Want your product on Canadian store shelves? Compare distributor, broker and direct-to-retail routes, and fix bilingual packaging before you pitch a buyer.
Applies in: across Canada
Distribution in Canada means getting your product from your hands onto store shelves, and there are three ways to do it: sell direct to retailers, hire a broker to sell for you, or hand the product to a distributor who buys it and resells it. Which route fits depends on how many stores you want to reach, how much margin you can give up, and how much of the selling and shipping you are willing to do yourself. Before any of that matters, though, the product has to be retail-ready — and in Canada that includes one requirement a lot of imported products miss: bilingual packaging is federal law, not a nice-to-have.
A distributor buys your product outright, warehouses it, and sells it to retailers. You get fewer buyer relationships to manage and a partner with existing shelf access, but you give up margin and some control over where the product lands and how it is presented.
A broker does not buy your product or hold stock. Brokers know the buyers, open doors, and pitch on your behalf, usually for a commission on orders that ship. You keep the margin a distributor would take, but warehousing, shipping, and filling orders stay your job.
Selling direct means you pitch retailers yourself, ship to them yourself, and keep the full wholesale margin. It works well for local and independent shops, where a buyer can meet the maker and decide on the spot. It breaks down when you try to serve dozens of stores across several provinces from a garage or a small warehouse.
None of these routes is the right one in general. The right one is the one that matches your volume. A product selling well in twenty local shops is a good candidate for a broker or a first distributor conversation. A product with no sales history anywhere is a hard pitch to any distributor, because distributors make money on volume and they will ask what proof you have that it sells.
Buyers say no fast to products that are not ready, and the fixes are almost always the same short list. Work through it before you send a single sample.
First, the label. Under the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations, all mandatory label information on a prepackaged product must appear in both English and French. The exception is the dealer's name and principal place of business, which may appear in either language. For food products, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) applies the same rule: mandatory information on consumer prepackaged food must be shown in both official languages, with the name and principal place of business again the exception, and "Imported by" or "Imported for" required in both languages where it applies. This is the detail that sinks otherwise solid pitches from outside Canada — an English-only package reads to a Canadian buyer as a product its maker has not finished preparing for this market.
Second, the barcode. Retailers scan products at the till, so your product needs a barcode their systems accept. Most retailers want your product listed with GS1, the industry source for unique barcodes. Sort this out before the pitch, not after a buyer asks for it.
Third, the case pack and the price. Decide how many units ship in a case, what the wholesale price is, and what retail price that leaves room for. A buyer needs all three numbers to judge whether the product fits their shelf and their margin. If you cannot state them clearly, the buyer cannot say yes.
Fourth, the shelf fit. Know the size of the package, how it sits on a shelf, and whether it needs refrigeration or special handling. A product that does not fit the shelf plan is a product the buyer cannot place, no matter how good it tastes or works.
A retail buyer is not shopping for interesting products. They are deciding what earns its shelf space. Every product they add means something else comes off, so your pitch has to answer one question: why will this sell here, at this price, better than what is already there?
Buyers usually decide in a line review, a scheduled window when they look at a whole category at once. That means your pitch competes with every other product in the category, not just with the ones you know about. A buyer may also ask for samples, sales data from stores where the product already sells, and proof that you can keep it in stock.
Your sell sheet is the document that carries this argument. Keep it to one page: what the product is, why it is different, the wholesale price, the suggested retail price, the margin for the retailer, the case size, and where it already sells. Attach a photo of the finished packaging, not a mock-up, so the buyer sees exactly what would arrive on their shelf.
Start with independent and regional retailers, not the biggest chains. An independent buyer can decide quickly, gives you real sales data, and costs you little to serve. That sales data is what makes the next conversation — with a broker, a distributor, or a larger chain — credible.
When you approach a distributor or broker, lead with the sell sheet and the sales evidence, not with the story of how you invented the product. Distributors want to know the margin, the territory you are offering, whether you can supply at scale, and whether the product already moves. If you are offering exclusivity in a province or region, say so and decide in advance what you want in return, such as a minimum order commitment.
Expect hard questions: who else sells this product, what happens if it does not sell, and who pays for returns. Have answers ready.
Whatever route you choose, get the terms in writing before the first shipment. The points that cause the most trouble later are the ones people skip when everyone is enthusiastic at the start.
Territory: which provinces or regions does the agreement cover, and is it exclusive there? Exclusivity is valuable to a distributor, so do not give it away for nothing — tie it to performance, such as a minimum number of stores or a minimum order level.
