Hear From a Distributor: What Do They Actually Do?

Joey Poole is a managing partner at Pekko Beer, a craft beer distributor in Washington, D.C.

[Ed. Note: This is an exciting post for us. We’re pleased to debut Joey Poole here at the site. The second tier, distributors, are incredibly important and strongly impact consumers’ beer experiences, but many consumers have little awareness of distributors or what they actually do. Here, Joey lays out an FAQ about distribution from his perspective. We’re grateful to have him contributing to the site. Enjoy! – BD]

What does a distributor actually do? Is it really just moving things from Point A to Point B?

Well, yes and no. The simplest purpose of the distributor (also known as a wholesaler) is moving the product from the producer to the point of consumption in a reasonable amount of time and without sacrificing integrity. However, representing and safeguarding individual brands is just as important as the movement of product. This manifests as building awareness for a brand via events and adve