Wholesale basics for health and beauty brands
Core terms and decisions for brands moving from direct-to-consumer into stores.
What does selling wholesale mean for a health and beauty brand?
Wholesale means selling your products in case quantities to a retailer or distributor at a discount, and the retailer sells them to shoppers at full price. You earn less per unit than on your own website. In return each order is larger, the store carries the shelf space and the selling, and good accounts reorder.
What is the difference between wholesale price, MSRP and cost?
Cost is what it takes you to make and pack one unit. Wholesale price is what a retailer pays you. MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price, which is what shoppers pay. The audit builds the wholesale price backward from cost and checks that margin remains at each step.
What is keystone pricing?
Keystone pricing means a retailer doubles the wholesale price to set the retail price, so wholesale is half of MSRP. SellToStores uses this as a fit test: your cost should leave room for a wholesale price at roughly half of retail. Some categories use different markups, so treat it as a starting point.
How do I know if my brand is ready for wholesale?
A brand is ready when it has repeat customers, can ship cases on a regular schedule and has a cost that supports a wholesale price near half of retail. You also need a barcode, a sell sheet and clear minimums. The free audit checks each of these and tells you what to fix first.
Should I sell to independent stores or distributors first?
Brands that cannot yet fill pallet-size orders usually start with independent stores, since boutiques, pharmacies, spas, salons and natural grocers buy small quantities directly. A distributor makes sense once you can fill larger orders on schedule. The audit recommends one channel first and gives the reason.
Can I keep selling on my own website and Amazon after I go wholesale?
Yes, but prices must line up. Stores stop reordering when they see your product cheaper online than their own cost. A minimum advertised price policy that covers your website, marketplaces and retail partners keeps each channel fair and gives you a rule to point to.
What is a minimum advertised price policy?
A minimum advertised price policy, or MAP, sets the lowest price at which approved resellers may advertise your product. It protects the margin of every store you sell to. Set it before outreach, apply it to your own site, and have an attorney review the wording for your situation.
What is a minimum order quantity?
A minimum order quantity is the smallest order you accept from a retailer, stated in units, cases or dollars. Set it high enough to cover picking, packing and shipping, and low enough that a new store will try you. Many brands use a lower opening minimum and a different reorder minimum.
What is a case pack?
A case pack is the number of units that ship together in one carton, such as 6, 12 or 24. Retailers order in case packs, so your sell sheet should state it for every item. A case pack that matches how stores stock the shelf makes ordering and restocking simpler.
What is a sell sheet and what should it include?
A sell sheet is a one-page document for buyers. It shows each product with wholesale price, MSRP, case pack and minimum order, plus your terms and ordering contact. Leave out story that does not help a buyer decide, and keep prices current, because outdated numbers cost trust.
What are net terms, and should a new brand offer them?
Net 30 means the retailer pays within 30 days of the invoice. New accounts are safer on prepayment or a credit card at the first order, with net terms offered after a clean payment history. Late payment is a cash flow risk you carry, so write your terms down.
Do I need a resale certificate from retailers?
Retailers usually give you a resale or exemption certificate so you do not charge them sales tax on goods they will resell. Rules differ by state, so keep each certificate on file and confirm the details with your accountant.
Is wholesale worth it if I earn less per unit?
Wholesale pays when volume, repeat orders and lower acquisition cost outweigh the lower margin per unit. A store that reorders every month costs far less to keep than a new online customer costs to win. Work out your per-unit margin first and see whether it still pays after freight.
How many stores do I need to make wholesale worthwhile?
The answer depends on what an average account buys in a year. Divide your revenue goal by that figure. As an example only, if the average store buys $1,500 a year, 100 stores gets you to $150,000. Track reorder rate as well, because it matters more than store count.
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Related: Free retail audit
Answers about SellToStores come from this site's pages and terms. Everything else is general wholesale guidance with illustrative numbers, and regulatory points are not legal advice, so confirm them with the regulator or counsel.
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