First, an entrepreneur envisioned a B2B platform to connect brands with the right retail buyers. Zifkin envisioned a B2B platform to connect brands with the right retail buyers. Where platforms like Shopify and marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy and eBay help brands get in front of consumers, there is another side of the business: the need for those brands to connect with retail buyers and grow wholesale businesses. They needed to stand out with new products and offer more than the same goods sold by every other retailer in the same niche. In this regard, Hubba is a key disruptor for small businesses and is shaking up both sides of the equation, offering opportunities for independent brands and buyers alike to connect and find the right partners. Unique craft brands breaking free of local markets are now entering the mainstream because customers want to identify with a brand's story. Buyers use data to track trends and discover new products. “I was solely focused on Whole30 and paleo-friendly foods until Hubba showed me this as a new trend. But at the same time, those consumers seem to have boundless love for a great brand story. Distribution networks are key for companies to be able to expand their network; and that's exactly what Hubba did.
First, an entrepreneur envisioned a B2B platform to connect brands with the right retail buyers. Then he founded Hubba.
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The formula to entrepreneurial success is no secret: Identify an unfilled niche and fill it. In 2011, while Ben Zifkin, CEO of Hubba, was searching for a birthday present for his wife, he identified an issue and recognized it as a niche waiting to be filled.
Zifkin envisioned a B2B platform to connect brands with the right retail buyers. The point was to empower a new wave of emerging brands and help them grow in today’s transforming world of commerce. This is how Zifkin came to design Hubba around his original concept and take the site live in 2012. To date, the site has connected with more than 60,000 brands and retailers.
For independent or craft brands, Hubba is like a secret weapon. Where platforms like Shopify and marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy and eBay help brands get in front of consumers, there is another side of the business: the need for those brands to connect with retail buyers and grow wholesale businesses. Hubba is the perfect solution for such companies interested in scaling up and getting their products sold in more locations.
How times have changed
If you were a brand five or 10 years ago, you had two ways of getting started. First, you could create a product in your kitchen, sell it to friends, then try getting orders from local retailers. Or, If you were lucky, you might be discovered by a big retailer at a trade show, which would give you the revenue to quit your job. But, traditionally, for most small brands, it wasn’t easy to scale up.
At the same time, retailers also faced challenges. They needed to stand out with new products and offer more than the same goods sold by every other retailer…
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