Beverage Development

Food and beverage development is the innovative engine which fuels category growth and ensures manufacturers are responsive to consumer needs and provide products that meet these needs. Beverage developers looking to succeed in the beverage industry will need to focus their efforts on distinguishing their product from existing category offerings. The most important thing to consider when you are thinking about developing a beverage is creating an identity, also known as a branding. Before you start creating your brand you need to identify your target demographic. Once you know who you are looking to target you will be able to better develop a beverage that will connect and speak to consumers in your target demographic. Your target demographic may dictate everything from design to flavor. Understanding who you are selling to is the first step in successful beverage development. Once you have a target demographic. You will essentially build your brand around your target. For many people food and beverage development and branding can be an elusive field but it can be an essential part of beverage development and marketing.

Branding

As stated previously to develop a beverage you need to not only create a flavor and a name you need to create a brand, a brand that connects with your target demographic. But how do you do this? Think of branding as your product’s personality. Is it serious? Fun? Informative? Sexy? Comforting? Loud? Once you have come up with your branding, your product’s personality, think of some things that would be in alignment with your products personality. Conversely also consider what might be out of character for your brand, in other words what wouldn’t it do. Once you have decided on your brands personality, promote it and never waiver from your core.

Advertising

Commonly confused with marketing, advertising is the promotion of your product utilizing traditional media outlets: Out of home, print including magazines and newspaper, television radio and internet.

Promotion

Promotion can refer to an array of techniques: In-store promotion, event promotion, and guerilla sampling are a few popular and effective tactics to promote your brand. When considering promotion for beverage development, always consider how you are going to reach your target audience and what are you going to say that will both catch their attention and inform them about your brand’s key attributes.

Public Relations

Public Relations is a great complement to a good marketing plan. Think of it as the stealth or secret ops marketing team. Feeding your branding and message to the media garnering articles and press clippings spreading your newly developed beverages message.

There are many factors that will contribute to a brands success but a good place to start when you want to develop beverages is to develop a brand and then take a look at options for marketing and sales to communicate your brands unique personality.