Foreign markets were once reserved for large companies. Companies had to be large enough to sustain robust supply chains and bulk shipping channels. International exports were particularly difficult for anyone trying to move food products from one place to another.
For decades, these barriers to entry have prevented small businesses from accessing opportunities in foreign markets. But in recent years, many of these barriers have diminished. Let’s explore how a growing number of small food brands and their ambitious owners are using digital commerce and specialty retail partnerships to extend their reach across international borders.
Break with the distributor model
Traditionally, international expansion required an internal partner. Brokers and distributors in foreign markets were needed to function as field agents. They helped with tasks such as compliance, warehousing and local marketing.
While this was helpful, it also meant that a growing brand had to work with a partner who also acted as a gatekeeper. Local distributors were a bottleneck that could control several factors. For example, a distributor could dictate which products they want to prioritize. If a new branded product did not align with their personal agenda or beliefs, they might slow down or even block its release to their local market.
The dispensers were also a high additional cost. Agencies added significant markups, driving up prices and shrinking margins. This left less profit on the table. A larger company, for example, could work with lower margins and even accept losses during a launch phase in a new market. However, smaller brands generally did not have the capital to support longer lead times in distribution costs and pricing.
Distributors also controlled access to retailers’ shelf space. Their own networks were built around their own backgrounds, history, and vendor partnerships. This locked a new brand into a specific retail path that it might not have chosen if its own brand executives had a voice at the table.
Fundamentally changing the international game
Distributors were the model of the past – and while they offered a route to new markets, the downsides of the distributor model were significant enough to leave many small food brands on the outside looking in. Today, the situation has changed, thanks to a few factors.
These were recently highlighted by Enrique Fuhlage, president and co-owner of the international brand Bar-BQ Bar-BQ Show-Me Sauce. The Fuhlage sauce brand has been in business for five decades and was recently named National Exporter of the Year by the National Small Business Administration. For the successful entrepreneur and their growing overseas brand, the key is to understand that when it comes to international sales in the digital age, the rules are not just different. The whole game has changed.
“Small food brands are expanding overseas because digital platforms have fundamentally changed the game,” Fuhlage said. “With direct-to-consumer websites, global e-commerce marketplaces, social commerce and modern distribution networks, brands like ours can test demand, reach consumers directly and scale internationally on our own terms. »
Fuhlage proved this concept with the success of Show-Me Bar-BQ. The Missouri-based brand is already a staple in the Midwest, thanks to strong word-of-mouth marketing. But the digital component of retail and distribution has allowed the established sauce maker to amplify its message and accelerate its growth. It is now stocked in stores and kitchens in all 50 states, 11 countries and many military bases.
The best for the president and co-owner? The relationships they build and the momentum they create are healthier and more profitable without relying on an intermediary. “We often get better margins,” he said, adding that the direct line to consumers also gives them better real-time feedback and more control over their brand story when entering a new market.
Show-Me® Bar-BQ Sauce Reflects Broader Shift in Small Business Exports
The success of Show-Me® Bar-BQ Sauce did not happen in a vacuum. Other small food brands are seeing similar success – and not just in America. The digitalization of retail is shrinking the global distribution chain in both directions.
Brands like Chinese food company Fly By Jing have been able to import their food into the United States, and have even done so with an efficiency that has allowed them to lower price at US retailers in 2024.
Whether it’s removing American-made food products from the United States or letting international brands in, the fundamental change is the same. Direct-to-consumer e-commerce sites and marketplaces, selling on social platforms, and access to robust distribution network infrastructure remove the necessary barriers to selling internationally.
The result is a closer, smaller, more streamlined device. B2C Retail Option. Specifically, it can cross state lines more cost-effectively than it would have been possible to expand to another state a few decades ago. As AI tools and digital channels become more robust, we can expect this trend to continue. Middlemen will continue to lose their footing as ambitious companies of all sizes push their products directly to their target audience. This remains true whether that includes someone in Missouri, Montreal, or halfway around the world in Manipur.
