Ep. 389 Steve Raye U.S. Market-Ready | Find the Right Import Solution Part 1

Thanks for tuning in. I'm Steve Ray, author of How To Get US Market Ready. And in this podcast, I'm going to share with you some of the lessons I've learned from thirty years in the wine and spirits business, helping brands enter and grow in the US market. I've heard it said that experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. My goal with the book and this podcast is to share my experience and the lessons learned from it with you so you can apply those lessons and be successful in America. So let's get into it. Welcome back to how to get US Markit Ready presented by the Italian wine podcast. This week, we're going to talk about finding an import solution that works for you. Now we've had a fair amount to cover, so we're actually going to break this up into two separate podcast episodes. This one that you're listening to right now is finding the right import solution part one. Let's start with finding the right import solution. I mentioned earlier that we were gonna go into this in detail, and that's what this chapter is all about. We're gonna be looking at creative ways to connect with prospective importers and distributors and rookie mistakes not to make. So think about the situation. The US is one of the most difficult beverage alcohol markets to penetrate for export wine and spirit producers. Among the many reasons contributing to the challenge are, government regulation is managed by the fifty individual states And if you add in Washington, DC, in Montgomery County, Maryland, there's really fifty two different regulatory entities. They each have laws that have been in place since they were originally written after their appeal of Prohibition in nineteen thirty three. And they may have made sense now, but, some of them have questionable rationale in, the days of the internet. Think about also the three tier system and what that means. Basically, that suppliers sell to distributors, distributors sell to stores and restaurants, and stores and restaurants sell to consumers. I always thought that was four tiers with the consumer at the end, but, we talked about it as a three tier system. And for export brands, there is effectively a fourth tier that represents the doorway to America, importers who add yet another layer of marginal cost to price structures. And the last point about the situation, there's been tremendous consolidation among distributors, also known as wholesalers, Consolidation among distributors is further constricting the available route to market for exporters. The latest numbers in twenty twenty of distributor consolidation point up that the top ten wholesalers controls seventy five percent of the market that's up from fifty percent just ten years ago. So it makes it even harder and harder for new brands to get the time and attention of distributors. So what does all that mean? It's not enough to just want a US importer. You have to do your homework so you can determine what the right partner will look like and be able to clearly show what your brands are all about and why you should be considered and what resources you have available to bring to a potential partnership. One of the best ways I found to get my calls answered by people is to say I've got some money I wanna spend in the market and I wanna spend it through them. It works with sales reps. It works with importers. It works with distributors, and it works with prospective retailers. That's a key point. One of the best ways to get your phone answered by someone who probably doesn't wanna answer it is to tell them I have money to invest in your market supporting my brand through your organization. The more prepared you are, the more interesting you will appear to an importer. I've highlighted that in the book because it's absolutely critical. As I said earlier, ninety nine out of a hundred brands don't do the prep work. So if you wanna stand out from the crowd, if you wanna have a point of difference that makes a difference, do your homework, do a little research, understand what they're all about, and present your brand as a solution to a problem they may have. How are you gonna find out that information? Read trade magazines, read industry newsletters? Pay attention to the conversation that's going on in the US. And I guarantee you you'll be flooded with information of lots of ideas of things to use as introductions. To conversations. Brand trumps liquid. Here's a way to think about pitching your products to prospective importers. Paint a picture of your product. That's number one easy to understand. And number two, differentiates you in a meaningful way from the rest of their portfolio and from the range of competition already available in the marketplace. Simply stated it's critical to recognize that having a great product is necessary, but not sufficient. Let me restate that. Having a great product is necessary, but not sufficient. It's kind of a given that your product is great. And just by saying it's great does not make you any different, it makes you like everybody else. So when you're pairing your pitch, think less of presentation and more of a business discussion about revenue and margin growth for prospective partners. So turn that into a question, what do importers want? And what they want is, principally, the right chemistry with the people behind the brand, something that enhances their profitability, image, and value, something that strengthens the importer's position within the trade, them to recognize that the supplier understands the US three tier system and all that that implies, that the supplier understands US price structures critically important in a common place I see people failing. They don't understand why a three euro wine sells for twelve dollars in the US. Another thing importers will want is a financially sound partner with a budget to invest and support the brand. They're gonna ask that question too. Do you have money to support the brand? And the answer to that is always yes. And lastly, an understanding of where the brand fits in the US market in terms of price, positioning, competitive set, target audience in terms of demographics, as well as behavior. They also want to fill identified voids in their portfolio that are strategic. They may have a void in their portfolio, but it may not be a strategic one. So you can find that out by, well, reading their website, as I said, every page. Reading the trade magazines and trade newsletters and see what people are talking about and looking at. But specifically, what pretty much everybody wants is brands with existing US volume that they can grow. So if your brand that has existing distribution in the US and you're looking to shift importers or attributors, one of the things you wanna highlight is the volume that you're already generating and the number of counts that you're in. They're also looking for new brands that they feel their expertise can develop and grow. Third point under fills and identified void in their portfolio, brands that have a unique positioning. It could be anything from biodynamic to ungrafted rootstocks like the whole country of Chile has, which I think is an under marketed point of difference. And also brands that are on or ahead of market trends. Yeah. We all know about Rosay. We all know about prosecco. We all know about Moscado. We all know about red blends. What's coming down the pike? New packaging things like cans? The sampler kits, all those kinds of things. Focus on more than just the juice. But how the consumer can interact with your product, meaning drink it. Well, that's it for today. I don't wanna take up any more of your time. As always, thanks for listening to how to get US market ready presented by the Italian wine podcast. Check back next week as we continue our discussion on finding the right import solution part two. Hi. This is Steve Ray. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. I love that line.