In my opinion, Brand Owners would benefit from doing some of the following:
Understand that nobody is waiting for one's brand to be available; the market is likely already saturated or close to it, especially in the US. Every brand/product on the planet is either already there or trying to enter the market right now.
Learn about the market, its organizations (tiers), and margin structures.
Being successful in Germany, Australia, or Belgium is great. It means nothing about how the brand will fare in the US.
Define your Global Suggested Retail Price point (GSRP) for the Product.
This is the suggested retail price one's product should be sold for at shops/retailers around the world, should the stuff be available worldwide. Seeing widely different price points for the same thing on sites such as wine-searcher.com is not helping anyone.
Walk back from said GSRP for each target market based on said market's structure, to define how much one needs to sell the Product to the Importer.
Inevitably some markets will see higher profits than others, the home market often being one of them. This means that with a three- and in some states, a 4-tier system, one would realize that one's home market prices are likely too low to not see the US retail be 3 or 4 times that amount.
Identify which product or line of products will likely be a good fit for the market.
Too many items may be a hindrance; too few might turn off the Importer and/or wholesaler (too much work for only one SKU). Ideally, each product occupies a specific need/price point/has a well-defined individual story.
Where does said product(s) fit in the market (retail? cocktail?) in one's mind.
Does reality fit with the intended use (is this item replenishable? is its price point in the target market suitable for cocktails? etc…)
Answers can be provided by prospective import partners as well as any actors with actual market experience (operators such as bars, restaurants, or retailers).
Trademark the brand name in the market.
Ideally, the brand is relatively easy to pronounce; one is aware of whether it could have a meaning in the language spoken in the export market. Research as to the existence of similar brands in the same category (beer/wine/spirits) in the market might be helpful: the brand will need to be registered via the TTB for importation to the US. If a similar brand already exists in the market, it might object to the registration.
What are one's sales projections for the market (after the intro period, e.g., in year 2 or 3)?
How much margin does this represent for the Brand Owner?
For the Importer?
For the Wholesaler?
Based on volume projections and margins, assess how hard people might want to fight to promote/sell the product(s).
A single SKU of a niche product, which will require time and efforts to likely sell 100 cases in year one and generate 6K in profits for the importer (or wholesaler), might be a hard sell.
Meanwhile, saturate one's home market.
Network with the expats (bartenders/buyers/influencers) who live in one's home market and are coming from the target country.
Bring value, be nice, be helpful, create genuine relationships; don't try to sell anything.
Ask those you have become tight with if they are willing to make introductions with some of their fellow nationals in the trade.
Send samples, get people to come visit, have them have a good time. Build trust and mutual respect.
Build brand recognition over diverse social media platforms by using day-to-day, behind-the-scenes wins, knowledge about a region/category/production, etc., as content.
Research importers: the importer's network of wholesalers and the ability & willingness of each importer and wholesaler to tell the story/fight the fight is key to success.
Approach importers with one's understanding of the market, clear & realistic goals, and an established network of friends.
Talk to several potential importers, ask questions, have the importer come up with what she thinks are realistic numbers, show that you are informed, learn from these conversations, identify the people you naturally click with.
Compare one's goals/ambitions/business plan to the Importer's assessment.
Be aware that the strategy of having several importers for the market might seem safer from the outside as one doesn't have all one's eggs in one basket. Yet it is likely to:
Be time-consuming to manage many relationships
Lead to price discrepancies on the territory
Create a situation where an importer who is supposed to only be selling in specific markets might eventually start selling in a state she is not supposed to, leading to one's product being available in the same state via several wholesalers (which might be legal or not, depending on the state) and at different price points. It is upsetting to many and does not look professional.
Make national chain retail plays virtually impossible
Make it hard or impossible to move to one single importer for the territory
The secrets to maybe becoming successful are: the right import & wholesale partners and a lot of PATIENCE.