Featured Program · By Application

Brand Incubator

A growth seat for emerging brands.

Dedicated sales, full merchandising, weekly reporting, and consignment terms — for brands ready to move from "we'd love to be in stores" to "we have velocity data."

Why we built this

Most distributors take your pallet and lose interest the second the invoice clears.

The Incubator flips that. We don't get paid until your product sells through — which means we're the only distributor whose paycheck depends on moving your case off the shelf.

You get a dedicated business development rep, prioritized placement in our Western PA accounts, full merchandising and demo execution, and a weekly UPC-level scorecard most distributors won't share. You don't write a check for inventory we haven't moved.

The full program

What you get.

Dedicated business development rep

One point of contact for sell-in, account management, and category strategy. Not a routing menu. Not a different rep every week.

Prioritized placement

Your product moves to the front of the line for our Western PA account base — grocery, specialty, and independents across the metro and surrounding counties.

Direct buyer access

Category-manager pitch meetings within our account network, walked in and prepped by the FC team — not cold-emailed from a list.

Full merchandising and activation

Shelf sets, secondary displays, void recovery, demos, and store activations, with conversion tracked on every event.

Weekly UPC-level scorecard

Sell-through by store, voids, reorder velocity, and demo ROI. Delivered Monday mornings. Yours to keep — bring it to your next national pitch.

Peer cohort, capped at four

A Slack channel with the other founders in your cohort, monthly cohort dinner at the FC warehouse, and a Demo Day with invited buyers.

Press at announcement and Demo Day

Cohort selection covered in industry trade media and local food press as part of the program.

Consignment terms

You don't invoice us until your product sells through. We carry zero payment to you until your case clears the shelf — which means we're motivated to move it.

Investment

$5,000 a month. Less than a part-time rep.

The Incubator costs less than the cheapest version of what you'd otherwise build yourself — and includes the truck, the relationships, the demos, and the data.

What you'd build yourself Monthly cost What you actually get
Part-time broker $3,000–4,000 Introductions only, no execution
In-house junior sales rep $6,000–8,000+ 90 days to first placement, no truck
Merchandising service $1,000–2,000 No selling, no buyer access
Demo agency $500–1,500 Activation only, no sell-in
DIY total $10,500–15,500 Fragmented, no single owner
Full Circle Incubator $5,000 All of the above, one accountable team, full DSD

Program fee

$5,000 per month.

Consignment

Invoice us only after sell-through.

Term

6-month minimum, fit review at month 4.

The path out

The Incubator is a chapter, not a subscription.

Brands graduate to Full Circle's standard distribution book — same accounts, standard terms — once velocity, reorder rate, and program economics clear our internal thresholds. At graduation, every account relationship transfers with you. Full Circle retains right of first refusal on expanded territory.

How to get in

Four brands per cohort. By application.

We say no more than we say yes. One business development rep cannot carry a full book of incubator brands and do this job right. Selection criteria: brand fit with our accounts, category traction, and founder coachability.

Apply

Tell us about your brand.

30-minute fit call after we review. Yes or no within 7 days.

Questions? Call (724) 275-1068

Common questions

Things founders ask.

How is this different from hiring a broker?

Brokers introduce. They don't carry inventory, don't merchandise, don't run demos, and don't deliver weekly UPC-level data. They get paid on commission whether your product sells through or not. We get paid only when it does.

What if my product doesn't move?

We give you a fit review at month 4. If sell-through isn't there by month 6, we exit cleanly — no further obligation, your inventory comes back to you.

Can I keep my other distributors outside Western PA?

Yes. The Incubator covers Western PA only. Your relationships everywhere else are your business.

Do you take brands from any category?

We work primarily in beverage, snack, confection, and adjacent CPG. If you're in a category we don't service, we'll tell you on the fit call rather than waste your time.

How early is too early?

If you're pre-product, you're too early. If you have product, packaging, and FDA compliance buttoned up — even with limited distribution — we can work with you.

What happens at graduation?

You roll into Full Circle's standard distribution book at standard terms, with every account relationship intact. We retain right of first refusal on expanded territory.

This is what a distribution partner should look like.