The pet industry is one where regional distributors play a vital role in retail success. Regional distributors have long served as crucial steppingstones for brands that are entering the market on a smaller scale. For pet specialty retailers, regional distributors are seen as attractive partners who offer faster deliveries than other options.
Pet Age recently spoke with select regional distributors to get their insights on a variety of topics important to success in the pet care community.
Heather Coots is CEO of King Wholesale, which is located in Yuba City, California. Abby Siebern is Vice President of Sales & Purchasing at John A. Van Den Bosch, which services retail stores in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Western Pennsylvania. Mike Silva is Vice President of Marketing at Fauna Foods, which serves the independent pet channel throughout New York, New Jersey and the western half of Connecticut.
Why do you feel that regional distributors are popular with pet brands?
(Coots) While King Wholesale operates nationally, we intentionally function with a regional, relationship-driven mindset. We’re a boutique distributor with a low free-shipping minimum, which allows independent retailers across the country to buy more strategically while still receiving hands-on support. We’re highly selective about the brands we represent and prioritize long-term relationships over rapid expansion. For brands, this model delivers national reach without sacrificing identity. They gain a partner who provides meaningful feedback, thoughtful support, and real insight from daily customer conversations. Whether regional or boutique-national, distributors that stay close to their customers, protect brand integrity, and focus on sustainable growth are the partners pet brands continue to seek out.
(Seibern) There are likely a few reasons for this but in my opinion, pet brands choose regional distributors due to service levels & relationships to their customers, collaborative interaction with the brand, and providing focus on the brand. At John A. Van Den Bosch LLC, our sales reps have smaller territories so they can build customer relationships to better understand their customers’ needs to recommend the best products for them to be successful and to provide value-added service levels to our customers to help build brands. Although we’d like to carry as many brands as we can, this simply is not feasible, so we are selective on the brands we carry. By not having an overwhelming number of brands, we can put more focus on the brands we do carry, respond quickly to time-sensitive vendor requests, and be flexible with vendor program requests to be a good partner. We work closely with both our customers and our vendors to have a three-way partnership for all to be successful.
(Silva) Retailers today have many options for sourcing products in an increasingly omnichannel environment, where even distributors must compete with direct-to-consumer and e-commerce models. While every distribution option offers value to neighborhood pet stores, regional distributors stand out because of their relationships, product procurement expertise, and nimble customer service. Fauna Foods’ strength lies in close communication and flexibility. With fewer layers, we can pivot quickly, respond to changing needs, and tailor our approach to best support both our retail partners and the brands we represent. That level of customization and responsiveness is difficult to replicate at scale and is a key reason pet brands continue to value regional distributors.
How would you describe your relationship with neighborhood pet retailers?
(Coots) Our relationship with independent pet retailers is personal, collaborative, and built on trust. While we serve customers nationwide, we operate in a very relationship-driven way. Many of our customers have been with us for decades, and those partnerships go far beyond transactions. We take the time to truly understand each customer’s business, how they operate, who they serve, and what success looks like for them. That includes not only traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, but also service-based businesses such as groomers, trainers, and other specialty professionals. Understanding their end consumer allows us to recommend products that make sense for their specific model, not just what’s trending broadly. Because we stay closely connected to our customers, we’re able to deliver thoughtful, responsive service at a national level without losing the personal touch. Our goal is always to support independent businesses in a way that feels sustainable, relevant, and aligned with how they actually work. That long-term, hands-on approach is what keeps these relationships strong year after year.
(Seibern) Although I think there is always room to improve, I am thankful to be able to say that we have a strong relationship with our neighborhood pet retail customers. With John A. Van Den Bosch starting in 1932, we have had the privilege of working with some of the same retail customers for many generations. It’s been a team effort among all of VDB to maintain those customers over these years, and many of us can remember working with our customers’ parents or even grandparents. I am grateful to say that we have had low turnover at VDB too and many of us have been in the industry for many years which help to build those ongoing relationships. We continue to cultivate those relationships by not simply taking customer orders but by providing add-on value such as product trainings, merchandising, analyzing reports and other value-based services. Together, working with our vendor partners, we can provide our customers top-selling items with good turns and higher margins. We are looking forward to continuing to service our customers in this manner for another 85+ years.
(Silva) Fauna Foods’ relationship with neighborhood pet retailers is built on genuine partnership. Everyone in our organization makes a point to know our customers both personally and professionally. We understand the challenges independent pet retailers face, and we recognize that their success is directly tied to our own. Because of that, we focus on developing an in-depth understanding of each retailer’s operation and identifying how two-step distribution can best support their sales, logistics, and day-to-day needs. That hands-on, aligned approach is what guides our work every day.
What is a typical obstacle that regional distributors are forced to overcome?
(Coots) One of the most common challenges we face is balancing scale with service. Customers expect broad assortments, fast fulfillment, and competitive pricing, while distributors are simultaneously managing rising freight, labor, and inventory costs. Maintaining a high level of service under those conditions requires constant focus and operational discipline. Another challenge is educating brands, particularly newer ones on what it truly takes to succeed in distribution and specialty retail. This includes understanding pricing structure, consistent supply, and the importance of protecting brick-and-mortar partners through MAP compliance and thoughtful channel strategy. Brands often underestimate how critical those elements are to long-term success. Distributors play a key role in bridging that gap, helping brands grow in a way that supports independent businesses while remaining operationally sustainable. The distributors that succeed are those who prioritize transparency, efficiency, and partnerships built for the long term.
