of Product and Prosper and The Prosper Lab, thank you both so much for joining us and sharing such great insights. For everyone listening, thank you for joining us at the Nombase Podcast. We will see you next time.