Pricing: the wholesale price, how and when it can change, and who absorbs cost increases. Also settle payment terms: when you get paid after shipping, and what happens with late payment.
Inventory and shipping: who holds stock, who pays for freight, and who covers damaged or returned goods. If the distributor holds stock, clarify what happens to unsold inventory if the agreement ends.
Ending the deal: how either side can end the agreement, how much notice is required, and what happens to remaining stock and to retailer relationships when it ends. A deal with no exit clause is a deal you cannot leave without a fight.
One caution on pricing terms. You can suggest a retail price for your product, but terms that dictate what a retailer must charge, or that punish a retailer for discounting, can raise competition issues. The Competition Bureau's draft Anti-Competitive Conduct and Agreements Enforcement Guidelines (October 2025) cover vertical agreements between suppliers and retailers, including price maintenance and contracts that reference rival retailers. If your agreement touches resale pricing, get legal advice before signing. This guide is process information, not legal advice.
| Cost | Typical range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Distributor margin, as a markup on the selling price | Often 20-25% | Farm Credit Canada |
| Broker commission | 3-5% of sales to the retailer | Farm Credit Canada |
| Listing fee at larger retailers | About $100 per store per SKU, an estimate and negotiable | Farm Credit Canada |
These are food-sector ranges, not fixed rates. The distributor margin varies with refrigeration and market. Broker charges depend on the services delivered. Smaller retailers may charge free fill of one case per SKU per store instead of a listing fee. No slotting-fee figure is given here. None was confirmed on a sourced industry page.
The pattern that works for most small brands is a staged rollout. Prove the product in a handful of local shops, where you can visit the shelf, talk to the buyer, and fix problems fast. Use those sales to pitch a broker or a regional distributor. Use the regional results to pitch larger chains. Each stage gives you the evidence the next stage asks for.
Watch what matters at each stage: how fast units move, whether stores reorder without chasing, and whether your margin survives freight. A product that sells well in one city but loses money once shipping crosses two provinces needs a pricing or packaging fix before national distribution.
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A distributor buys your product outright. It holds the inventory and sells it on to retailers, typically adding 20–25% to the selling price, according to Farm Credit Canada. A broker does not buy your product or hold stock. Instead, a broker introduces you to buyers and pitches on your behalf, usually for 3–5% of sales to the retailer. Distributors take on more risk and cost, so they expect a bigger cut, while brokers cost less per sale but leave warehousing and shipping on you.
For prepackaged consumer products, yes, in most cases. Under the [Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._417/page-1.html?txthl=design), section 6(2), all mandatory label information must appear in both English and French. The one exception is the dealer's name and principal place of business, which may appear in either language. For food, the [CFIA applies the same bilingual rule](http://inspection.canada.ca/en/food-labels/labelling/industry/bilingual-food-labelling), section 206 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, to mandatory information on consumer prepackaged food. Get the label right before you pitch. A buyer will treat an English-only package as a product that is not ready for Canada.
Direct works when you have a small number of stores and a product with strong margins. You also need time to handle orders and shipping yourself, and to keep up the buyer relationships. A distributor makes more sense when you need to reach many stores across provinces and cannot warehouse and ship at that scale on your own. Many small brands start direct with local shops and prove the product sells before bringing in a distributor once the volume justifies it. A product already selling in twenty local shops is a good candidate for a first broker or distributor conversation.
Buyers look for proof the product will sell in their stores: a clear difference from what they already carry, a price that leaves room for their margin, packaging that fits their shelves, and evidence from somewhere it already sells. A sell sheet, samples, and honest sales figures from a local test carry far more weight than a pitch about how good the product is.
At minimum, cover the territory and whether the arrangement is exclusive. Then the wholesale price and how price changes work. Inventory and shipping: who holds stock and who pays for freight. Payment terms: when you get paid and what happens when payment is late. Then how either side can end the agreement. Put all of it in writing before the first shipment. This is process information, not legal advice. For a chain-wide or exclusive deal, have a lawyer review the agreement before you sign.
Be careful here. The Competition Bureau treats agreements between suppliers and retailers that influence resale prices as a competition issue, and its draft [Anti-Competitive Conduct and Agreements Enforcement Guidelines](https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/en/how-we-foster-competition/consultations/anti-competitive-conduct-and-agreements) (October 2025) cover vertical agreements, including price maintenance under section 76 of the Competition Act and contracts that reference rivals. You can suggest a retail price, but dictating one or punishing a retailer for discounting is the kind of term to get legal advice on before you put it in writing.