The Northern California tech company, Merchant23, announced today that their platform now allows wineries, distilleries, breweries and importers to sell their products direct-to-trade in all 50 states.
Through Merchant23’s nationwide network of clearing distributors, any seller can offer their wholesale products to any licensed buyer in the U.S., the company says.
“Our goal is that any seller who has an interested buyer, whether it be at a trade show or in their own tasting room, they should be able to sell to them,” says Jacob Moynihan, CEO of Merchant23. “Thanks to our supply chain, logistics, and distribution partners, a seller never has to turn down a PO again.”
Sellers wishing to sell through the Merchant23 platform have two options; they can use Merchant23’s clearing distributors for single orders or they can upload products to the live marketplace.
The Merchant23 marketplace is an online ‘catalog’ that displays all products listed by sellers. Any buyer with an ABC license number can create an account, view wholesale pricing, message the seller and place an order. Merchant23 handles all logistics and facilitates distribution, and assists sellers with necessary state compliance.
The Merchant23 platform is free. It does not cost anything to create an account. A transaction fee, distribution fee and shipping fee are built on top of the seller’s FOB prices before being offered to buyers.
Merchant23 does not buy or take title of products: they belong to the seller until a PO is created.
When Merchant23 launched in January of 2016, their platform was only available for direct-to-trade wine sales.
