Shopify for food and beverage brands with wholesale accounts
Food brands sell singles to consumers and cases to stores, cafés and distributors. Shopify's quantity rules turn the case pack into an increment, and catalogs handle wholesale pricing. What Shopify doesn't do natively is lot and expiry tracking, which matters if your products are on the FDA Food Traceability List. Plan for that before migrating.
Case packs, shelf life and store accounts
| Wholesale reality | Shopify setup | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Cases of 12, ordered in whole cases | Quantity rule: minimum 12, increment 12 | Or sell the case as its own variant with its own SKU |
| Tiered case pricing (1–4 cases, 5+ cases) | Price breaks in the B2B catalog | Breaks are per variant, not across a mixed order |
| Lot numbers and best-by dates | Not native; an inventory or ERP app | Needed for recalls and FIFO picking |
| Cold-chain or expedited shipping only | A shipping profile restricted to overnight/2-day rates | Live carrier rates depend on plan1 |
| Grocery and café accounts on Net 30 | Payment terms per location2 | Credit holds are manual |
| Distributor pricing separate from direct stores | A second B2B catalog | Three catalogs total below Plus3 |
Traceability: what FSMA 204 asks for
The FDA's Food Traceability Rule (FSMA 204) requires firms handling foods on the Food Traceability List to keep Key Data Elements for Critical Tracking Events such as shipping and receiving, tied to a traceability lot code4. Shopify orders record what was shipped and to whom, but not which lot. If your products are on the list, the lot data has to live in a warehouse system or an inventory app that writes lot codes against fulfillments. We'll connect that, not replace it.
Subscriptions on retail, reorders on wholesale
Coffee, tea and snack brands often run subscriptions. These keep working for consumers, but the B2B checkout doesn't support them5, so cafés reorder through the quick order list instead. For most cafés that's the better fit anyway, because their volumes change week to week.
Sizing the move
Food catalogs are usually small, a few dozen products in several pack sizes, so the move itself is quick. The time goes into shipping profiles and the wholesale setup. Try the migration cost calculator, then read whether Shopify suits B2B for the wider picture.
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Tailored Move
Established brands that want the new store to look and sell better than the old one. · 15 business days.
Pay the 50% deposit · $4,450Sources
- Shopify Help Center: Third-party carrier-calculated shipping availability, checked October 22, 2026.
- Shopify Help Center: B2B payment terms, checked October 19, 2026.
- Shopify Help Center: B2B features by plan, checked October 19, 2026.
- U.S. FDA: FSMA Final Rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods, checked October 22, 2026.
- Shopify Help Center: B2B considerations and limitations, checked October 19, 2026.