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6 min read The Lab Insights

The Value Positioning: Strategic Approaches in the Drinks Industry

MAFFEO DRINKS explores value positioning with Kaitlin Wilkes and Andrew Borenzweig. Small brands need transparency about budget limitations and focused account strategies. Premium brands justify higher pricing through strategic high-end venue placement and consistent luxury experiences.
The Value Positioning: Strategic Approaches in the Drinks Industry
Select Spritz at Luxury Hotel Aman Venice, during Venice Cocktail Week 2025.

In conversations with two founders navigating different market positions, we explored how value strategies must align with actual brand capabilities rather than aspirational positioning.

The Positioning Challenge

We dove into one of the most misunderstood aspects of building drinks brands: price point positioning. In separate conversations with Kaitlin Wilkes, advocacy consultant and co-founder of the Ada Coleman Project, and Andrew Borenzweig, founder of Beverly High Rye whiskey, we unpacked how different founders navigate the complex relationship between pricing, venue selection, and brand perception.

The fundamental challenge we identified centers on matching price expectations with brand capabilities. We discussed how small brands often attempt to compete at price points that require budgets they simply don't have, while premium brands must justify higher pricing through strategic placement and experience.

Through both conversations, we explored how understanding your actual position in the market, rather than where you aspire to be, determines sustainable growth trajectories.

We found that both approaches require honesty about financial realities, but the strategies diverge significantly based on production scale, target audience, and market positioning.

The Small Brand Reality: Transparency Over Aspiration

In our conversation with Kaitlin, we explored the economic challenges independent brands face when producing fewer than 10,000 bottles annually.

We broke down how a £2,000 menu listing fee represents a quarter of an entire marketing budget for small brands, making the standard venue partnership model completely unsustainable.

DEAR DRINKS BUILDER,
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