The SCOTUS Ruling Will Fuel More Government Reach Into Your Drink

Today's Supreme Court decision on The Affordable Care Act will go a long way in empowering those who feel they know what's better for you than you do yourself. It's been to the highest court in the land and came out on the other side, no worse for wear.

In cities across the country, we've watched small pieces of personal freedoms and choices get stripped away, down to the very core of basic things such as soda sizes at the movie theater. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg made news again last month with his recently proposed ban on sugary drinks over 16 oz in on-premise venues across the city. This far-reaching legislation caught the attention of those on the left who are always happy to levy a tax or a ban on people or things and then hide behind the populist theme of "if it's for the betterment of society as a whole, I'm all for it."

Social wins are to liberals what spinach is to Popeye. They squeeze open the can and slam it down their gullet, their muscles and veins bulging, they got their chests sticking out. They're pumped up, man! And they should be. But, be careful. What comes with this new found confidence is a brazenness to go further. It's a blood sport once it reaches SCOTUS level and they want to put their foot on your throats while you're down. They want to finish you off like a fatality in Mortal Kombat. 


The only way to fend off further far-reaching government intervention is to stay informed and stay active. Educate yourselves so you can debate a liberal. But don't stoop to the level of hysterics. They are really good at that. They will use terms such as "fair" or "equality" and other class-warfare buzz words to try to cloud the debate waters and fuel anger. Don't fall for it. Stay focused, use facts (they hate that) and keep your eye on the ball.

To keep up on the recent NYC soda ban, visit New Yorkers for Beverage Choices website. You can sign up for news alerts and even send a letter to Mayor Bloomberg. They are the local lead dog in the fight against NYC's proposed ban. Also, read the American Beverage Association Blog for more industry related news and data. You can also stay updated on beverage industry related topics and news on Twitter. Follow Kevin Perry from the Georgia Beverage Association, @GABeverage, for an in-depth view into the soda ban and other industry topics. Also, for an opposing viewpoint, follow @MicheleRSimon, a Public Health Lawyer who has been very vocal in her displeasure of big soda, big agriculture and big macs. It's important to know what the opposition is thinking, albeit misguided. Of course, you can follow me, @DrinkPro, for a little of everything. I'm kind of like a Long Island Iced Tea.

Remember, stay involved, stay educated, stay hydrated and stay polite.


This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the individuals or companies mentioned have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes his blog @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro

Could It Be Time For a Re-Route?

It always looks easier on paper when management is changing or adding new routes. Once a rep gets out on the street, though, that's when you truly know how efficient the re-route was. If you ever participated in a re-route, I bet the first thing you did was identify who your strong and weak performers are. That's good. You should always know who those people are.

Striking a Balance Isn't Easy, but Essential

Photo source: @DrinkPro

Building routes around those character attributes is essential to maximizing your sales rep's potential. You should not only try to place people in roles where they can succeed, but also where they will be challenged. If not, they will never grow beyond a certain threshold, nor will your business. If you have a rep who is good at a particular channel, say, urban independents, you would naturally want to place him there. And if you have a rep who lacks sufficient skills to properly service large stores, you may not want to give him that segment of your business. But, you have to strike a balance, because managing solely to those abilities, will undoubtedly lead to failures elsewhere. A new route is no place to find out an employee cannot handle the job.

Stops Per Day?

Another thing you have to consider during a re-route is what are the industry averages for a sales rep. You should be using some sort of data to determine efficiency in relation to stops per day and number of accounts in a rep's entire universe. Can your small store rep effectively call on 23 stops in a single day? The operative word is "effectively". Probably not, if he's going to do all the things required of him. 

