Distribution & Channels
Wanna know what drives drinks sales? No, it's not brand love It's margins. There's a reason why they are called "links" in a value chain. They are connected to one another and they don't survive alone. If one link gets too fat, it breaks the next one. A healthy chain
Outlet Segmentation
My 5-step process to improve your approach to selling to on-premise outlets. By adopting this hunting process, you’ll spend time better. You’ll likely increase your strike rate in the right outlets.
Distribution & Channels
"Distribution Sells": worst quote ever read in a boardroom. That's the recipe for another dusty bottle on the shelf. Pushing brands is not sustainable. My 4 reflections:👇🏻 I've often got stuck in meeting rooms discussing if we should drive distribution or ROS (Rate of Sale or Velocity). The two aspects
Distribution & Channels
99% of new drinks brands don’t put enough attention to distribution. They assume: * a strong brand is enough to sell. * their award-winning liquid will stand out. * they have connections to get listings in bars. Too much time spent in the echo chamber. Not enough time cracking what moves bottles.
Distribution & Channels
How important is the last mile in drinks brands’ distribution? Drinks sales velocity is like your internet connection speed. What matters is the speed at the end, not at the start: You know when your connection is slow but you thought you had broadband? Broadband might have reached your neighborhood.
Drinks brand building
Why do brands / distributors relationships often fail? Because they are approached like dating. Intros are made by friends or SoMe, based on look and attitude. What about starting from aligned objectives? Where do you want to be with your brand in 5 years? Do you want to be a premium
Distributors / RTM (Route to market)
Don't look for an importer that can get you in a bar. Understand which bars you want to be in and work it backwards. We tend to think top down Think bottom up: Look at your brand with the customers' eyes. If you don't know it well enough, you cannot
Distribution & Channels
Be careful what you wish for. The channel-mix is the litmus test of profitability. Here is what I've learned and my advice: Very often, a brand in a new market struggles with sales. Usually a wrong target-setting has made your budget unreachable. Chased by stakeholders one goes for the "easy
Distribution & Channels
Should I sell it to them? Will it ruin my brand's image? Ask yourself these 2 questions👇🏻 : You are about to enter the outlet, you know they want it but: * will they want a discount? * will they manage to sell-out? If you don't discount it to sell it in, and
Distribution & Channels
I remember a trade visit in a supermarket in a new market, time ago. The sales rep told me that the key SKU in there were bottles. Really? I asked, while picking a can and a bottle from the shelf: The bottle was full of dust. The can was clean.
Distribution & Channels
"Distribution Sells": worst quote ever read in a distributor's boardroom. That's the recipe for another dusty bottle on the shelf. Pushing brands is not sustainable. My 4 reflections:👇🏻 I've often got stuck in meeting rooms discussing if we should drive distribution or ROS (Rate of Sale or Velocity). The two
Distribution & Channels
Often volume doesn't mean value growth Can your brand afford those supermarket shelf prices? Brands are built bottom up. So are shelf prices and promos. Is the value fairly shared along the chain? I doubt it. When the product is perishable, off-trade is seen as the silver bullet for that.
Off trade
Yes, but...with big caveats. I used to think not. Then I realized that the issue was not the channel, it was pricing and pace. My approach has then changed: off-trade is seen as a big bulk but it has different segments (image and pricing). Clear rules of engagement and