This judgment typically comes from actual retail trial feedback. Zeno's case illustrates one approach: by letting a few specialty stores test-sell first, you observe which products truly have word-of-mouth and fast reorders, and which appeal only to specific customer groups. The former suits moving toward channel bulk sales because demand is already verified and scaling carries lower risk; if the latter targets a very concentrated customer base, forcing it into mass distribution might actually dilute brand positioning. The point is, this judgment shouldn't be predetermined before you have market response—let real sales data tell you the answer. Armed with this evidence, when negotiating with distributors you can proactively say "I recommend you push this product line, but we keep that one in specialty channels only," rather than passively letting them take everything.