Wholesale supplies where to get them?

[erichsmith]

There is a bottle shop opening here in my local area and the owner has approached me about subleasing space to sell home brew supplies. The closest store is currently about 45 minutes away but I feel bad about asking him where he orders from since he currently has the market for this area as well. I had asked him a few years ago to consider opening a store in my area since there is a number of homebrewers here. His reply was why pay rent in two locations when you guys already drive down here. So now I am planning on putting supplies here but need to know where to get supplies so I am competitive with his pricing and can still make a profit. Any help would be great. I've been brewing since 1996 and have done everything from extract to all grain. I've also bottled and kegged.

Cheers!

 

[HopLife]

I believe "whoelsale" implies buying direct from the manufacturer. I would contact Fermentis, wyeast, Whitelabs, Briess, Crisp, Maris otter, for hops you could consult someone like hop union or one of the farms in washington or Oregon. Any of these organizations will either sell to you when you have a business license or they will direct you to suppliers for their product. You also should consider contacting some of the manufacturers of physical equipment. ie, blichman, bayou burner, etc.

Good luck...

My only suggestion is to write a good business plan before spending the dough so you can at least know that the business works on paper first.

 

[erichsmith]

I'm not sure I will do the volume to be able to buy direct from the manufacture also I don't think I want to spend the time ordering from each individual manufacture. I really need to find a distributor that carries a good line of supplies. I'd like to be able to carry equipment but due to space limitations I'm going to have to stick with ingredients and maybe a few kits a few carboys and smaller equipment like racking canes, grain bags, cappers, hydrometers etc... I'm looking at about 200 sq ft of floor space plus a standard household size refrigerator for hops and yeast. So I'm limited as it is and this is just a start. If I see the need for growth I'll address that in the future. But for now I'm starting my new year celebration with my Honey Nut Brown.

 

[HopLife]

Start at the top of the food chain and move down. Seriously, these big companies want their product to find market, if you can't manage the volumes of the big suppliers at least call or check websites to find their major reputable suppliers. I work in a different industry (Bicycle) but i routinely ask manufacturers where the best supplier to obtain their product would be and often it easier and more profitable to direct me to a direct supplier. I would expect the same from the beer industry. Seriously, unless you tell them you are a small fish they will give you the same info they give anyone else. They are not trying to keep their product a secret. Their job is to prove to you that they offer competitive advantages.

You are suggesting a legit retail business, suppliers and manufacturers endorse your business model, and will be willing to help you succeed. They might not make as much off your business as a bigger brewer or shop but they should at least be willing to give you the basic info on obtaining their product at wholesale and which hoops you will need to jump through.


Good luck.

If you have any numbers about business costs etc don't hesitate to ask. I don't have a lot of practical experience but I do have a Business Admin degree.