Virtue Lies in the Middle (Tier Venues): Why Average Venues Deserve Your Focus (and 3 Reasons You’re Hesitant to Sell to Them)

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Dear Bottom-up Drinks Builder,

In today’s issue, I’ll share my experience and insights into what happens to sales and your brand's P&L when you start selling to more average bars.

By adopting this approach, you’ll spend your time more effectively. You’ll likely increase your distribution while increasing your rate of sale.

Unfortunately, most people think that only cool outlets can build brands. They fear that widening distribution to more standard venues will ruin their brand's image, and they refuse to grasp opportunities. That's a big mistake.

They forget that the consumers who only go to the world's best bars and cool restaurants all the time are just a handful in each city. Most people are normal consumers who want to trade up, enjoy premium products sometimes, and use more mainstream products most days.

Many so-called "premium consumers" visit regular, average bars and look for some trade-up option.

When I started in sales, I made the same mistake. I came from marketing, and I only wanted to focus on cool outlets. I remember not wanting to let my brand be sold in average bars as it would alienate those trendy consumers buying my product.

Of course, every salesperson prefers to hang out in a cool bar than an average one. It's human. But if you get their targets and KPIs right, changing your opinion is easy.

I also soon realized that my brand was growing much slower than it could, and I was sitting on a huge opportunity I had not seen before.

I decided to grow distribution in the outlets that resonated with the brand's commercial proposition and occasion but that were more average. Those outlets wanted the brand, were able to afford it and they were pushing sales to drive their margins.

💡 How to understand the right bar for your brand:

Target Occasion: how does your core occasion fit with theirs? If your occasion is a "shot", a fine dining venue won't be right for you, even if it's on all the guides as the best place in town.

Commercial Proposition: what's your purpose, what values does your brand represent? How would you translate your brand positioning into 3 types of outlets? Those are the outlets where your brand would perfectly fit their drinks range.

It's not about how cool a bar is but about whether the bar to which you "sell in" will manage to "sell out" your product.

The most successful brands are the ones that manage to grow their distribution while also growing their rate of sale. They widen the distribution when they feel there is traction and not only because they have a strong Route-to-market to make it happen.