On shelf.
Not in a deck.
FMCG distribution across India: a live, relationship-led network that most brands take a decade to build, available to you from the first month.
What the trade
actually looks like.
A product reaches a shopper through a chain: carrying and forwarding agent, super stockist, distributor, wholesaler, retailer. Each link takes a margin and each one has to be given a reason to stock you ahead of the brand already sitting there.
Hearth Global Ventures, which Floka is part of, runs that chain for consumer brands in nine states, with the relationships already in place. It is the unusual half of the studio and the reason several clients stay.
| Regions | 9 states, live |
|---|---|
| Distributors | 630+ |
| Outlets | 4,000+ |
| Channels | GT, MT, e-commerce |
| Model | Relationship-led |
| Start | First month |
Nine states,
live now.
These are regions with distributors already appointed and stock already moving, not a target map.
- Delhi NCR
- Uttar Pradesh
- West Bengal
- Maharashtra
- Telangana
- Andhra Pradesh
- Karnataka
- Tamil Nadu
- Kerala
Before you ask for
a distributor.
Shelf reach amplifies whatever the pack and the price already do. If either is wrong, distribution makes the problem travel further.
It has to win six seconds
A shopper decides on a shelf, not in a campaign. Fix the pack first if it loses that test.
Every link takes one
Price for the whole chain, not for your P&L alone, or the chain will not carry you.
Stock has to exist
Nothing kills a distributor relationship faster than a dry month after a good one.
Something has to move it
Trade push without consumer pull fills a warehouse, then comes back as returns.
Distribution,
answered plainly.
What is the difference between a C&F agent, super stockist, distributor and wholesaler?
A C&F (carrying & forwarding) agent stores and forwards stock on the brand's behalf and usually earns a fee rather than a trading margin: the stock stays the brand's until it moves.
A super stockist buys from the brand and supplies distributors across a wider territory, typically where distributor density is low.
A distributor buys stock, holds inventory and services retailers in a defined territory through its own field team. This is the workhorse of Indian FMCG.
A wholesaler sells in bulk to smaller retailers and other traders, usually on thinner margins and without territory exclusivity: useful for reach, dangerous for price discipline.
What margin does an FMCG distributor make in India?
Distributor trading margins commonly sit between 4% and 8% of the distributor price, with retailer margins typically 8% to 20% depending on category and pack.
But the number that decides commitment is return on investment, not margin. We model the partner's economics (capital blocked, godown space, credit cycle, expected rotations) so they clear roughly 18-25%+ annual ROI. A distributor who is not earning will stock your brand and never push it, and you will not find out for two quarters.
How do I get my product into kirana stores across India?
General Trade (kirana, provision, chemist and bakery outlets) accounts for roughly 75-85% of FMCG volume in India, and it is won on coverage, range and visibility rather than advertising alone.
The route: appoint a distributor with real reach in the territory; build fixed permanent journey plan beats so a salesperson visits each outlet on a predictable cycle; land a must-stock list the retailer can actually sell through; and back it with visibility and point-of-sale material.
How long does it take to build a pan-India distribution network?
From scratch, generally five to ten years: the constraint is relationships and credibility, not capital.
Plugging into an existing relationship-led network and scaling region by region, clustered by taste, language and trade similarity, compresses that to under two years. We delivered a national rollout into 10,000 stores in under six months for Paperboat Drinks, and scaled A1 SKC Ghee from 5 to 53.7 tons a month in under 32 months.
What is the difference between primary and secondary sales?
Primary sales are shipments from the brand to the distributor. Secondary sales are what the distributor actually sells on to retailers: the demand the market genuinely absorbs.
Brands that chase primary can post strong numbers while stock piles up in godowns, which eventually returns as expiry, damages and lost partners. We manage to secondary sales, so the growth on the report is the growth in the market.
Can you list my brand on Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, BigBasket and Amazon?
Yes. Quick-commerce and marketplace onboarding is handled by the same team that runs offline distribution, so catalogue, pricing, pack architecture and margins stay consistent across channels instead of cannibalising each other.
The digital side is run by our performance marketing team.
Why does a creative studio run distribution at all?
Because we got tired of watching good creative die at the shelf. We built four consumer brands of our own, and the part that nearly killed each of them was not the advertising. It was getting the product physically in front of someone.
The network exists because we needed it. It is available to clients because it turned out to be the rarest thing we own.
Where do you need
to be on shelf?
Tell us the category and the states. We will tell you what the network can reach now, and what has to be built.
Floka Studios, Chennai