Mix it up for max profit
Premium mixers and soft drinks offer an outstanding profit opportunity at Christmas
Maximising sales and profit over the next couple of months is critical in ensuring that your business ends the calendar year on a high and has a strong platform upon which to build for a successful 2024. Clearly, that means maximising sales of huge categories like beer, spirits and wine but it’s important not to lose sight of the enormous profit opportunity that mixers and soft drinks offer your business.
While beer and wine are almost exclusively drunk on their own, the vast majority of spirits sales will include a mixer of some kind – and that’s before we get to the increasingly important cocktails category.
MIX IT UP
While this has undoubtedly been a challenging year on many fronts for both the trade and consumers, one trend has become abundantly clear: consumers may not be venturing out as often as they once did, but when they do leave the house to visit a pub, restaurant or other hospitality venue, they fully intend to have a great experience.
That means that they are looking for great quality drinks, great quality food and great quality service. Swathes of market research data also make it clear that they are prepared to pay more to get that special experience they are looking for but, by the same token, they don’t want to pay over the odds. In the simplest terms, they’re not necessarily looking for ‘cheap,’ they’re looking for ‘value’. They are happy to pay a little more to ensure that their experience is special, but they still want the maximum bang for their buck.
That trend has important things to teach us about mixers and soft drinks in particular. During the festive period we know that customers like to trade up and push the boat out a little to help them make some new memories and elevate their experiences. That’s likely to mean premium spirits, or a cocktail – but when they trade up to a more premium spirit, they don’t want to dilute the experience by lengthening it with an inferior quality mixer.
That creates a clear opportunity for venues to increase profits by offering top quality, big brand mixers – which also help drive up cash profit per serve. It’s also critical that venues communicate the fact that they use and offer premium brand mixers to their customers using in-venue POS, social media posts and also by encouraging the team behind the bar to highlight this fact to customers buying drinks.
PROFIT PLAN
And while premium mixers offer premium profits, Greene King and Belhaven are helping venues squeeze even more profit out of every serve by working with some of the world’s leading producers to bring you a plethora of fantastic deals on mixers this Christmas.
We’ve got fantastic deals lined up from key brands like Fever-Tree, Fentimans and Schweppes, all delivering free stock or significant discounts. You can, for instance, buy any four cases from a selected range of Schweppes and Coca-Cola products and get a case of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar or Schweppes Slimline Tonic. Or if you buy any four cases from the Fentimans range, you can claim a case of Victorian Lemonade free. Similarly, when you buy any four cases from the Fever-Tree range, you’ll get a free case of Mediterranean Tonic Water or Ginger Ale.
Not only will you benefit from the additional profit of offering premium mixers and encouraging your customers to trade up, those extra free cases help push profits even higher once you’ve sold them through.
SOFT OPTIONS
With the increasing trend towards many consumers moderating their consumption of alcohol – and calories – it’s likely that many visitors to your venue this year will be looking for soft drinks. Looking after these customers and the ‘designated drivers’ in every party can help ensure a great experience for everyone and grow footfall, sales and profits.
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is available with a special £3 discount per case. Red Bull offers a free case of Red Bull Tropical for every three cases of Red Bull Energy or Red Bull Sugarfree purchased.
These high-value, high-volume lines are sure to be popular over the next couple of months and these deals help ensure that venues can cash in on the strength of these global brands. There are also great deals on Monster and Lucozade Energy to help you target customers needing an energy boost, while special promotions on adult soft drinks like Appletiser and J20 allow you to offer something a little different to consumers.
YOUNGER CUSTOMERS
Christmas is, at heart, a family occasion so it’s important to ensure that you have some great options for the younger customers that visit your venue for Christmas parties or a day out with the family. That’s why Greene King and Belhaven have helped deliver a great deal on one of the biggest kids drink brands. Robinson’s Fruit Shoot is a very popular choice and you can claim a free case of Orange Fruit Shoot when you buy any four cases from the range.
So, the stage is set and now all that’s left to do is take advantage of these fantastic deals and make sure you are all set up to really mix it up this Christmas and deliver those all-important festive profits.
All deals are exclusive to Greene King & Belhaven customers and may be subject to terms and conditions. Contact your Sales Rep for more details.
