One way of keeping your beverage company or business “fresh” is to introduce new products apart from your usual best-sellers. Before releasing your new product, it’s important for it to have undergone taste testing and market research to see how it can be improved and if you think it can sell. Once done, the next and more difficult step is on how to effectively promote and market this new product. As such, we’ll be taking a look at strategies and tips to market your new beverage:
Consistency is Key
When it comes to marketing beverages, consistency doesn’t only mean being constant with promotional efforts, but in the quality and taste of the beverage itself. So before you even begin to plan and invest in marketing strategies to promote your new drink, it’s important that you’re able to deliver the same quality and taste consistent. The last thing you’d want is to provide free samples of the beverage upon promotion, only for the customer to discover that the next production batch tastes a lot different — not only would that result in losing potentially loyal customers, but possible backlash and negative word of mouth.
Investing in industrial flow meters for water and other ingredients, as well as high-quality and high-precision food and beverage processing equipment would ensure uniformity in the production process, and would also ensure consistency in taste and quality of the product.
The “Limited Edition” Label
Speaking of ingredients, you should have a stable source of your new beverage’s raw materials. If the beverage’s raw materials are limited (such as seasonal fruits, or only a limited amount can be provided by the supplier), you can market it as a limited edition beverage. A limited edition is a marketing strategy in itself. More people are inclined to take advantage of something knowing that they can only purchase it at a limited time due to limited stock. And it’s also a way of “testing the waters” but at a larger scale than the usual market research and taste-testing. Limited edition can also be applied to packaging instead of the new beverage — such as how Coke and Pepsi have sold limited edition cans and bottles of their beverage.
Go Beyond “Free Samples”
Whenever a food or beverage company releases a new product, you’d often see “promodisers” giving out cuts and small cups of the product to those walking around malls, marketplaces, and other high-traffic venues and events. You can try to be more creative such as bundling the new product with a pack of your current beverages (for example, a free can of your new drink for every six cans), or by giving out free samples directly to your intended market (such as asking a gym to allow you to provide samples of your energy drink in exchange for a free pack or two of the product to the gym, or by partnering with the school cafeteria to provide samples of your new milk drink to students).
Hold or Sponsor Events
Yes, social media marketing and traditional advertisements can be effective in marketing any product and services, but when it comes to beverages, you have a unique position to hold or sponsor events such as having games or even a concert while serving your beverage. Take note that your event should match the product. If you’re releasing a new milk drink for kids, hold an event with games and crafts for children. Or if you’re releasing a new variant of your popular sports drink, consider holding a sports event or marathon with prizes. Or if it’s an alcoholic beverage, sponsor or hold a beach party. Make sure to make the most out of these events by also documenting and posting about them through your social media account.
Conclusion
These are only but few of many other marketing and promotional strategies you can take when marketing your new product. Just remember to be engaging and creative with your marketing efforts, but it’s important to always ensure the consistency of your product’s taste and quality.
