Best Outbound Agencies for Retail Brokers and Distributors (2026)

Most brokers I talk to have the same Monday. They sell to buyers all week. They have category reviews to prep, a planogram reset to chase, a deduction from a retailer that nobody can explain. And then somebody asks: "Who are we signing next quarter?"

The answer is usually "whoever we meet at Expo West". The trouble is that every other broker is meeting the same brands at the same booth, and the ones walking up to you are often not ready. No velocity, no budget for slotting, a founder who thinks "getting into Whole Foods" is one meeting.

Meanwhile, there's a brand doing $6M a year online with 4,000 reviews, a store locator listing 12 independent shops, and a founder who's quietly started looking at wholesale because Meta ads cost more every year. That brand would take your call. It just has no idea who you are.

This guide is short because the honest list is short. Very few outbound agencies work for brokers, distributors and reps looking for new brands. Most food and beverage agencies work the other way: they help brands get meetings with buyers. I included the providers whose own sites show work in or near this business, and I've noted the direction each one runs.

How we built it: I'm Rodrigo, co-founder of Romar AI. We run cold email for B2B companies that sell to ecommerce brands, brokers included, so we're on the list, and first. Every fact about another provider comes from its own website, checked on October 31, 2026.

Top 5 outbound agencies for retail brokers in 2026

What does outbound for a retail broker include?

• Finding brands with traction and few doors. DTC and Amazon brands at $2M to $20M, strong reviews, repeat purchase, a handful of independent stockists and no chain accounts.
• Excluding brands that already have a broker, where you can see it.
• Timing. A new VP of sales or retail hire, a Faire or wholesale page going up, an exhibitor listing at Expo West or East.
• Contacts. The founder, or the VP of sales or head of retail.
• Copy that answers the brand's real fear: cost. Conventional grocery slotting runs about $250 to $1,000 per SKU per store, and brokers usually take 3% to 5% of net wholesale sales in conventional grocery, 5% to 7% for emerging brands in natural and specialty. Brands who've read those numbers want someone to explain what they get for them.
• Replies handed to whoever signs brands at your firm.

Something I've learned the hard way here: the email that says "we can get you into Target" does badly. Brands have heard it, and the good ones are suspicious of it. The email that says "your store locator lists 12 shops in Ohio, here's what the next 50 doors would take" does well, because it shows you looked.

1. Romar AI: Best for brokers looking for online brands ready for retail

Romar AI runs cold email outbound for B2B companies that sell to ecommerce brands, and brokers, distributors and sales reps are one of the groups we write for. We find ecommerce brands with repeat customers but few or no stores in your categories, and get them asking how you'd take them to retail. We work with companies in the US, Canada, Mexico and the UK, and we're an Instantly Solutions Partner.

Romar AI key services

1. Map. We pull brands in your categories with online traction and few stores, by region, and drop the ones already with a broker where we can see it.
2. Pick. Together we choose the segments where your offer is strongest and who to write to at each brand size.
3. Reach. Short emails from dedicated inboxes at low volume per inbox.
4. Hand off. Interested brands go to your team in Slack or your CRM with the thread. We run the cold email.

Segments we usually start with: food and beverage, beauty, pet and home brands at $2M to $20M with strong reviews and repeat purchase, and a handful of independent stockists. Signals: a store locator with few doors, a Faire or wholesale page, review count and rating, a new VP of sales or retail hire, Expo exhibitor lists.

Romar AI pricing

Start with a trial, then a retainer priced on the call. We pay for the data and the sending stack.

Where Romar AI shines

• Deep qualification. A brand has to look ready: enough reviews, signs of repeat purchase, some stockists, no visible broker. Brands that are too early get held back, which saves your team from the "can you just get us into Costco" call.
• We work on the offer. Most broker outreach sells access. We'd rather sell a first step the brand can picture: a regional chain, the next 50 doors, a category review date with the sample deadline. And we explain fees plainly, which brands rarely get.
• Segments by category, region and buyer. A pet brand with Midwest stockists and a beauty brand selling only on Amazon get different emails. The founder of a $3M brand gets a different email from the VP of sales at a $15M one.
• Human copy. Short, specific, two or three versions of each paragraph so no two brands get the same email.
• Published results from a nearby business. Our public cases are with 3PLs selling to ecommerce brands. A founder-led 3PL in Winnipeg had 7 brand meetings in 5 weeks, with the first meeting 4 days after the first email.

Where Romar AI falls short

• No published broker case study yet. Judge us on the trial.
• Email first. No calling or LinkedIn. If you want a caller, look at Cold Call Me or SalesHive.
• Ecommerce brands only. If you want brands that are retail-only today, we're the wrong source.

Who Romar AI is best for

Brokers, distributors and reps in food and beverage, beauty, pet and home who want proven online brands asking about their first shelf.

See our page for retail brokers and our case studies.

2. Belkins: Best for retail growth firms that want three channels

Belkins is a large B2B lead generation agency. On October 6, 2026 it published a case study with ATS Marketing, a retail growth company that helps consumer brands get into retailers such as Target and Home Depot.

Key services

• Appointment setting through email, LinkedIn and calling.
• In this case, a rebrand and website work alongside outreach.

Pricing

Not published for this case.

