Case Studies

Customer-led ranging

Article taken from The Publican Newspaper, 26 May 2003

When Barracuda worked with Coca-Cola Enterprises, the result was a soft drinks range that responded well to customers' changing tastes - while making good business sense at the till.

Putting the right line-up behind your bar and presenting it well is an essential skill for the profit-focused publican.

Profitable range selection isn't a matter of pot luck. It's about making informed decisions. Major brands invest heavily in monitoring, measuring and responding to consumer trends. That information can be really helpful in guiding your choices. But it is your own local knowledge that will guarantee your range choices will meet the needs of your customers.

More customer choice

Imagine a supermarket that failed to stock brand leaders. Business is unlikely to be brisk. And yet this is what the licensed trade has done for years - by failing to offer customers the choice of soft drinks they select elsewhere.

Evidence from the off-trade shows that customers want a wider choice and that failure to offer more choice has limited on-trade sales. That's why Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) has created 330 ml packaging for its hugely popular Sprite and Fanta soft drinks - enabling the publican to meet the more diverse tastes of today.

New sizes

Research also indicates that consumers have become more demanding, more experimental and are showing a preference for longer drinks (Cardinal Research 2001). This trend is driving new and larger spirit measures in many venues. In response, CCE has invested heavily in developing new pack sizes for the on-trade.

Don't forget your serve!

Even with the right range in place, it's still essential to display and serve soft drinks in an attractive and appealing style - whether from the bottle or draught. The perfect serve adds value to your offer and encourages repeat sales. Combining the right product range with the right serve, leads to positive improvements in your takings. And it's well worth remembering that soft drinks contribute over 11% to your profitability (Retail Pub Estate Confidential).

Putting research into practice Working with CCE, Barracuda recently reviewed the soft drink offer within its leading Varsity bars. “We wanted to refine our range by focusing on consumer trends and commercial objectives to improve our offer,” said marketing director Myles Doran.

Using plannograms produced by CCE, managers implemented the new stocking policy that introduced some key changes to the range, including:

• Fanta Orange, Fanta Lemon and Sprite added to enhance a soft drinks offer alongside Coca-Cola, J2O and Red Bull (Fanta is the UK's fastest growing soft drink, Nielsen Biggest Brands Survey 2002)
• New 200ml and 125ml packages added to range

Monitoring performance

Auditors have been measuring the effects of Barracuda's new range policy and the results are impressive. Over an two-month period, soft drink sales at The Varsity in Leicester have improved by 54 per cent.