What should an international buyer or manufacturer understand about Brand Distribution Group today?
We connect brands with customers and markets through global trade, distribution in Poland, e-commerce and logistics. We also draw on Vollmart’s retail experience. That is what we mean by The Platform for Global FMCG: the commercial work and the delivery of the product belong in the same conversation.
A manufacturer wants to know where a product can succeed and who will take responsibility for developing it. A buyer wants a relevant offer, dependable availability and a partner who understands the business behind the order. We bring those needs together. Sometimes the right starting point is an export opportunity; sometimes it is Polish distribution or e-commerce through BD24. The route should fit the opportunity.
Our new branding expresses that business more clearly. The useful question for someone meeting us at SIAL is: what do you want to achieve next, and which parts of our platform can help you get there?
What changed as you developed from a trading business into this broader model?
We had to take responsibility for the brand, the channel and the result. Buying and selling well remain essential, but developing a brand requires decisions long before the first order and work long after it.
The strategic choice was to develop a Full Service Distributor model. That connects market assessment, the offer, channel planning, logistics and sales execution. It changes the conversation with a manufacturer. We need to understand the consumer, the role of the product in the category and the work required to support it. Then we can agree on a realistic plan.
It also changes how we judge our own decisions. A promising product can struggle because the price, presentation or channel is wrong. Expanding the offer will not fix that. We have to understand the problem and act on it. I want our team to challenge a weak plan early, while there is still time to improve it.
What does being a family business bring to those relationships?
Continuity matters. You build a name over years, and every commitment carries that name. For me, the difficult part is keeping that sense of personal responsibility as the organisation grows. People need clear roles and the confidence to make decisions. Partners need to know who owns the problem when something goes wrong.
We have held stock, taken responsibility for problems and completed projects as promised even when the easier short-term choice would have been different. Those decisions say more about a company than its presentation.
I also believe a family business has to question its own habits. Experience is valuable when it helps us make a better decision today. It should never be a reason to avoid change. Trust comes from being consistent in our commitments and willing to improve how we deliver them.
How do you decide whether a product is right for a market?
We start with the consumer and the buying occasion. Why would someone choose this product? Where would they expect to find it? What price point and pack size make sense? A recognised brand is a strong starting point, but the local offer still has to work.
Buyers need an assortment that makes commercial sense and supply they can plan around. Consumers want quality, value and convenience. The balance changes between countries and between channels within the same country. A product can be attractive without being right for every route to market.
Takis and Anthon Berg illustrate that well. Takis gives us a distinctive product with a strong appeal to younger consumers. Anthon Berg takes us into premium chocolate and different purchasing occasions. They need different approaches to presentation, assortment and communication. The job is to understand what makes each brand relevant and build around it.
How does your approach change between e-commerce, distribution, export and retail?
Each channel answers different questions. In e-commerce, the product has to be found and understood on a screen. Content, presentation and fulfilment matter. In distribution, the offer has to work in the retailer’s assortment and be supported by reliable supply. Export adds the realities of a different market and the practical work of moving goods across borders. Retail gives us a direct view of the shopper and the point of purchase.
A brand should not be pushed through every channel simply to collect listings. The important question is what the next channel will add. Will it reach a different customer, support another buying occasion or give us a better understanding of demand?
That is why we connect what we learn from these activities. A response seen through BD24 can inform a wider commercial discussion. Experience from distribution or Vollmart can sharpen our understanding of the offer. We still have to judge each opportunity on its own merits; success in one channel is not an automatic instruction to expand everywhere.
Can you give a practical example of how the platform works, without naming a particular customer?
Take a manufacturer considering a new market. The first conversation should establish the objective, the product’s role and what support is available. We can then select an appropriate entry channel and agree on the offer, availability and responsibilities.
Once the product is in the market, we look at the response. If something is not working, we need to distinguish between the product itself and the way it is being sold. The answer might be a different assortment, clearer communication, a price adjustment or a change in availability. It might also be to stop and rethink the proposition.
