Questions about Wholesaling and Marketing

I have identified a consumer product that I want to manufacture, package, and import from China to sell in the U.S. Its retail price will only be about $5 or less per unit, so I am not interested in setting up an online business platform for it. Rather, I just want to get the product sold in big-box retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, etc.

I have no contacts with any buyers for these retailers, so I assume my best bet is to go through a distributor who can handle nationwide distribution to the retailers. How do I decide on the "best" distributor for my situation? Or, how do I go about researching this question, other than cold-googling about the topic?



Also, the product is entirely new to the U.S. market, so I will have to conduct an extensive marketing campaign to "educate & inform" the public about it (sorry, not going to discuss the product here).

I am considering all avenues of marketing: online, print, TV, etc. When should I begin marketing? Will a distributor agree to distribute my product without a public demand? (i.e., is a good sales pitch and marketing strategy enough?) Or do I need to market it thoroughly before a distributor will consider it?



I have a degree in engineering ( ), not marketing or business, so all this stuff is new to me.......