Brewing interest

In mid-April I visited the Specialty Coffee Association of America's annual conference and exhibition in Seattle. What a great event! The exhibits took up two full halls in the Washington State Convention Center and more than 10,000 people attended.

While the conference aspect focused primarily on coffee in all its forms, the exhibit hall was an educational experience in itself. There were growers and importers, manufacturers of roasting machinery, cups, brewing machines and bar stools. A number of countries were represented as well as TransFair USA and the Rainforest Alliance. There were trucking companies, bin and bag manufacturers and even people promoting other coffee-related events.

However, as important and impressive as this whole display was, what was even more significant to me were the non-coffee beverages in evidence. There were waters, both flavored and unflavored, and some with claimed health benefits. There were juices, including some made from exotic fruits. There were a broad variety of teas-hot, cold, black, green, white, plain, flavored and some with purported health-enhancing additives.

What really caught my attention was the chocolate. We're big chocolate devotees at Gourmet News, but I think even our staff would have been sated by the variety of chocolate beverages in evidence.

There were hot and cold (and frozen) sweet, light and my personal favorite, dark chocolate. Ahhh, liquid dark chocolate. What a treat!

The new liquid chocolates have gone way beyond the old instant cocoa of my youth. It's a really strong product category, as are beverages in general. However, it takes some work to sell them, particularly those at the higher end of the price spectrum.

What's the best way to promote sales of these new beverage products? I've said it before, but it bears repeating...sampling. Beverages are sold to you at trade shows by letting you taste them. You need to do the same for your customers. It's the best way to boost your sales.

Rick Rector

Publisher

rrector@gourmetnews.com

Copyright United Publications, Inc. Jun 2005
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