The idea was to hear from business analysts, finance providers and trendspotters to learn the best route to success for their beverage business. According to instigator Adomas Pranevicius of MyDrink Beverages, the DrinkPreneur Event is already seeing demand and is going to be held again later this year in Hong Kong and Dubai.
Claire Nuttall of Thrive Unlimited opened the first session, saying, “Here are the five rules of launching a new beverage:”
Greg Vallance of branding agency Honey then spoke on how having a single message on your pack is key: “Know who you are selling to,” he said. He also talked about the necessity of using social media, but warned about digital stalking: “Remember, everything you say online is monitored.”
Ieva Petkevcuite of MyDrink Beverages mentioned how, as an ingredients and manufacturing knowledge agency that helps entrepreneurs bring drinks to market, they are sometimes faced with crazy ideas for crazy packaging. “You have to remember how this can add additional costs and time, especially if it only works on one type of filling line. Keeping your packaging simple is an easier option.”
Paul Herman of Blue Box Corporate Finance talked about the importance of building a business model on a cash flow basis, and presenting to investors in a brief and punchy printed document when it comes to raising finance. He also explained debt funding and equity funding. His partner James Khan has a startup category fund of £10,000 for entrepreneurs, and they can offer help when it comes to finding larger sums (say £100,000 or a million).
Mike Sears of Windfall Brands also spoke on cash being a critical feature: “So many companies get the initial funding,” he said, “but it’s when they get their first big orders that things can slide. Make sure you’re looking at the right channels to sell your product.”
David Beardmore of Tesco concluded the first session talking about listing fees: “If an idea is really strong, a retailer will be your best friend, but you have to go into it expecting to pay up to £175 per SKU per store,” he said. “This is for a minimum of 12-18 months. Everyone assumes 3,000 stores is the ideal, but this volume may not be right for your product. You have to know which demographic region is right for you.”
Apparently, for Tesco, around 40% of its water is sold from within inside the M25, which is surprising! He also talked about the need for shelf standout. “If you have a coffee product,” he said, “don’t think it must be brown and gold!”
More on the new products and the entrepreneurs themselves in my next blog.
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