(Seibern) There is a wide range of obstacles for regional distributors to overcome. They may be recurring, some may be new, and often are the same for any size distributor. One obstacle is a more limited product offering which means that we might not have that one line a customer desires. However, regional distributors should be able to offer a comparable line and, together with the vendor, provide in-depth knowledge on the key attributes and benefits of the line to the retailer and their teams. Regardless of the obstacle, we have found at John A. Van Den Bosch, to be successful is based on proactive communication between our employees, our customers, and our vendors to identify and address the obstacle and then working together to prevent it from happening again. Luckily, in this industry, we know that we are not the only ones overcoming certain obstacles and can reach out to others to see how they have successfully navigated through certain situations, reminding us why this is such a great industry.
(Silva) As mentioned earlier, one of the most common challenges that regional distributors faces is navigating the increasingly omnichannel landscape. To remain competitive, we must continuously analyze market trends, evolve our product assortment and ensure it reflects what retailers and consumers are demanding. We at Fauna Foods know that, at the same time, maintaining a high fulfillment rate is critical, as reliability and consistency are essential to supporting our retail partners’ operations.
How do you choose the product mix that comprise up your distribution portfolio?
(Coots) Our product mix is intentionally curated, not crowded. We look for brands that align with our values, respect the independent retail channel, and bring something meaningful to the table; whether that’s innovation, strong margins, consistent quality, or a compelling brand story. We evaluate products through multiple lenses: retailer demand, pricing integrity, margin structure, operational reliability, and long-term growth potential. Just because something is trendy doesn’t mean it’s right for our retailers or sustainable for the channel. We’re thoughtful about overlap and avoid carrying too many “me too” products that dilute value. Retailer feedback plays a huge role in our decisions. We’re constantly listening to what customers are asking for and what’s actually performing at the shelf level. We also consider how a product fits into a broader assortment; does it complement what we already carry, or does it create confusion? Our goal is to help retailers succeed with fewer, better-performing SKUs while giving brands a distributor who is genuinely invested in their success.
(Seibern) We try to offer a wide mix of products at John A. Van Den Bosch. We like to offer a nice selection to our customers and diversify our offerings by building new brands and maintaining established brands. We are always actively looking for new brands, considering new brands when they reach out to us, and listening to our customers’ requests. When reviewing a new brand, we have a series of initial questions to see if it’d be a good fit for us as well as our customers, ranging from pricing to fulfillment rates to customer programs to how they support brick-and-mortar retailers vs e-commerce and many other areas in between. Over the years, we have shifted our focus of product mix and don’t offer some categories that we previously did as the market or economy shifted. We are always keeping new product categories in mind and have found that one differentiator is offering our own wild bird seed that we manufacture, Nature’s Window, along with wild bird supplies, pet food and supplies, small animal food & supplies, and some livestock feeds.
(Silva) Fauna Foods takes a balanced, data-driven and market-research approach. Like most in the industry, we rely on third-party consumer takeaway data and pair that with real-time feedback from our inside and outside sales teams to understand where retailer demand is trending. Industry events such as PIDA, Global Pet Expo and SUPERZOO, where we can meet with current and future manufacturer partners, also play an important role, giving us insight into emerging brands, innovation, and broader category direction. Finally, there is no substitute for being in the field. Even at my level, spending time with neighborhood pet retailers — listening, observing, and understanding their realities — helps ensure our portfolio reflects what is truly happening at the shelf level, not just what the data suggests.
What are some of the favorite pet brands that you carry and what makes them in demand with retailers?
(Coots) We value all of the brands we carry, many of which we’ve partnered with for many years. What consistently makes certain brands stand out with our retailers is not just the product itself, but the way they support the channel and work with distribution. Some of the key things we look for are strong initial stocking order programs, samples, support for customer events and grand openings, assistance with planograms, and a willingness to partner with us as a distributor rather than compete with us directly. The strongest brands have sales teams that work collaboratively; supporting customers in the field while directing orders through distribution when we can help fulfill those needs. That alignment creates a better experience for both the retailer and the brand. Brands like Ethical/Spot PetPetsport, Earthbath, Zymox and N-Bone/NPIC Pet Products exemplify this approach. These partners consistently support customers through ISOs, in-store programs, and event support, while respecting distribution and maintaining pricing integrity. That combination of strong product, thoughtful support, and true partnership is what keeps these brands in high demand with our customers.
(Seibern) Although it is difficult for me to name just one, I would say our favorite pet brands at John A. Van Den Bosch are the ones that are the easiest to work with, that we can have open conversations when working through anything, are transparent with any upcoming issues, and that understand both distributor & retail customers’ programs & requests. To name only a few aspects, these brands likely have manageable minimums, reasonable margins for everyone, a pricing structure that allows brick-and-mortar retailers to compete with e-commerce, programs to draw a consumer to the brand, and occasionally in the area to help us & our customers successfully build their brand.
(Silva) Every brand we carry plays a role in the success of neighborhood pet retailers. We at Fauna Foods view our portfolio much like a team — many different components working together toward the same goal. As in sports, there are established “star” brands that drive traffic and velocity, alongside role-player brands that fill specific needs, create differentiation, and support overall category strength. Our focus is on maintaining the right balance across the portfolio, so retailers have a well-rounded assortment that performs at the shelf. Ultimately, our goal is to help every brand maximize its potential in the marketplace by placing it in the right context, with the right support, to drive mutual success.
