Understanding the Real Problems Your Brand Can Solve

The MAFFEO DRINKS Guides is a bi-weekly email newsletter. With a systematized approach, it helps drink builders grow their brand from 10 to 10k cases. Each edition solves one clear challenge for subscribers. Some editions are free, and others are paid. Sign up here:

Dear Bottom-up Drinks Builder,

Today, let's dive deep into something fundamental that most brands overlook: understanding the real problems you're solving in the market. Before thinking about awareness, distribution, or marketing campaigns, you must be clear about what gap you're filling and for whom.

Start with the Problem

Here's something most brands miss: before you worry about awareness or distribution, you need to understand what problem you're solving. And here's the thing:

It doesn't need to be a huge problem. It just needs to be real.

The Consumer Insights (at The Bar) Framework: 7 Reasons Why You Should Gather Them Sitting at The Bar (Instead of Getting Old News from Expensive PDF Reports That Your Competitors Read)

The drinks industry, an ever-evolving landscape of trends, presents opportunities and challenges for brands seeking to make their mark. In this fast-paced world, where innovation and consumer preferences dictate success, companies must gain valuable insights to stay ahead. While market research and internal analysis have their place, an often-overlooked goldmine of knowledge lies untapped – sitting at the bar. You know the adage too much analysis is paralysis.

MAFFEO DRINKS Guides & PodcastChris Maffeo

Let’s dive in!

Building from the Bottom Up

Understanding real problems is crucial for building a brand from the bottom up. When you truly grasp the issue you're solving, everything else falls into place naturally.

Think about it: a bartender who understands precisely when to recommend your brand because it perfectly solves a specific need becomes a genuine advocate.

This is how real demand begins.

This means getting out into the market. Visit venues, sit at bars, and observe real drinking occasions. Don't rely on market research reports - understand how people interact with drinks in real situations.

Look for those moments where current offerings don't quite fit. Where are bartenders struggling to find the right recommendation? Where are consumers settling for something that's not quite right?

The power of understanding problems at the ground level is that it creates natural momentum. When you solve a real issue for one venue, word spreads. Bartenders talk. Customers ask for your brand in other places.

This is how organic growth happens - not through marketing pushes but through solving genuine problems.

The Occasion Connection

Here's where it gets interesting: most brands think about problems in terms of product features or category gaps. However, the real opportunities lie in understanding occasion-based problems.

Think about these scenarios:

- The after-work drink that needs to be refreshing but not too strong

- The celebration moment that calls for something special but accessible

- The food pairing that requires balance and complexity

- The social occasion that needs full flavor but with less alcohol content

Each of these represents a specific problem tied to an occasion. When you solve these problems well, demand creation becomes natural.

Bartenders know exactly when to recommend your brand. Consumers understand exactly when to ask for it.

The Target Occasion Checklist

The MAFFEO DRINKS Guides is a bi-weekly email newsletter. With a systematized approach, it helps drink builders grow their brand from 10 to 10k cases. Each edition solves one clear challenge for subscribers. Some editions are free, and others are paid. Sign up here

MAFFEO DRINKS Guides & PodcastChris Maffeo

Beyond Demographics

Most brands aren't meant for everyone, yet many try to appeal to everyone, ending up appealing to no one. This is where understanding occasions becomes crucial.

The same person might want a refreshing spritz after work, a sophisticated cocktail for date night, and a comfortable digestif after dinner. Age and income don't drive these choices - occasions do.

Understanding these moments is more valuable than knowing demographics.

Creating Natural Demand

When you understand and solve real occasion-based problems, demand creation becomes organic. You're not pushing your brand into the market but filling a genuine need. This is how brands grow sustainably:

1. Identify real occasion-based problems

2. Solve them authentically

3. Let word spread naturally

4. Support the growth with consistent execution

From Bartender to Buyer: 6 Dead-Simple Steps to Systematize Building Demand

Dear Drinks Builder,

MAFFEO DRINKS Guides & PodcastChris Maffeo

The Liquid Truth

At the end of the day, your liquid needs to deliver. People don't think "I want a gin" - they think "I want something refreshing" or "I want something complex." Help them understand what to expect.

Use language that resonates with real drinking occasions, not just technical tasting notes.

Remember, your first sale might come from curiosity, but the second comes from delivering on your promise.

And your real competition isn't just other brands in your category - it's anything that could serve the same occasion.

Building Long-Term Success

This approach - understanding real problems, focusing on occasions, and delivering quality - creates the foundation for sustainable brand growth. It's not as flashy as big marketing campaigns, but it's how real brands are built.

When you solve real problems for real occasions, you create:

- Authentic advocacy from bartenders

- Natural word-of-mouth among consumers

- Clear positioning in the market

- Sustainable demand patterns

- Strong foundations for growth

Brands are built bottom-up.

The Trade Advocacy Blueprint

Brand Advocacy is one of the biggest focuses for Drinks Brands. But most brands do it wrong. They use it as a short-term tactic instead of strategically.

MAFFEO DRINKS Guides & PodcastChris Maffeo

The Bar Mapping Blueprint: The 5 Steps To Find The Right Venues for Your Brand In a City

The MAFFEO DRINKS Guides is a bi-weekly email newsletter. With a systematized approach, it helps drink builders grow their brand from 10 to 10k cases. Each edition solves one clear challenge for subs…

MAFFEO DRINKS Podcast & GuidesChris Maffeo

I hope this mini-guide will help you develop the small, consistent habits you need to build your brand from the ground up.

Whenever you're ready, there are more ways I can help you:

My Digital Course: If you need help TODAY, I get it. I have a solution for you: I’ve captured the most critical aspects of building bottom-up in a 40-minute Self-paced Course: Bootstrapping a Drinks Brand: Dead-Simple Strategies to Avoid 28 Costly Mistakes.

If you’d like to get access to it, click the button below, and I’ll see you on the other side 👇

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