Route to Market(RTM)

Route to Market (RTM) is the path a brand's product takes from manufacturer to consumer. It is the strategic answer to "how does this product physically reach a buyer," combining channel mix, distribution model, and partner network.

Common CPG routes:

• Direct to retailer warehouse: manufacturer ships to a retailer DC, retailer distributes to its own stores. Lowest cost-to-serve, longest time-to-shelf.
• DSD: manufacturer delivers store-by-store. Faster, higher cost.
• Master distributor / broker network: an intermediary holds inventory and resells. Standard for the natural channel via UNFI, KeHE.
• Foodservice broker / GPO: brokers carry the brand into restaurants, hotels, schools via group purchasing organizations.
• DTC / e-commerce: Shopify, Amazon, marketplaces.
• International: importer / distributor network in each country.

Most growing CPG brands run three or four routes in parallel. The decision that matters is the mix, and how to keep the channels from cannibalizing each other on price.

Route economics drive the decision. A brand with a 60% gross margin can afford the cost of DSD; a brand at 35% probably can't. A brand betting on a velocity story in conventional grocery needs to be on the retailer-DC route; a brand betting on a discovery story needs to be in the natural channel with sampling baked in.

Roles where this matters: Sales, GM, Supply Chain, Channel Strategy.