Mixers and the bar trade
Updated
Selling into hospitality rather than retail, which changes the product and removes several problems.
A different buyer
A bar buys on cost per serve, on whether it works in a drink, and on whether it makes their menu distinctive.
They do not buy on shelf presence, packaging or brand recognition, which removes what a small maker competes worst on.
And they reorder, on a schedule, on account.
What a bar needs
Consistency above all, because a cocktail is a recipe and a changed mixer changes every drink on the menu.
A format that works behind a bar: something that pours, dispenses or bottles quickly under pressure of service.
Shelf stability, because bar fridge space is scarce and contested.
And a dilution or usage instruction expressed in the units they think in, parts, or milliliters per serve.
Formats that suit
Syrups and concentrates, which suit the pour and remove the freight.
Larger bottles, because a bar does not want 200 small ones.
Shrubs and drinking vinegars, which are exactly the acid structure a cocktail wants and which keep well.
Carbonated mixers in single-serve, which are the hardest of the set because they need the pressure handling and the small format.
Why it suits a small maker
No retail shelf fight, no packaging arms race, and a buyer who is genuinely interested in a distinctive ingredient because it differentiates their menu.
Volumes are steady and the relationship is long.
And it is the one channel in this property where being local and small is an advantage rather than a constraint on distribution.