The benefit of the platform is that those decisions can draw on several connected parts of the business. We can bring the commercial plan, purchasing, inventory and logistics together. The manufacturer has fewer separate conversations to manage, and the buyer has a partner who can discuss the offer and its delivery together. The platform provides a 360° service for anyone looking to take an FMCG product to market, both in Poland and beyond.
What makes a partnership work after the first shipment?
Trust and execution. Both sides should understand the objective, the commitments and the next decision. If those are vague, even a promising start becomes difficult to manage.
Product availability and reliable delivery are fundamental. So is the response when conditions change. I would rather have an early, direct conversation about a problem than a reassuring update that leaves the partner no time to act. The relationship becomes stronger when people can work through a difficult situation together.
For a manufacturer, we stay involved in developing the brand beyond launch. For a buyer, the first order should be the start of a dependable supply relationship. In both cases, trust grows when the next commitment is met. That is how a successful transaction becomes repeat business.
Where do you see the strongest opportunities for BDG and its partners?
We are developing our food business and connecting it more closely with export, Polish distribution and e-commerce. There is room for very different propositions: distinctive products that bring something fresh to a category, established brands with broader market potential, and premium products built around a particular occasion.
I want us to be ambitious about those opportunities and precise about how we pursue them. Adding countries or products is easy to announce. Building a relevant offer, securing availability and supporting it properly takes sustained work and experience. That is where we can be useful to our partners.
We will continue to look for new distribution partners that offer something unique to the consumer and have real expansion plans beyond a quick sale. The commercial case has to be clear: why this product, why this market and why now? When those answers are convincing, we can bring the relevant capabilities together and work on the next stage of growth.
What conversations would you like to have at SIAL?
With manufacturers, I want to discuss where they see potential and what is preventing them from reaching it. They may be looking at Poland, another export market or a different channel. A useful conversation starts with the ambition and the practical challenge behind it.
With buyers, I want to understand what is missing from their offer and what they need from a supply partner. That gives us a much better starting point than simply exchanging catalogues.
SIAL brings those two sides of the business together. We are there to turn an interesting product and a good conversation into a clear next step. Bring us the market you want to reach or the category you want to develop. That is where the platform becomes useful!
We connect brands with customers and markets through global trade, distribution in Poland, e-commerce and logistics. We also draw on Vollmart’s retail experience. That is what we mean by The Platform for Global FMCG: the commercial work and the delivery of the product belong in the same conversation.
A manufacturer wants to know where a product can succeed and who will take responsibility for developing it. A buyer wants a relevant offer, dependable availability and a partner who understands the business behind the order. We bring those needs together. Sometimes the right starting point is an export opportunity; sometimes it is Polish distribution or e-commerce through BD24. The route should fit the opportunity.
Our new branding expresses that business more clearly. The useful question for someone meeting us at SIAL is: what do you want to achieve next, and which parts of our platform can help you get there?
What changed as you developed from a trading business into this broader model?
We had to take responsibility for the brand, the channel and the result. Buying and selling well remain essential, but developing a brand requires decisions long before the first order and work long after it.
The strategic choice was to develop a Full Service Distributor model. That connects market assessment, the offer, channel planning, logistics and sales execution. It changes the conversation with a manufacturer. We need to understand the consumer, the role of the product in the category and the work required to support it. Then we can agree on a realistic plan.
It also changes how we judge our own decisions. A promising product can struggle because the price, presentation or channel is wrong. Expanding the offer will not fix that. We have to understand the problem and act on it. I want our team to challenge a weak plan early, while there is still time to improve it.
What does being a family business bring to those relationships?
Continuity matters. You build a name over years, and every commitment carries that name. For me, the difficult part is keeping that sense of personal responsibility as the organisation grows. People need clear roles and the confidence to make decisions. Partners need to know who owns the problem when something goes wrong.
We have held stock, taken responsibility for problems and completed projects as promised even when the easier short-term choice would have been different. Those decisions say more about a company than its presentation.
I also believe a family business has to question its own habits. Experience is valuable when it helps us make a better decision today. It should never be a reason to avoid change. Trust comes from being consistent in our commitments and willing to improve how we deliver them.
How do you decide whether a product is right for a market?
