How to Protect Your Drinks Brand in a Competitive Market

In today’s drinks industry, it’s not just your product that sets you apart- it’s the control you have over your brand.

For breweries, wineries, distilleries and no-and-low producers, brand identity and consistency are crucial to long-term success. Your brand can quickly lose value when distribution, branding, or customer experience gets out of control.

Consumers now more than ever are looking to connect with the brands that they purchase from- and drinks brands are no exception. Infact, studies outlined by Sprout Social show:

• ‍57% of consumers will increase their spending with a company when they feel connected to the brand
• 76% will buy from a brand over their competitor if they feel more connected‍
• 64% of consumers want brands to connect with them ‍
• 72% of consumers want brands to contribute to society
  

Connection is important for both consumers and the brands they buy from.

Think about it- would you prefer to order from a brand that actively enables a strong, positive message through their branding and marketing... or a brand that lacks a story, a motivator or a drive to contribute positively to their community?

With these statistics in mind, here are five practical ways to protect your drinks brand and its reputation, starting with one of the most important: choosing the right operational partners.

1. Outsource to a Drinks 3PL to Stay in Control

Your drinks brand is built on reputation, consistency and customer experience. But those can be quickly undermined when you lose control of how your product is sold or delivered.

A third-party logistics partner (3PL) provides drinks producers with operational support, without taking ownership of your product.

That means:

• YOU choose where and how your product is sold
• YOU control your pricing and positioning
• YOU retain ownership of your stock and brand
  

A 3PL handles storage, order fulfilment and delivery while you stay in charge of your growth strategy. This is a great strategy to help you scale without losing grip on what matters most: your brand.

Interested in partnering with a 3PL for your drinks business? Tap'in 3PL can help. With our warehouse is located just outside of London, we offer next-day London & South East drinks delivery.

For more information, visit our website here or chat directly to our expert drinks logistics team.

2. Control Your Marketing

Having a solid marketing strategy is key to how your brand positions in your customer's mind.

When external parties control promotions, messaging or selling, it can lead to inconsistent and off-brand activity that confuses your audience.

Keep a tight grip on your marketing by:

• Ensuring all online and offline marketing communications follow your brand's guidelines
• Make sure your packaging reflects your branding whilst staying damage-resistant
• Understand your brand's tone-of-voice; how do you want to speak to your customers?
  

Partnering with a 3PL means you keep control of your drinks brand, from the way you sell to the way you market. A drinks 3PL is a storage and logistics service that works to support your drinks business- not take over it.

Outsourcing your drinks logistics to a 3PL could also free up your time and resources to focus on the marketing and sale of your product.

For the most frequently asked questions on drinks 3PLs, check out our blog: How Does Drinks Fulfilment Work With a 3PL? Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions.

3. Protect Your Drink's Quality Throughout the Journey

Your drinks brand's reputation is not just about how your product tastes- it’s how it presents. Damaged packaging, smashed bottles or late deliveries can turn a premium-feeling product into a poor experience.

To protect your drinks brand’s quality:

• ‍Use secure, drinks-appropriate packaging (double-walled boxes are a great, more eco-friendly packaging alternative to bubblewrap)
• Make sure every customer touchpoint reflects the care you’ve put into creating your drinks‍
• Choose drinks-specific drinks order fulfilment methods (e.g Tap'in, a UK drinks-specialist 3PL)

4. Own Your Data and Customer Relationships

When you sell via wholesalers or marketplaces, you could lose direct access to customer data. That means you miss out on insights on buying behaviour, giving you little chance to retarget and no way to build loyalty.

Protect your brand by staying close to your customers:

• ‍Capture first-party data through your sales channels‍
• Track order trends to help your marketing and production‍
• Use fulfilment systems that give you visibility and control (such as a drinks 3PL)

5. Plan for Growth

Protecting your brand also means preparing for growth- whether that's through sudden popularity or seasonal demand.

Think: can your current operations scale alongside demand? Can you handle seasonal surges or new product drops without compromising quality?

Planning for your drinks brand's growth can help protect your drinks brand. Do this by:

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• ‍Investing in sales analytics software to keep track of trends and get ahead of demand ‍
• Gather customer feedback to understand what your most loyal drinkers want to see next‍
• Partner with a 3PL that can scale alongside you and can deliver into high-traffic areas, such as London and Brighton
  

In Summary

Your brand is more than just a drink- it’s an experience

Protecting your drinks brand could mean having a hold how it's priced, sold, marketed and delivered... or it could simply mean finding distribution partners that you can trust.

By partnering with the right fulfilment and logistics support (e.g a drinks-focused 3PL like Tap'in) and staying intentional with how you brand and market your drinks business,you protect the brand you’ve worked so hard to build.‍

Choose Tap'in 3PL To Help Protect Your Drinks Brand

Looking to protect your drinks brand by using a reputable UK drinks 3PL?

Tap'in 3PL could work for your drinks business if:

• ‍You're a drinks producer: Tap'in exclusively works in drinks logistics. Our clients include breweries, wineries, distilleries and low-and-no alcohol drinks producers. We use a simple PDL charging matrix that is specifically built to optimise drinks delivery charges‍

• You produce in the UK and are looking for London and South-East deliveries: our warehouse located just 5 miles from Woolwich means our team can deliver into London 4 times a week, even offering next-day deliveries (subject to our delivery timetable).‍

• You deliver a minimum 3,500 litres of drink per month: for our drinks logistics service to be cost-effective and efficient, we work specifically with drinks producers operating on these minimum quantities.
  

Ready to protect (and scale) your brand with confidence?

Chat to our expert Tap'in team by filling out the form below, or contact us directly:

Email: sales@tapin3pl.com

Call: 0203 436 0140

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