For years, Indiaˇs consumer goods companies have leaned disproportionately on advertising as their primary route to brand building. Year after year, crores are poured into television, digital, print, outdoor, and radio advertising with the belief that visibility alone drives consumer preference. Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brands still spend thousands of crores annually, including ¹36,084 crore(1) in 2025 alone, despite advertising becoming more expensive and less effective. Audiences are splintered across platforms,/digital costs are rising, and consumers increasingly skip or ignore advertisements. Meanwhile, competition is intensifying, and margins across the value chain, including manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, are under severe pressure. Yet even as companies continue to invest heavily in media, the other essential lever of sales,  distribution, often receives far less strategic attention. Many brands assume that strong advertising will automatically translate into sales, overlooking the fact that in many FMCG categories, the real decision is made not on a screen but on the shop floor. Advertising creates intent and 'pull', while distribution determines whether that intent converts into a sale. Even if a customer wants to buy the product, if it is not available, there is no sale. And some brands have understood this truth.<h3> Distribution as a powerful brand-building lever</h3>Balaji Wafers and DOMS pencils demonstrate how distribution, when designed and executed well, can become a brand builder in its own right, even in the absence of heavy advertising. Their growth challenges the conventional assumption that mass-media visibility is a prerequisite(for scale.Balaji Wafers, founded in Gujarat, built a multi-thousand-crore snack powerhouse with almost no mass-media presence. Instead, it focused obsessively on reach, freshness, and replenishment.(Its network of >1,200 distributors serves >4,50,000 retailers, with restocking cycles as frequent(as twice a week. The result: near-zero stockouts, fresher products than competitors, and extraordinary retailer loyalty. In states like Gujarat and Maharashtra, Balaji commands a market share of >60% because the brand has always been present, reliably, visibly, and at the right price. In Kirana stores and snack counters, its physical presence became its advertising.DOMS followed a similar path in stationery. Instead of relying on campaigns, the company(built an unmatched distribution footprint of 1,25,000 retail points, 4,750 distributors,(125 super-stockists, and coupled it with deep penetration into school supply ecosystems.(This distribution strength allows children to encounter DOMS at the precise moment they need pencils or geometry boxes, in nearby stationery shops, school counters, and local retail stores. The result: ~29% market share in pencils and leadership across several stationery categories, achieved largely without mass-media spending. Its omnipresence built familiarity, and that familiarity, in turn, built trust. <h3>Distribution as a driver of organic brand growth</h3>The success of these brands demonstrates that strong distribution is not just an enabler of sales; it is fundamental to building a brand. This does not mean advertising is unnecessary. In the early phase of a new product launch, advertising plays a critical role for creating market pull and helping the product secure acceptance at retail. However, once the product is established, distribution often becomes the more dominant driver of sustained growth.Brands that recognise this shift, anchor their success in reliable availability and visibility at the point of purchase, where buying decisions are actually made. In many Indian categories, consumers make their purchase decisions on the shop floor rather than before entering the store. That makes uninterrupted availability and strong in-store presence, built on distribution excellence, far more influential than any advertisement. <h3>High-frequency replenishment: The hidden enabler</h3>Consistent availability across the market is best achieved through high-frequency replenishment. Frequent restocking keeps products fresh, prevents stockouts, and reduces the working capital burden on retailers. When retailers experience smooth and profitable inventory cycles, their confidence in the brand increases, prompting them to allocate better shelf space and(in-store visibility.Consumers, in turn, encounter the brand repeatedly on the shelf. These consistent, everyday touchpoints build familiarity and trust, often more effectively than traditional advertising.(For instance, Balaji Wafersˇ sachets displayed prominently at the storefront reinforce brand presence more powerfully than repeated advertisements, at virtually no cost. When a brand delivers higher returns, retailers are naturally more willing to support such cost-effective(point-of-sale (POS) visibility initiatives.However, high-frequency replenishment at the store is not possible unless the entire distribution system is designed to support it. This requires an end-to-end pull-based replenishment model rather than a push-based model. In a pull-based system, replenishment is triggered by actual offtake at the retailer, with inventory moving through the distribution channel in smaller,(more frequent lots. Each node in the network carries a lower inventory, yet shelf availability remains high.This design achieves a powerful outcome: high availability with low inventory across the system. Retailers avoid overstocking, distributors improve inventory turns, and manufacturers gain clearer demand signals, reducing forecasting errors and supply volatility. <h3>Conclusion: Distribution as strategy, not support</h3>In todayˇs market, where media returns are flattening and cost pressures are rising, distribution is no longer merely operational plumbing. It is a competitive advantage and a brand strategy./However, this approach works most naturally for companies that adopted high-frequency replenishment model across their distribution network as their default operating model from the very beginning. For them, leveraging distribution for brand building is intuitive and scalable.For companies entrenched in low-frequency replenishment models, where sales are driven by large, infrequent pushes and high inventory per transaction, the transition is significantly more difficult. Correcting channel inventory, changing sales incentives, reworking distributor economics, and rebuilding replenishment rhythms require significant organisational and cultural change. This inertia explains why smaller, nimbler players often find it easier to disrupt markets, while larger incumbents remain stuck in their own legacy models.

Key Takeaways

Advertising is becoming more expensive, and effectiveness is becoming a challenge. Discover how some brands have built market-leading status by prioritising distribution excellence over traditional mass-media ads.

Building brands by leveraging distribution

Problem Brands over-rely on advertising to build preference, ignoring that brands are actually formed at the shelf, where inconsistent availability breaks trust and kills repeat purchase. Solution Strong distribution—wide reach, high-frequency replenishment, and pull-based availability—turns physical presence into a brand-building engine by ensuring the product is always seen, chosen, and repurchased. Benefits Repeated shelf-level encounters create familiarity and habit, improve retailer support and visibility, and build durable brand equity with far lower dependence on advertising.

Advertising is getting expensive and effectiveness is becoming a challenge. Discover how some brands use high-frequency replenishment and distribution to build market leadership.

Let's Empower Growth