Quench September 2013

A Season for Change, an Opportunity for Growth

September is here, and for many it means summer is over. Children are back in school, football season has started and baseball season is rounding third in a last sprint to make the playoffs. I love the fall. The weather is perfect here in New England during our “shoulder seasons” – moderate, unlike the extremes of sum- mer and winter that New England experiences. I love to go to Cape Cod this time of year because the weather is nice, the water is warm and the crowds have disappeared. You can sit with the locals in a pub with no crowds and enjoy some oysters, with the guys who harvested them sitting next to you, and sample a variety of craft seasonal beers like Oyster Stout or Pumpkin Ale.

What does this time of year mean for the beverage business? For beer, wine, coffee, tea and other beverage companies, it means two of the biggest sales and gift holidays of the year are approaching. Beverages and accessories have become popular gift items for everybody on your shopping list. Fall marks a change in taste for many consumers who now shop with anticipation for the diverse and unique offerings that are available with craft beers, small-batch tea and coffee blends. A good example to the rest of the beverage industry, a growing thirst for craft beers and specialty teas has brought on a spike in popularity of both unique beverage tastes and accessories.

Five years ago, the warehouse of Woodland, Calif.-based beverage distributor V. Santoni & Co. was stocked with less than 300 varieties of beer. Today, it contains over 1,800; this change reflects the exploding number of small companies making craft beer. Tastes are changing in beer, wine, coffee, tea and even the mixer category. Consumers are embracing new flavors and smaller “specialty” brands. It’s a great opportunity to differentiate your retail operation from your competition by embracing some new beverage products that are not widely available, and cross-merchandising these beverages with new and unique accessories.

Laura Everage has put together a variety of informative and helpful articles in this edition to help you with growing your sales and merchandising your products as we change seasons and approach the holidays. Have fun each season with your business. Build interesting new displays. Tell a story about what makes your mix of products so special, and share your knowledge and pas- sion with your employees and customers.

All the best, 

Brian Igoe 

Publisher, Gourmet Business Quench 

bigoe@gourmetbusiness.com