Top 6 Online Retailers Beyond Amazon to Sell Your Protein Bars On

Did you know the global protein bar market is expected to be worth nearly $32 billion by 2025? Brands have the opportunity to use the market to their advantage since there has never been a better time for the industry. One way is to get into popular brick-and-mortar stores like Erewhon, Trader Joe’s, or Costco, but to do so, you’ll need to establish yourself within the online marketplaces. Brick-and-mortar stores often need evidence that your brand is performing well before they decide to buy your product.

Finding the ‘right’ online retailer can help you push your product out to your target consumers and set your brand up for success. But, with so many platforms and options out there, it may be difficult to choose the ‘best’ platform. Based on our clients, we gathered the top 6 online retailers - beyond Amazon - that you can start selling your protein bars on.

1. RangeMe

RangeMe is an online platform designed to streamline product discovery, sampling, and sourcing between suppliers, like your protein bar brand, and retailers. Putting your brand on the RangeMe platform gives you the opportunity to connect with a variety of retailers and consumers. In fact, RangeMe has a network of over 7,000 retailers, including big names like Tesco and Best Buy. This makes RangeMe a great platform for food entrepreneurs to join. It offers essential tools brands can use to showcase their products and grow their food business, such as brand profiles, customizable product pages, and profile sharing capabilities. 

Now, you may be wondering: “How do I get started on RangeMe?” It’s simple! To get started, all you need to do is create a free account and list your products. These products will be reviewed by the RangeMe team. Once approved, you will be matched with retailers in your chosen category.

2. GoPuff

GoPuff is an online delivery service specializing in speedy delivery of essential items in metropolitan areas. It relies on stocked storefronts and warehouses to ensure they can provide items in record time. With a presence in over 650 cities and roughly 2.6 million active users, it's not hard to see the appeal of the platform to help get your innovative products right at the doorstep of a million users. Groceries and snacks are the most popular categories on the platform. It stocks major brand products like Popcorners, Poppi, Lesser Evil, and more.

Since GoPuff is an online delivery service, its main benefit is speed and convenience. Unlike other platforms where consumers have to wait a few days to get their products, consumers can get their purchases within the same day. This means that being on this platform brings brands the opportunity to be discovered by thousands of consumers who want to satisfy a sudden craving. Partnering with GoPuff is easy – just fill out a form on RangeMe to get started. Because GoPuff has partnered with RangeMe, if you are already on RangeMe, you can take advantage of GoPuff and vice versa.

3. Thrive Market

Thrive Market is a membership-based natural foods online retailer that provides members with a wide selection of high-quality, healthy, sustainable products at warehouse prices. It has almost a million members on its platform – allowing brands to expand their reach and increase brand awareness. Thrive Market focuses on healthy options, carrying an assortment of vegan, gluten-free, organic, keto, paleo, and dairy-free products. Leading healthy food brands, such as Organic Valley Farm, Wild Planet, and Kettle & Fire, are on this platform. Plus, Thrive Market offers content syndication and email marketing as marketing tools for brands.

So how can you get on the platform and get your innovative consumers to its consumers? All you have to do is submit your brand info through a simple registration process. However, it's important to note that Thrive Market does have a few conditions in place for its partner brands:

• Prices must be 25-30% below the listed wholesale costs.
• They must provide free shipping to their distribution centers.
• They must offer a low minimum order when starting.

4. Hive Brands

Hive Brands is an online marketplace that describes itself as an "ecosystem of people, brands, and causes working together to create a more sustainable and equitable world." As a platform that is committed to sustainability and health, Hive Brands makes sure to work with brands that are both high-quality and socially and environmentally conscious. In fact, Hive Brands has partnered with over 250 brands including Quinn, RISE, and Unreal. This platform carries grocery, pantry, and household goods, with over 2,000+ products listed in its catalog. Perhaps the main advantage of joining Hive Brands is the level of trust it has from its customer base. Being a Hive partner brand implies that your brand is committed to quality and the environment, which will attract loyal consumers with the same values. 

To become a Hive Brands Partner, your brand must align with its vetting criteria called The Hive Five. This system helps Hive Brands ensure that all the brands they offer align with its goals and with its shoppers’ values. The Hive Five consists of ingredient integrity, recyclable packaging, low carbon footprint, commitment to social good, and rave-worthiness.

5. The Good Trends

The Good Trends is a wholesale online platform that features local, specialty food and beverage brands. It is a full-service marketplace that reinvents how retailers grow their businesses with unique suppliers. The Good Trends helps local retailers find, buy, and market its products, calling itself a one-stop shop that offers low minimums and net terms. It has over 450 trusted retail buyers and carries major brands like Nature's Food Patch, Foragers, and Doragon Provisions.

The main benefit of being on The Good Trends comes down to its approach to distribution. As a partner, you will be able to choose which stores you want to market to and select which products you'd like to offer as free samples. Not only that but the platform also takes care of payments and returns, which lessens the burden on you as a brand. Applying is as simple as registering on their website with your brand details and waiting for approval.

6. The Feed

The Feed is an online platform that sells sports nutrition products from brands both large and small. This is the perfect marketplace for brands that are looking to break into the sports and fitness market. With over 150 top brands on the platform, 8 years of operation, and over 200,000 clients, The Feed offers brands increased visibility and opportunities to increase their market share. Supplements and energy bars are at the forefront of the platform with brands like Clif, Taos, and SwissRX selling on The Feed. 

The Feed is known for its high-quality selection of athletic products so being featured on it not only ensures a positive reputation for your brand but also will help you carve a niche in the sports nutrition market. To become a partner brand, you'll need to contact them directly through their official channels and bring your best sales pitch.

Key Takeaways

Online platforms are the way to go if you want your brand to stay ahead in a growing CPG space. A strong online presence will get your brand out there and entice some of the hottest brick-and-mortar retailers, like Erewhon, Trader Joe’s, and Target, to buy your protein bar products.

Here at YouBar, we understand that there are a lot of steps, strategies, and people that go into building a solid brand and product. We can provide you with industry-leading knowledge and resources to get your new business off the ground. Contact us today to get started on your journey.