Where Belkins shines

• It's a published case in exactly this business. Per the case: 49 meetings, $2.4M in pipeline, 1 client signed and 8 trade shows covered, with an ICP of furniture and home decor, pet and wellness hardgoods brands, reaching founders, CEOs, VPs of sales and heads of retail partnerships.
• Three channels and a big team.

Where Belkins falls short

• A generalist across many industries.
• One client signed from 49 meetings is worth reading carefully. In brokerage a single signed brand can be worth a lot, but ask what meetings turned into.

Who Belkins is best for

Larger retail growth firms that want a full multichannel program and marketing help.

3. SalesHive: Best for F&B firms wanting US SDRs

SalesHive runs outsourced SDR teams. Its food and beverage page reports 11 F&B client accounts and 678 meetings booked since 2021.

Key services

• US-based SDRs on phone and email, with offshore calling from the Philippines available.
• Targets include grocery category managers, buyers, foodservice and distributor purchasing.

Pricing

Custom-quoted monthly fee covering the SDR team, strategist, platform and data. No setup fees, month-to-month and annual plans, and nothing owed until you approve launch. No price on the page I checked.

Where SalesHive shines

• Real F&B history, and month-to-month terms are on offer.

Where SalesHive falls short

• Its F&B work runs mostly from brands toward buyers. For a broker that's useful on the buyer side, less so for finding brands. Ask which way your campaign points.

Who SalesHive is best for

Firms that want a phone-led team and flexibility.

4. Cold Call Me: Best for specialty F&B wanting a dedicated caller

Cold Call Me provides US-based SDRs for cold calling and is a HubSpot Solutions Partner.

Key services

• Cold calling by US SDRs, with plans from a shared cost-per-call pilot to a dedicated SDR.
• Its blog covers "Sample-First Outbound" for specialty food and beverage.

Pricing

Engagement programs start from $3,000 a month, running from a shared cost-per-call pilot to a dedicated full-time SDR and multi-rep enterprise programs. No per-lead pricing and no long lock-in, per its site.

Where Cold Call Me shines

• It reports 180+ qualified outcomes for one food and beverage brand from a single SDR.
• Clear thinking about samples, which is how specialty food actually sells.

Where Cold Call Me falls short

• Phone only. And again, the F&B work it describes points from brands toward buyers.

Who Cold Call Me is best for

Specialty food and beverage firms that want a dedicated US caller.

5. CallingAgency: Best for F&B firms wanting phone plus email

CallingAgency's food and beverage page covers retail buyers, distributor procurement, restaurant sourcing, CPG brands and private label.

Key services

• Cold calling, email and LinkedIn on its C.A.L.L.S. framework.
• First appointment typically in week one, per the site.

Pricing

Not published.

Where CallingAgency shines

• CPG brands are on its target list, so it can point at brands.
• It claims an average of 48+ meetings a quarter.

Where CallingAgency falls short

• No public price, and a wide target list. Make sure the campaign is pointed at brands.

Who CallingAgency is best for

F&B firms that want calls and email together.

A note on brokerages themselves

If you search for this topic you'll find large national brokerages and regional food brokers. They're your competitors, not outbound agencies. They grow through relationships and acquisitions, and they're a good reminder of why a small broker needs a steady new-brand channel of its own.

What a good first month looks like

People ask me what to expect, so here's the honest shape of it, from how we run campaigns rather than from any one client.

Week one is mostly unglamorous. The brand map gets built, you look at a sample of 20 brands and tell us which ones you'd never sign (this is the most useful hour of the whole project), and the sending domains finish warming. Nothing goes out yet. If a provider is emailing brands for you on day two, ask whose domains those are.

Weeks two and three, the first segments go out at low volume. Maybe pet brands in the Midwest with stockists but no chain, and natural beauty brands selling mostly on Amazon. Replies start. A lot of them are autoresponders. Some are "not yet, we're focused on DTC this year", which is a fine answer and worth a note for next spring.

By week four you should know which segment is answering and which isn't, and the copy should already have changed. If the beauty brands keep asking about fees, the next email explains fees. If the pet brands want to know about a specific chain, the next email names the chain's review timing.

What you shouldn't expect: a full calendar in week two. Brokerage is a considered sale for a brand. The founder has to believe you, then believe the numbers, then convince a co-founder. A good outbound program shortens how long it takes to find those founders. It doesn't shorten their decision.

How to choose an outbound agency for a retail broker

1. Check the direction

Ask, in plain words: "Will you be contacting brands for me, or buyers?" Many F&B agencies are built for the second.

2. Ask how they judge "ready for retail"

Reviews, repeat purchase, existing stockists, budget signals. If the answer is "revenue over $1M", you'll get brands that aren't ready.

3. Ask how they exclude brands that already have a broker

Visible ones should be removed. Send your current brand list too.

4. Ask what the first email offers

The next 50 doors, a regional chain, a category review date. Access to "major retailers" isn't an offer.

5. Ask who answers

Brand founders reply at odd hours. Somebody needs to answer the same day.

How much does outbound cost for a retail broker in 2026?

So, which outbound agency is right for your brokerage?

If you want online brands with traction and few doors, reached by email with an offer they can picture, Romar AI is built for that. If you want three channels and marketing help, Belkins has a published case in this exact business. If you want callers, SalesHive, Cold Call Me or CallingAgency, as long as the campaign points at brands.

If you want to see how many brands in your categories look ready, book a call with Romar AI. We'll build the brand map and show you the first segments.