We start with the consumer and the buying occasion. Why would someone choose this product? Where would they expect to find it? What price point and pack size make sense? A recognised brand is a strong starting point, but the local offer still has to work.
Buyers need an assortment that makes commercial sense and supply they can plan around. Consumers want quality, value and convenience. The balance changes between countries and between channels within the same country. A product can be attractive without being right for every route to market.
Takis and Anthon Berg illustrate that well. Takis gives us a distinctive product with a strong appeal to younger consumers. Anthon Berg takes us into premium chocolate and different purchasing occasions. They need different approaches to presentation, assortment and communication. The job is to understand what makes each brand relevant and build around it.
How does your approach change between e-commerce, distribution, export and retail?
Each channel answers different questions. In e-commerce, the product has to be found and understood on a screen. Content, presentation and fulfilment matter. In distribution, the offer has to work in the retailer’s assortment and be supported by reliable supply. Export adds the realities of a different market and the practical work of moving goods across borders. Retail gives us a direct view of the shopper and the point of purchase.
A brand should not be pushed through every channel simply to collect listings. The important question is what the next channel will add. Will it reach a different customer, support another buying occasion or give us a better understanding of demand?
That is why we connect what we learn from these activities. A response seen through BD24 can inform a wider commercial discussion. Experience from distribution or Vollmart can sharpen our understanding of the offer. We still have to judge each opportunity on its own merits; success in one channel is not an automatic instruction to expand everywhere.
Can you give a practical example of how the platform works, without naming a particular customer?
Take a manufacturer considering a new market. The first conversation should establish the objective, the product’s role and what support is available. We can then select an appropriate entry channel and agree on the offer, availability and responsibilities.
Once the product is in the market, we look at the response. If something is not working, we need to distinguish between the product itself and the way it is being sold. The answer might be a different assortment, clearer communication, a price adjustment or a change in availability. It might also be to stop and rethink the proposition.
The benefit of the platform is that those decisions can draw on several connected parts of the business. We can bring the commercial plan, purchasing, inventory and logistics together. The manufacturer has fewer separate conversations to manage, and the buyer has a partner who can discuss the offer and its delivery together. The platform provides a 360° service for anyone looking to take an FMCG product to market, both in Poland and beyond.
What makes a partnership work after the first shipment?
Trust and execution. Both sides should understand the objective, the commitments and the next decision. If those are vague, even a promising start becomes difficult to manage.
Product availability and reliable delivery are fundamental. So is the response when conditions change. I would rather have an early, direct conversation about a problem than a reassuring update that leaves the partner no time to act. The relationship becomes stronger when people can work through a difficult situation together.
For a manufacturer, we stay involved in developing the brand beyond launch. For a buyer, the first order should be the start of a dependable supply relationship. In both cases, trust grows when the next commitment is met. That is how a successful transaction becomes repeat business.
Where do you see the strongest opportunities for BDG and its partners?
We are developing our food business and connecting it more closely with export, Polish distribution and e-commerce. There is room for very different propositions: distinctive products that bring something fresh to a category, established brands with broader market potential, and premium products built around a particular occasion.
I want us to be ambitious about those opportunities and precise about how we pursue them. Adding countries or products is easy to announce. Building a relevant offer, securing availability and supporting it properly takes sustained work and experience. That is where we can be useful to our partners.
We will continue to look for new distribution partners that offer something unique to the consumer and have real expansion plans beyond a quick sale. The commercial case has to be clear: why this product, why this market and why now? When those answers are convincing, we can bring the relevant capabilities together and work on the next stage of growth.
What conversations would you like to have at SIAL?
With manufacturers, I want to discuss where they see potential and what is preventing them from reaching it. They may be looking at Poland, another export market or a different channel. A useful conversation starts with the ambition and the practical challenge behind it.
With buyers, I want to understand what is missing from their offer and what they need from a supply partner. That gives us a much better starting point than simply exchanging catalogues.
SIAL brings those two sides of the business together. We are there to turn an interesting product and a good conversation into a clear next step. Bring us the market you want to reach or the category you want to develop. That is where the platform becomes useful!
