Trade PR – your secret weapon for retail distribution and hospitality partnerships

When working with new clients in the retail and hospitality space, we often find that they are laser-focused on reaching consumers. But before a shopper can discover your product on shelf or experience your concept in a restaurant, you need to win over an entirely different audience – the buyers, distributors and decision makers who control access to those consumers.

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PBPR’s Head of Retail and Hospitality Lauren Peters explains why trade PR is not just valuable, but essential, when wanting to reach consumers.

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Opening doors before consumers walk through them 

Think about the journey your brand needs to make. For retail products, you might want buyers at major multiples to stock your range. For hospitality brands, you will want restaurant groups, pub operators and hotel chains to adopt your ingredients, technology or services. These decision-makers are reading The Grocer, Convenience Store, The Caterer and other sector-specific trade publications.

Strategic trade PR creates the awareness and credibility that makes these gatekeepers take your call. When a buyer at a grocery chain has already read about your product, you're not starting from nothing – you're arriving with trusted validation. When a hospitality operator sees your brand featured as an industry innovator, you've already passed the credibility test.

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Building the foundation for consumer success

Here's what brands can miss: consumer PR only works if consumers can actually access your product or experience. You can generate all the buzz in the world, but if your product isn't stocked by retailers or your service isn't adopted by operators, that demand hits a brick wall.

Trade PR creates the essential foundation. It influences distribution decisions, supports buyer conversations, and demonstrates market readiness. It shows potential stockists that you're serious, credible, and worth the shelf space or partnership investment. 

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The digital advantage

Beyond opening commercial doors, trade PR delivers something increasingly crucial: digital authority. Quality online trade coverage builds your website's SEO strength through authoritative backlinks and industry mentions. In an age where buyers and partners research brands online before making contact, your digital footprint matters enormously.

And as AI-powered search transforms how people find information, trade coverage increases the chance of your brand appearing in AI-generated results. When a buyer asks ChatGPT or Perplexity about innovative brands in your category, a strong trade presence increases the likelihood you'll feature in that answer. 

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The trust factor

Earned trade coverage provides something money can't buy through advertising alone: third-party validation. When respected trade journalists cover your story, interview your leadership, or feature your insights, they're lending their credibility to your brand. This builds industry trust in a way that paid content simply cannot replicate.

For prospective clients reading this, the question isn't whether you can afford to invest in trade PR – it's whether you can afford not to. While your competitors are building industry credibility, influencing distribution decisions, and establishing digital authority, where will your brand be?

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Trade PR is the strategic foundation that makes everything else possible. It's how you win the business before you win the customer.

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