INSIGHTS
Notes from building beverage brands.
The Brand Accelerator Releases The Beverage Commercialization Master Program
The Brand Accelerator releases an executive program on the pricing, distribution, retail and capital decisions that decide if beverage brands scale.
Selling into big-box retail is bigger than you think
Interviewed by Hemp Beverage News on what Walmart, Target and other national chains expect before you ever reach the shelf.
Why 375ml beat 750ml
How a smaller bottle at a lower price doubled velocity and made Beckett's a top three non-alcoholic seller at Total Wine & More.
1,000 accounts in three days
How one crew drive turned a new statewide distributor into 1,000 account visits and a chain rollout across California.
One end cap, one new category
How a full end cap of new functional brands reached Total Wine & More, and what it takes to go from concept to shelf.
Before you sign: ask what termination looks like
Distributor contracts look harmless on page one and devastating on page twenty. Ask the question most founders skip.
I've been early five times. Here's the pattern.
Every beverage category has a moment before anyone agrees it's real. That is where the enterprise gets built.
The signed distributor deal is the starting line
Everyone congratulates you on the deal. The deal isn't the win. What comes after it is.
What a distributor is really deciding in your first meeting
You bring the deck, the samples and the pitch. The distributor is asking a different question.
Most beverage brands are built in the wrong order
Founders rarely fail on product. They fail on sequence: the right moves, made too early.
Know the distribution math before you launch
A world-class product still fails if the numbers don't work. Margins, freight and turns decide it.