Distributors in any industry play a crucial yet awkward role, and the maternal and infant sector is no exception. An industry insider points out that distributors are key links between channels and manufacturers. Manufacturers focus on products, while distributors help distribute them. "A larger distributor can cover 300 to 500 stores, while a smaller one can cover 30 to 40 stores. How much manpower and resources would it take for manufacturers to directly connect with retail outlets?" Another key point is that distributors can do meticulous work. Nowadays, distributors not only deliver goods to retail channels but also provide various services to stores: organizing guide training, mother classes, nutrition classes, and other service-oriented work. Many stores prefer to cooperate with distributors because they offer fast delivery, flexible turnover, high trust, and can connect with multiple brands at once. However, distributors are in an awkward position. On one hand, they bear pressure from manufacturers to meet sales targets; on the other, they are subject to selection by retail stores, and customers may not be satisfied with the products they offer. Distributors often face dilemmas or trilemmas. Recently, distributors in the maternal and infant industry face a major event: the official implementation of the milk powder formula registration system. This policy is significant for the entire industry, especially for distributors dealing in milk powder brands. Previously, as we learned, due to the implementation of the milk powder formula registration system, a large number of unregistered milk powder brands were cleared from the market, leaving some market gaps. Many registered brands are actively recruiting distributors and agents to quickly seize these markets and occupy retail terminals. Thus, distributors seem even more important under the catalyst of the new milk powder policy, becoming targets for manufacturers to compete over. But is that really the case? Higher Hard Requirements for Distributors A distributor with eight years of experience in milk powder and nutrition products said that after the new policy, registered brands will significantly raise hard requirements for distributors. "To distribute a milk powder brand, previously 1 million yuan could cover a province, but now distributors need capital strength of 2 million yuan." The distributor pointed out that registered brands seem to have brand power, but consumers are not buying it. "Many registered brands were unheard of by consumers before. These brands were lurking in the market and only surfaced due to the registration system. Such brands hold no real significance for channels or customers." However, these registered brands will impose requirements on distributors and channels, such as doubling sales compared to previous years. Active Milk Powder Brands Increase, Not Decrease However, multiple distributors said that manufacturers' requirements are hard to meet. After the registration system, the number of domestic milk powder brands active in the market has not decreased but increased, intensifying competition. "The number of milk powder brands sold in maternal and infant stores has not decreased," one distributor noted. Before the registration system, there were reportedly over 2,000 brands nationwide, but many were not active or existed only in very small regions. Now, several hundred brands have passed registration and surfaced. Brands that previously did not target the national market are now expanding nationwide. This means there are more domestic milk powder brands active in the market. Regardless of size, these brands are fiercely competing for retail channels. One distributor cited an example: a brand that passed registration saw its sales double overnight, but in reality, the goods were piling up in intermediaries' warehouses or store warehouses, not actually moving to consumers. Distributors Face Huge Risks In this context, distributors face enormous risks, making them cautious when dealing with many domestic brands, as a wrong brand choice could harm channels built over years. This is due to differences in communication between manufacturers and distributors. Manufacturers' market judgments and distributors' actual operations differ greatly. For example, a manufacturer might think a distributor should achieve 10 million yuan in sales based on population, but the distributor can only achieve 1 million. Manufacturers only look at macro markets and may replace distributors the next year, but the replacement might do even worse, only 500,000 yuan, leading to frequent changes. When distributors invest all their efforts in retail terminals, being replaced wastes their hard work and affects store operations. In offline maternal and infant stores, for a brand to increase sales, it must become a store's main push, requiring distributors to invest in education, training, nutrition classes, courses, membership services, etc. "Manufacturers actually don't want to rebuild channels they've established through distributors, but they deal with sales staff who need commissions and income," a distributor said bluntly. "Brands don't belong to sales managers or regional managers; they only care about performance." What Should Distributors Do? One distributor said the most important thing now is to do well with existing brands, communicate deeply with manufacturers, and match their own resources with manufacturers' resources. Another distributor believes it's essential to follow national policies. "The state wants to develop domestic milk powder, that's the trend. In the milk powder sector, the state is pursuing a big-brand strategy, merging and restructuring the industry chain. Manufacturers need innovation, and distributors should also check if their channels are sound, resources are matched, and service capabilities are good." An industry insider pointed out that distributors should focus on improving their service capabilities, such as training and event organization, and building their teams, rather than blindly increasing the number of brands they distribute. More commonly, distributors are transforming, no longer limiting themselves to intermediary roles but going deeper into retail channels or upstream product ends. Some are forming alliances with stores, creating associations, while others directly open offline stores or build their own brands. Source: Future Maternal and Infant Home (ID: naipingmom) -END-