A good distributor contributes to the growth of the supplier. Without the distributor, a company cannot grow. Therefore it is important to maintain a good relationship with your distributor. You can do this by asking relevant questions.

Below are some questions you can ask your snack distributor.

• Would change in supplier and customer level affect snack distribution?

You have a right to know if a change in the volume of supplies would affect snack distribution. Or if changes in dealership terms and conditions, prices of goods, fuel price hikes, and other conditions would affect snack distribution. You also should ask questions to know if an increase or decrease in customers would affect distribution.

• Do they have long-term plans?

Any business that doesn’t have plans for the future cannot last long. Long term business plans provide insights into the activities necessary to be performed to meet business goals. It gives the business direction and motivation. Long-term strategies and plans help businesses deal with obstacles that arise in the future.

• What territories do they cover

It is essential to ask about the territories the snack distribution covers so you know if the areas they cover has your target audience. Dealing with distributors who distribute to territories that can’t reach your target audiences would be a loss for you because the distributor wouldn’t be able to make much sales.

• What is the snack distributor’s relationship with communities and customers?

Maintaining good relationships with business partners is relevant for business growth. If your snack distributor does not have good relationships with their customers or with the communities they distribute too, with time, the customers would stop patronizing them and would move on to distributors they feel more comfortable with.

• Why is the company interested in your product?

A distributor’s genuine interest in a product would motivate the distributor to go the extra mile to make sure that the goods make good sales. Adverts would be run, promotional and other marketing supports would be done to ensure adequate sales. However, if the distribution service does not have a genuine interest in marketing your snack products, all these will not be done.

• Ask the snack distributors to share their success stories on similar, non-competing products they’ve sold

If the snack distributor can give successful accounts of snacks similar to yours that they have marketed, then there’s a high probability that the distributor would be able to market your snacks successfully.

• How will defected, discontinued, and expired products be handled?

There are times distributors may not be able to market all of the snacks supplied. If they are unable to sell them till they expire, would the goods be returned? What would happen to defected and discontinued goods? You and your distributor must agree on the terms with which these kinds of goods would be taken care of to avoid conflict.

Candies are confectioneries. They are also known as sweets: the term used to describe them varies among all countries. Candies are products made with one major ingredient. In the United States of America, candies refer to both chocolate-based confections and sugar-based confections. In other countries, chocolate-based confections are referred to as chocolate, while sugar-based confections are referred to as sweets. While flour-based confections are referred to as cakes, pastries, or snacks.

Snacks, on the other hand, come in a variety of forms. Some come in natural forms, some cooked forms, some frozen, processed, and dried forms. Snacks can be eaten before, between, or after meals. Some snacks sometimes serve as food. Snacks come in different forms. Some come in edible forms, savory forms, and liquid forms.

Candy and snacks are specialty foods and require extraordinary handling. And would need special care in storage and delivery.

Types of Snack and Candy Distributors 

There are local and national candy and snack distributors.

Local candy and snack distributors work with less brand recognition and also distribute within a smaller geographic area to a small group of customers, most retailers, and final consumers. Local snack and candy distributors are, however, easier to manage and are more engaged with manufacturers.

National candy and snack distributors, on the other hand, distribute products across the country. They distribute to wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, chain stores, kitchens, and various stores across the country. However, it is important to note that National candy and snack distributors would not want to work with new candy and snack producers or producers that are still struggling to keep and maintain a customer base.

New manufacturers would only be able to work with them if they’re able to prove that their products would cater to a need in the market. National distributors often establish relationships with key wholesalers and retailers. If a producer can land a deal with them, it would be extremely advantageous. Such a producer stands to gain a lot from the business relationship.

KEHE is an example of a national food distributor. They provide supplies to over thirty thousand stores across the country. They also have more than twelve thousand customer network that helps to grow their brands. KEHE distributes different kinds of snacks and confectioneries, amongst other products. The company distributes to only customers across and within the United States.

Kroger Distribution Center is a local distribution center located in Houston TX, Texas. It offers distribution services for twenty-four hours. It has different departments, which include a supermarket, a bakery, a deli, and more. Kroger mostly supplies retail customers and final customers. The store, like KEHE, sells snacks and candy and other food products.