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Matt Herman, Founder & CEO and Krishen Jani, Chief Operating OfficerFor an emerging spirits brand, entering the U.S. market can be expensive before the first major sale is made. Building a sales team, finding the right distributors, reaching retailers and creating consumer demand all require significant investment and resources. TSL Brands was built to help brands handle those demands without having to build the entire commercial operation themselves.
The company brings independently owned brands into a shared sales organization. Each brand remains independent, while the sales team can present several products to a retailer or buyer in one conversation. For smaller brands, the model provides access to sales experience and market coverage that would otherwise require a significant investment.
“There are really exciting brands out there that deserve time and attention. TSL Brands gives these small brands a chance to enter a region at a reasonable cost,” says Matt Herman, Founder & CEO.
Testing the Market Before Going Wide
TSL does not treat distribution as a numbers game. Rather than sending a product into as many markets as possible and waiting to see what works, it looks for early signs of consumer interest.
Michelle Wang, Chief of Staff and Rocco Farello, Vice President of Strategic Retail
The level of support also depends on where a brand starts. TSL works with companies that have never entered the U.S., those that have entered the country but not California and brands already in California that need to reconsider their approach. A company with its own D2C or chain-sales team may need selected support, while an international brand without a U.S. operation may need a broader commercial function.
That work can include commercial planning, distributor relationships, import processes and route-to-market planning. TSL also works with Park Street in states where distributors are not looking to expand their portfolios “We have found Park Street to be very reliable distribution partners in CA” says Krishen Jani, TSL Chief Operating Officer.
Getting on the Shelf Is Only the Start
Distribution alone does not guarantee that a product will sell. TSL places equal weight on consumer awareness and brand building. Securing new points of distribution (POD’s) without consumer pull is not good for the brand or the retailer.
The same thinking shapes its marketing approach. Brands need to understand who they want to reach, where those consumers discover new products and how they shop. For some audiences, digital channels may matter more. For others, PR and traditional media can still play a role. The point is to meet consumers where discovery is already happening.
James Gin provides a clear example. The UK-based gin brand had built strong D2C sales before turning to TSL for help expanding into the United States. TSL took responsibility for the U.S. strategy, worked with the brand on a marketing plan and helped establish relationships with Total Wine, BevMo! and other regional retailers. The partnership is now moving toward a national distribution strategy, with the brand recently being accepted by Ralphs/Kroger (SoCal), ABC Fine Wine & Spirits (FL) and Raley’s/Nob Hill/Bel Air (NorCal), “Each chain has unique levers that drive sales” notes Rocco Farello, VP of Strategic Retail “it’s our job to identify those opportunities, develop a plan and execute it”.
Growth targets remain part of TSL’s commercial planning. The company considers 10 to 25 percent growth significant in California’s current environment, while some smaller brands are on track to double their business.
The market ahead is likely to demand more discipline. TSL expects distributor changes, tariffs and years of crowded competition to put greater pressure on emerging brands to have a clear growth plan. Its long-term goal of becoming a portfolio house would build on the shared model by creating stronger relationships across its brands and distributor network.
TSL Brands brings sales expertise, market testing, distribution and consumer marketing together to give emerging spirits brands a more considered path to growth. Rather than pushing brands into every market, it helps them figure out where the opportunity is and build from there. That work has earned TSL recognition as the Top Spirits Brand Growth and Distribution Agency 2026, with the company now looking to take more promising brands further.
How Emerging Spirits Brands Should Approach Distribution
For emerging spirits brands, distribution can absorb capital long before repeat demand is visible. Building a sales presence across several states and securing distributor attention can outpace a young brand’s resources. Consumer demand creates a separate burden because shelf access does not guarantee movement. The real buying decision is whether an agency can judge where demand is credible and pace market entry around sustained sell-through.
Market selection should be tied to evidence rather than broad geographic ambition. Direct-to-consumer sales and advertising response can reveal where a product already resonates before major trade spending begins. Those signals become more useful when read alongside established market data and retailer feedback, helping brands decide where distributor conversations deserve time and where expansion should wait. An agency that pushes wide distribution without testing demand can leave a brand carrying inventory in markets that were never commercially convincing.
Distributor access carries a different constraint. Emerging brands often lack the volume or existing relationships that make them a priority for large distributors, particularly when distributor capacity is tight. Buyers should look closely at how an agency approaches distributor relationships and route-to-market planning, including whether it can adjust its involvement to the brand’s starting point. A foreign producer without a U.S. structure may need broader commercial support than a brand that already has direct-to-consumer sales or chain relationships. Import requirements and state-level distribution options can also affect how quickly expansion becomes practical. An agency should be able to work within those boundaries rather than forcing every brand through the same market-entry sequence. A fixed service model can create cost without solving the actual gap.
“TSL Brands’ approach uses digital demand signals alongside established market data before committing heavily to physical distribution.”
Commercial coverage deserves equal scrutiny because outsourced sales is often chosen to avoid recreating a full internal team. Reach alone is not enough. Decision-makers need to understand how an agency gets products in front of retailers and how frequently accounts are worked. They should also assess whether several brands can be represented without diluting attention. Shared representation can be useful when it gives buyers access to complementary products in one conversation, but only if individual brands still receive adequate commercial focus. The useful model is one that gives a smaller brand credible market access while keeping staffing commitments proportionate to proven demand.
Shelf placement also needs to be separated from consumer demand. Retail authorization has limited value if shoppers do not know the brand or have no reason to choose it. Effective agencies should connect commercial planning with a clear view of how target consumers discover products and where purchase decisions are influenced. Digital channels may carry more weight for some audiences, while public relations or traditional media can matter more for others. The relevant measure is whether marketing activity follows the same market priorities guiding distribution rather than running on a separate campaign calendar.
TSL Brands combines shared sales coverage with market testing and route-to-market support for emerging spirits brands entering or expanding in the U.S. It can scale its involvement according to a brand’s existing commercial structure, from selected market support to a broader U.S. function. TSL Brands’ approach uses digital demand signals alongside established market data before committing heavily to physical distribution. It also connects distributor relationships with consumer marketing, keeping shelf access tied to demand creation rather than treating placement as the finish line. For brands that need disciplined market entry without building a full internal sales organization, that model makes TSL Brands a practical agency to consider.
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Company :
TSL Brands
Management Matt Herman, Founder & CEO and Krishen Jani, Chief Operating Officer
Michelle Wang, Chief of Staff and Rocco Farello, Vice President of Strategic Retail
Description
TSL Brands is a spirits growth and distribution agency that helps emerging and established beverage brands expand their presence in the U.S. market. Through strategic planning, sales execution, distributor partnerships and data-driven market development, the company enables brands to identify growth opportunities, strengthen retail presence and build sustainable consumer demand.