Photo source www.prweb.com

Did he rotate the cooler and display, place POS, sell in the new focus items, pricing surveys, check for damages, etc...? Now, what about 15-17 stops. Does that sound achievable? Maybe. If he starts on time, he should be able to get it done. If start time is 5 am and he works 11 hours, he's ready to transmit his orders and go home at 4p. That gives him 30 minutes per stop plus drive time. Some stops may take 45 minutes, but others may only take 15. It will balance out. Yeah, he's doesn't have that much time to chit-chat with store owners beyond what is reasonable, but no one said this is a part-time job, you got to keep moving! Also, you have to decide what's achievable for mileage and traffic and whether or not there is a sales meeting on certain days, too. This all factors in.

Volume

Photo source: faqs.org

When you discuss volume, it could skew your re-route. You will never be able to have all routes designed with equal volume. If you do, then you probably have routes that are either too heavy or too light. Which means you should either add a route or two or trim a route or two. There will always be heavy routes and light routes, but if they call on the same channel, there should not be more than a 20%-25% difference in volume from top to bottom.

Changes in Route Dynamics
Supermarkets open or close along with small stores all the time. There are some areas that have a constant turnover of business. I know it's a pain in the rear to do so, but, to ensure you are maximizing your rep's fullest potential, re-routes should be done on a yearly basis because routes can change drastically over that period.

Enough Already!
Re-routes can be agonizing for sales reps and managers. You are never going to make everyone happy, so don't even worry about that. You just have to finish because it's taken you three weeks so far and you have to make sure your normal work gets done as well. Lock yourself in an office and don't get distracted. If you want to maximize your company's potential, it's well worth it.  

This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the companies mentioned here have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro.

Grab Your Umbrellas Because Sparkling Ice is Pouring On the Sales

I think it's safe to say Talking Rain has a powerful thunder storm in their portfolio. And it has been unleashed on the rest of the country.  Beverage meteorologists across the nation are predicting strong winds (dollar sales) and heavy rain (volume) to continue, at least for the rest of this year.
 

Of course, Talking Rain is based in Washington state, where else.

Talking Rain's (TR) Sparkling Ice has been around for about 20 years. As the name implies, Sparkling Ice is an enhanced sparkling water that is naturally flavored. It comes in a tall, slim 17 oz PET and has eight flavors, each of which touts zero cals and zero carbs. But, how come most people haven't heard of Sparkling Ice until recently? TR decided to change it's strategy to target consumers who are leaving the CSD category. It's strategy included launching the brand on a national scale and aligning with distributors in all critical regions. The result? 2103% increase in volume vs YAG (excl Wal Mart).


How did they achieve such a large increase? By gaining authorizations and POG in large chain stores and securing a distributor network (a lot of beer houses) that can service those stores regularly. The average retail for Ice's 17 oz bottle is around $1.19, but expect to continue to see 10/$10 throughout the Summer and probably the rest of the year. This price point is essential to the brand's recent surge, by targeting consumers who are looking for value, especially when considering a new product.

Distributors I've talked to throughout the Southeast said they are going through about a truckload a week. They've told me they have Publix stores selling upwards of 80-100 cases per week at 10/$10, on the high end. The low end is about 40 cases week. Wal Mart sells for $1 and these same distributors say the volume is even higher in those stores. Look for pallets on the cart rail, action alley and/or 4 foot sections top to bottom. Not bad for a relatively new brand in Florida.

Sparkling Ice's line-up, including two newcomers, Lemonade and Coconut Pineapple

If there is a downside (and there almost always is), the only one I heard of is the shape of the PET. It just annoys sales reps and merchandisers. They say the bottle is like a bowling pin. When stocking shelves, if one bottle falls over, it knocks over nine more! And it's not a real downside, but I'm trying to be critical here!

There have been some recent occasions of beer distributors dropping some NA business, mainly due to the growth of the craft beer category (they need the space in their warehouse), but if a beer distributor currently carries TR in their market, they won't be letting go of this golden nugget.

This blog is the opinion of the author. None of the companies mentioned here have any affiliation with this blog, nor do they endorse its contents...but they should. Gregg W Shore is a 23 year beverage veteran who writes his blog @DrinkPro, A View of the Beverage Industry, from the Inside Out. Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter @DrinkPro.