Introduction
As a young entrepreneur who has successfully set up several start-ups in various industries, I always look for something fun and exciting. A few years back, I found my calling in the beverage industry. When I decided to set up my own beverage company, I must admit that I had absolutely no experience in the food and beverage industry, and neither did I have any friends who worked in this business.
One of the most exciting parts of this journey was the process of researching, learning, and carrying out several trials, which finally helped me succeed. I found insufficient information on the web regarding the Beverage industry during my research. Most of the information provided online is either by websites selling private labelling services or offering private consultations without real on-the-job experience. These online companies are just as good as any other marketing gimmick.
Over the past few years, I have realised that many entrepreneurs are interested in the beverage manufacturing niche and set up their businesses without proper understanding or information. Therefore, I have decided to share my first-hand experience with like-minded entrepreneurs who wish to enter the beverage business and set up their brands. In this book, you will have access to all the information – from entering the beverage business to ensuring that you successfully set up your brand.
Everyone makes mistakes. It is as natural as breathing, but learning from them is what makes progress. I want to share them all in this book to give you a clearer picture of how I finally set up my successful beverage business.
Being in this business has allowed me to interact with and mentor several entrepreneurs, and I realised that most of them make the same mistakes while launching their beverage businesses. This guide will help you avoid those mistakes and ensure you spend your time and money productively. Though I encourage people to embrace the trial-and-error method, it can be expensive, especially in the food and beverage industry.
Some of the common mistakes include:
- Inadequate market research and analysis
- Weak marketing strategy
- Lack of sufficient finances
- Inefficient investors
Always remember that learning and experience are the key to a successful business!
Is your brand ready for e-commerce?
ost the Covid-19 pandemic, our lives and perspectives have changed immensely. During this period, e-commerce has boomed, and now all eyes are on e-commerce. Covid-19 has changed how people shop and has pushed them towards online shopping rather than stores. In particular, online grocery shopping has seen a tremendous surge. Before the pandemic, only 3% of the United States grocery shopping was online. According to a CNBC report, a study conducted by Bain & Company found that this number has increased to 15%, courtesy of the Covid-19 situation. Though not all customers prefer online grocery shopping, analysts predict that online sales will make up for a much more significant grocery sales portion.
So, what does this mean for an early-stage drinks company? It means you must be prepared to take your business online and achieve the desired success. There are a few essential steps that you can take to ensure this.
So, what should be your first step in setting up your beverage business?
- Prioritise your e-commerce platform in the early stages.
When you establish your brand during the initial stages, one of your biggest challenges will be to list it in popular stores. Trust me, this task is challenging and requires much time, energy, and money to display your product prominently on such stores’ shelves or even on the pages of popular business-specific magazines. In such situations, having the right online platform can be a lifesaver for your business and help in initial sales. E-commerce offers much potential for early-stage beverage brands, and it provides you with the perfect platform to communicate directly with your consumers and gather data to inform them about your future products.
Remember that being online is one of the most vital keys to success. E-commerce has democratised customers’ opportunity to find your products and brand, know about the company and its founders, and facilitate the purchase process more than ever. It will also help increase the value of your drinks. I strongly advise all the entrepreneurs and brands working with me to be well-versed in e-commerce from the initial stage. One of the most significant factors determining your beverages’ online success is how soon you prioritise e-commerce in your business planning.
- Tailor your product for online business.
There is no specific formula I can share about designing a drink that can sell successfully online. However, knowing what additional factors you should consider in the planning process will increase your success and reduce the chances of risk. To thrive online, your product, packaging, and logistics should match the requirements and overcome e-commerce channels’ constraints.
Tailoring also means designing a product that is packaged, stored, shipped, and marketed in different ways than those required by traditional retail channels. One of the main limitations of liquid products is their weight. While it may be cost-intensive to ship individual products, creating an e-commerce-specific strategy and designing your liquid product in a particular way is possible. Maintaining your network of third-party logistic providers also plays a crucial role in your online drinks business’s success. One successful strategy you can implement is shipping your freight when it is the densest. If you can geo-target and push your logistics closer to the customer, it will help you reduce costs.
Case Study – Importance of being online
While writing this book, it’s been almost a year since we went through the Covid-19 pandemic! When I launched my premium tonic water, the first premium Hungarian-made tonic water in 200 ml bottles, I had successful listings and incredible sales in the initial days. Unfortunately, shortly after our success, coronavirus hit all the bars and restaurants, and we lost close to 90% of our regular customers within no time. Our immediate and only solution to sell our stock and maintain the brand was to set up an online channel and invest in content creation.
However, having a website and selling premium tonic waters was not enough. We had to invest in stocking alcoholic drinks, garnishments, bar accessories, and so forth and create unique content to attract customers and encourage them to place their orders online. I had to set up a new business and brand to save one of our essential drinks.If you are curious to check the &T Tonic water brand, you can check out the website – andttonics.com, and the site that helped us save our tonic brand during Covid-19 is mixery.hu.
