Digital Strategy for a Regional Wine Distributor

Overview

A mid-sized wine importer and wholesale distributor in Washington State was starting to feel that their existing digital presence wasn’t keeping up with the reality of their business.

They were already established in a major Pacific Northwest hospitality market, supplying independent restaurants, wine bars, and specialty retailers with a portfolio focused on European imports plus selected local producers. But the way this offer was presented and accessed online didn’t match how their buyers actually work.

Internally, the situation was first framed as a need for “a new website.” However, once we looked at their market, buyers, and operational constraints, it became clear the leverage point wasn’t a cosmetic rebuild, but a focused trade-only strategy and system.

For that strategy to be useful, it had to deliver:

• A clear position in a consolidating market.
• A trade-only environment that actually helps buyers work.
• A single structured catalog powering search, filters, and availability.
• A way to gate pricing to verified trade accounts.
• A measurement layer to see what their buyers really want.

Challenge

Through structured research with B2B wine buyers (restaurants, wine bars, retailers), we heard consistent themes:

• No real “middle” distributor – buyers felt stuck between giant wholesalers and tiny importers.
• Anxiety about stock, logistics, and communication.
• Pricing pressure, distrust, and a sense of being treated worse than chains.
• Lists starting to look the same, with extra complexity needed to stand out.
• Reps seen as order-takers rather than partners.

A scan of regional competitors showed a similar pattern: strong portals at national players, “good enough” digital tools among regionals, and minimal tooling (static sites, PDFs, locked catalogs) among local independents.

At the same time, the client had to remain strictly trade-only, keep pricing non-public, and was running their catalog out of spreadsheets and PDFs.

They needed a “Goldilocks” position—big enough to be reliable, small enough to be personal—and a digital system that embodied that for independent buyers.

Strategy

The strategy focused on three things:

• how the distributor should be positioned in a consolidating market,
• which buyers the system should be designed around,
• and what specific jobs the trade-only environment needed to perform.

Positioning and ideal clients

We recommended positioning them as:

The mid-sized, tech-forward wine distributor for Washington-licensed independents, with a curated portfolio, a live trade-only catalog, and high-touch local service.

We designed around three primary client profiles:

• Independent wine shops & specialty retailers – want unique, hand-sellable wines, clear availability, reliable restock information, and strong producer stories.
• Chef-driven and owner-operated restaurants – need wines that fit the concept and menu, dependable BTG options, and proactive advice on list design.
• Wine-focused bars & flexible hospitality groups – need a balance of safe and adventurous wines, plus quick visibility into what’s newly available or back in stock.

The job of the system

This position and these profiles defined what the digital environment needed to do:

• Help WA-licensed buyers find suitable wines quickly.
• Make it easy to request pricing and start a relationship.
• Keep information and availability up to date from a single source of truth.
• Tell a clear, confident story about who the distributor is and who they serve.

System Design

Instead of treating this as “a website project”, we designed a trade-only system built on three core elements:

1. Structured catalog as a single source of truth

   • Replace scattered spreadsheets/PDFs with a single catalog that drives search, filters, availability status, and highlights such as “New” and “Back in Stock”.
   • This directly addresses stock/logistics anxiety and reduces internal maintenance overhead.

2. Trade-only onboarding and pricing gating

   • A focused onboarding flow that collects business and license details, interest areas, and delivery information.
   • Clear expectations around verification and next steps, while keeping pricing properly gated to verified trade accounts.

3. Features aligned to real buyer behavior

   • A catalog experience tuned to how independents actually search and shortlist wines.
   • A dedicated “New & Back in Stock” highlight that surfaces what matters most for planning menus and lists.
   • A “Request Price & Availability” path from the catalog and product views instead of generic contact forms.

Underneath, an analytics layer tracks:

• Search and filter usage (what buyers are really trying to find).
• Key conversion events (onboarding, price/availability requests).
• Outcomes such as qualified accounts and inquiry rates from catalog use.

This turns the site into a feedback loop between buyer behavior and future business decisions.

Results

The strategy is being implemented as:

• A trade-only, catalog-driven environment synced to a single product data source.
• A structured onboarding and pricing-gating flow aligned with compliance.
• A measurement setup that reflects how independent buyers actually use the system.

For the distributor, this means:

• A clear, defensible position as the mid-sized, tech-forward partner for independent restaurants and retailers.
• A practical tool that supports day-to-day buying work, not just a brochure site.
• Real usage data they can use to refine their portfolio and future digital features.