People love to buy American made. Americans want to know that when they purchase a product that it is helping the economy, coming from responsible factories, and that they are supporting American businesses. American made brands are thriving, however it remains difficult to find the right retailer at the right price, especially for new brands. Fortunately, with the increased interest in American Made products came a wave of start-up friendly stores and online marketplaces that make it easier for Made in the USA brands to find a way to get their products in stores and to consumers.
Showrooms are a great way to get your work seen by the right type of buyer. As part of the Cooper Design Space, True Collaborative Showroom carries and represents independent brands that are Made in the USA, which makes it an excellent place for smaller brands. In addition to the showroom, they are also very active in the tradeshow circuit as well as online.
A big box brand may also be a feasible path depending on your brand. Although many large department stores feature Made in the USA products, Nordstrom took a step further and built the phrase into their online experience. While on most department store websites searching the phrase “Made in USA” comes out with limited or no results, Nordstrom has made it a point to identify which products on their site are Made in the USA and in turn made it easier for consumers to find those products.
A unique way to connect with consumers is through OpenSky. Unlike online wholesale marketplaces, OpenSky allows brands to open up “storefronts” where they can sell their products to the unique user base of the company.
Bezar, another online marketplace, focuses on designers of home products, accessories, and jewelry. Their curated collection feels modern and fresh and is perfect for designers who have more unique and, as the company says, bizarre pieces.
Online Wholesale Marketplaces
Another great way to get your brand seen by the right buyers, is to utilize an online wholesale market place. These platforms make it easier for brands to connect with buyers and modernize the paper process of finding products and negotiating.Â
Joor is an online marketplace that connects fashion brands and retailers that work on a global scale. As the first in the market, the company pioneered the digitalization of the wholesale industry. With the goal to streamline and shorten the wholesale industry process, Joor allows brands and retailers to connect and transact while also giving both sides the information they need to pick the right brand or retailer to work with. With 150,000 retailers and 1,200 brands, Joor is also the largest online wholesale marketplace.
Created with the goal of completely digitalizing the wholesale buyer industry, NuORDER is a marketplace that helps retailers connect with new brands and easily find products to feature in their stores. NuORDER also allows brands to manage orders, create linesheets, and and send proposals to potential buyers.
However, the most start-up friendly marketplace may be Modalyst. Founded in 2013, Modalyst is a wholesale marketplace that focuses solely on connecting independent retailers and brands. The marketplace allows brands to find retailers to purchase their products and give them a way to negotiate and communicate with their potential buyer.
The Grommet, which is a “product made with a purpose” as it says on their website, is a unique way to launch your first product. Focusing on the undiscovered ideas, the site takes unique products and amplifies them by giving consumers the backstory through a shopping page that is beautifully designed specifically to give the information consumers need on the product.
Build Your Product
If you’re not quite at the point where you search for retailers, then you can use one of the 10,000 factories on Maker’s Row to start the process on your idea.
