The Benefit of Using a Beverage Distributor to Place Your Product
The consumption of alcoholic beverages has long been a pastime in America, making the beverage industry a lucrative one for aspiring business owners. While the beverage industry offers some exceptional opportunities for breweries, wineries and importers, it can be quite the challenge for these entities to effectively place their products with substantial reach. In simple, there are far too many channels and individual players for the average beverage producer to effectively manage distribution in an efficacious manner, without literally creating their own distribution division, which can be costly and time consuming. Beverage distributors play and major role in the effective distribution of alcoholic beverages through multiple distribution channels, and beverage distributors are the most viable option for breweries and importers to ensure that they get their products placed.
Expansive Availability
Much like the food industry, availability is a key element in the marketing process. In order to be effective in the marketing process, businesses have to be able to engage and interact with the consumer on some level. When it comes to beverage distribution, it is important to understand that the there are two tiers of customers that must be reached. The first tier is the retailer, which may exist in the form of a traditional retailer, such as a liquor store or grocery store, or it can be a bar or restaurants.
Availability is essential to the marketing process, because without making the product available, product awareness will have little effect. Working with beverage distributors will allow breweries, wineries and importers to leverage the multiple distribution channels used by the distributor to effectively and strategically place their products where it will most likely be accessible by the target audience.
While some beverage producers attempt to use a more direct approach to distributing their products, they generally find it to be counterproductive. They do gain more freedom over how the process is carried out, but they lose the range and exposure that is afforded to them through the multitudinous distribution channels that distributors work hard to create and maintain.
Independent beverage distributors are licensed by the state and federal governments for the purpose of distributing alcoholic beverages, and they also distribute other non-alcoholic beverages as well. These distributors have developed channels through which they are able to get the products of beverage importers and breweries on the shelves of stores and bars that service their target audience.
Proper Presentation and Representation
Because of the expansive and detailed process of placing beverages with retailers, it can be difficult for the beverage producer to maintain control over presentation, image and overall brand representation. Fortunately, distributors have representatives that work with the retail element to discuss the nuances of the product. While taste speaks for itself, understanding the manner in which the producer wants their product presented and represented contributes to brand recognition, which helps in the marketing aspect of the distribution process.
Many times, distributor representatives will take new beverages to the retailer and offer free samples. This is very common at bars, and it is becoming more frequent at grocery and liquor stores. The free samples do not always lead to an immediate purchase by a consumer, but what it does is increase consumer awareness as for as the product is concerned — rendering future marketing efforts more effective
We understand the importance of creating an individualized distribution strategy based on your specific needs. While some of our clients may want maximum exposure, we understand that you may want to be more selective as to where your product is sold. We can also help you manage inventory and supply, so that you will have more control of value and processing in your market. This process of value manipulation will allow you to have a significant amount of influence on how your brand is perceived. If you want your product to be accessible to everyone and viewed as the average man’s beer, we have the capacity to make it more accessible. However, if you want it to be a more selective brand, we have distribution channels that are more exclusive.
We believe in working with our clients throughout the entire process, whether it be to facilitate a specific promotion or to increase the distribution volume, we will work to ensure that your distribution and placement needs are met. If you are like most of our clients, you have more than one product to distribute, so you will require a complex plan that takes each product and target audience into consideration. If you happen to be a new startup, this entire process can seem somewhat overwhelming to you. All you know is that you have a product that you believe in, and you need to get it out in front of the right people, well, this is something that we can do for you. Regardless of the volume and specific requirements you have, we can help. Contact one of our distribution specialists as soon as possible in order to schedule a consultation.