Faire vs. Mable vs. Purchs: Wholesale Marketplaces for Grocery and Convenience Compared

Wholesale marketplaces all promise the same thing: more retailers for vendors, and easier ordering for stores. Look closer, though, and the costs to get started, the fees on each order and who the platform is really built for vary a lot.

Here's how three marketplaces compare for grocery: Faire, Mable and Purchs. We've looked at where each company is based, what each one offers, what it costs vendors and retailers to get on board, and what they pay once orders start flowing.

At a glance

This comparison reflects publicly available information from each company as of October 30, 2026. Pricing, features and policies change, so please check with each provider for their current terms. This article is published by Purchs.

Faire

Headquarters: San Francisco. Faire is a US company, founded in 2017, and is the largest wholesale marketplace for independent retail.

Who it's for: Independent shops of every kind. Food and drink is one category among many, alongside home decor, beauty, gifts and apparel.

Onboarding costs: Free to join for both brands and retailers. Retailers can add an optional Insider membership at $19.99 a month for free shipping on many brands.

Ongoing fees: Brands pay a 15% commission on orders from retailers Faire introduces, plus a $10 fee on that retailer's first order. Orders from a brand's own customers through its Faire Direct link carry no commission. Faire also charges a payment processing fee that rises if a brand wants to be paid faster.

Best for: Testing new, shelf-stable products with low risk. Retailers get 60-day payment terms and free returns on a first order with any new brand. It isn't built for fast-moving shelf products that need frequent, quick restocking, or for weekly replenishment of fresh and perishable grocery.

Mable

Headquarters: Boston. Mable is a US company founded by a former grocery store owner, focused on food and beverage.

Who it's for: US food and beverage brands selling to independent grocers, convenience stores and specialty retailers. It also powers dropship marketplaces for major US distributors, including McLane, US Foods and UNFI.

Onboarding costs: Free for retailers. Brands pay a $500 one-time setup fee and $450 a year for each distributor marketplace they join, so $950 in the first year.

Ongoing fees: Brands pay a 12.5% commission on orders from buyers Mable brings in, plus a one-time extra 12.5% referral fee on a new retailer's first order. That means 25% on the first order. Orders from a brand's own buyers are commission-free. On the general marketplace, retailers pay up to 25% of the order total in shipping when an order doesn't qualify for free shipping.

Best for: Emerging food and beverage brands trying to reach US grocers and distributor customers without traditional distribution.

Purchs

Headquarters: Ontario, Canada. Purchs is Canadian-owned and built for Canadian grocery and convenience retail.

Who it's for: Grocers and convenience stores ordering from all their suppliers, and Canadian food and beverage vendors who want to reach retailers in the areas they deliver to.

Onboarding costs: Free for retailers. A merchant can sign up and place a first order in under 10 minutes, with no app, login or training required. Vendors can join the marketplace for free.

Ongoing fees: Free marketplace vendors pay no transaction fees, whether the order comes from a retailer Purchs introduced or one of their own. There's no first-order penalty. Paid plans with extra features are available for vendors who want them.

What's different: Grocers can order from any supplier through Purchs, including suppliers who haven't joined yet. Orders can be placed by text or on the web, and Purchs works alongside any point-of-sale system. Its AI order assistant, Purcy, lets stores order by conversation: say what you need, and Purcy finds the products, adds any that aren't listed yet and sends the purchase orders to each supplier. Vendors can also set up custom price lists and assign them to individual customers, and create private catalogs that only assigned customers can see, so the pricing and products each store sees match the deal it actually has. That makes it a tool for everyday replenishment, not just for discovering new brands.

Best for: Canadian grocers and convenience stores who want all their wholesale ordering in one place, and vendors who want to reach more stores without giving up a large cut of each order.

The biggest difference: you don't need the other side

Faire and Mable are two-sided marketplaces. They only work when both the brand and the retailer have signed up. Even when a brand invites its own customers through Faire Direct or Mable's invite program, those customers still have to create accounts before they can order.

Purchs doesn't work that way. A store can use Purchs to order from all its suppliers, including suppliers who have never heard of Purchs. And suppliers can use Purchs before their buyers join. Neither side has to wait for the other, so Purchs is useful from the first day, not only once the network fills in.

Which one fits?

All three are free for retailers, and all three let vendors bring their own customers without paying commission. The real differences are what you pay when the marketplace brings you a new buyer, and whether the platform fits how grocery actually orders.

• If you're a gift, home or lifestyle brand, Faire's reach across independent retail is great.

• If you're an emerging US food or beverage brand looking to get into US distributor programs, Mable is your best option, for now.

• If you're a Canadian grocer, convenience store or food vendor, Purchs is built for you: free to join, no first-order penalty, and stores can order from every supplier they use, not just the ones on the platform.

That "for now" matters. Feature for feature, Purchs gives Mable a real run for its money. Vendors on the Purchs free plan pay no transaction fees and no 25% first-order penalty. Retailers can order by text or web, with no app or training. And stores can order from every supplier they use, including ones that haven't joined yet, which turns Purchs into the place stores do all their ordering, not just a catalogue of new brands. As Purchs grows, that's a combination emerging brands will want to watch.

You can create a free account and place your first order in minutes at purchs.io.

Sources

Pricing and company details as published by each company, checked October 2026. Fees change, so confirm current terms with each platform.

• Faire: How Faire works (fees for brands and retailers)

• Faire: Headquarters in San Francisco

• Mable: How commission works

• Mable: Pricing for brands

• Mable: Cost for retailers

• Mable: Who pays for shipping

• Nosh: How Mable is aiming to ease early-stage distribution struggles

• Purchs: Marketplace launch announcement