Rethinking Retail

Rethinking Retail provides insights and practical suggestions you can implement to get more foot traffic and improve sales. And check out Rethinking Retail podcasts. Lasting no more than 5 minutes, you’ll get straight talk and great tips from industry pros who want you to sell more beer.

How Origlio is Changing the Definition of Beer Wholesaler

Check out these exclusive resources that maximize your profits

Origlio Beverage doesn’t want to be your “average” wholesaler. Since 1933, our family has strived to be your best partner by bringing you great products and winning customer service. More recently, we’ve made it our mission to change the very definition of what a wholesaler is, by developing new ways to help you grow your bottom line.

Here are our exclusive resources, each created to save you time, maximize profits and better serve your customers:

Origlio.com, Just a Click Away

Packed with all the information you need and the product details your customers can access right from their cell phones, our website includes specifics on all our products, retailer resources and so much more.

Sell Sheets – These easy-to-read, printable one-pagers for each beer we sell, give you the details you need to sell your products, including beer style, origin, product description, ABV and availability.

Shelf Talkers – Every product has its own shelf talker, which can be easily printed and posted on your shelves to let your customers know the details of each beer you’re selling.

Fintech – Origlio.com also offers information on an alternative invoice payment option. The Fintech portal allows you to pay for your beer deliveries, electronically, through an EFT clearing house.

Online Ordering – Save time by placing your orders online, through our website. Contact your sales rep to get registered and begin ordering online, anytime of the day or night.

Beers Sent Straight to Your Inbox

Our Sunday email blast keeps recipients up-to-speed on important product information for the upcoming week. Whether it’s a brand new, year-round offering, a seasonal release or a hot product that’s almost out of stock, this eblast highlights products your customers want in a concise format.

Our newly launched, bi-weekly Rethinking Retail eblasts feature hot programs and innovative strategies for going to market.

To receive these eblasts, simply send an email to socialmedia@origlio.com with your account name and email address.

Social Media

Origlio is active on all your favorite social media platforms, from Facebook to Instagram to Twitter. Join the conversation by connecting with @DraughtLinesMag for industry news, local beer scene stories and updates on all of our brands.

Print Publications

Our two in-house publications, Heady Times and Draught Lines, each highlight the industry from distinctly different perspectives. Heady Times, published five times a year, features new and seasonal products, account spotlights, brewer interviews and upcoming programs.

Draught Lines, our lifestyle publication, is also published five times a year. It puts into focus the local beer scene, highlights upcoming events, shares in depth brewer discussions, and so much more. Visit DraughtLinesMag.com to read a digital version of the magazine. And sign up for a free online subscription! Why chance missing a single edition?

Superior products and exceptional customer service are a given, but we also partner with our accounts and strive to bolster profits using new and innovative techniques. For better or worse, the beer industry and sales trends are always in flux, and Origlio is dedicated to making sure you can count on us to be more than just another wholesaler.

For more information on any of these resources, contact your local sales rep or give our account specialists a call at 215-698-9500.

Lagu-Numerology Makes Odering Beer As Easy As 1-2-3

Lagunitas is “doggone” serious about making great beer, but fun is definitely in this craft brewery’s DNA. While lots of companies do drug testing, Lagunitas prefers that its employees “test” pot.

Lagunitas wants you to have some serious fun too. That’s where their Lagu-Numerology comes in. Ben Martin, the Brewery’s I-PA Conduit of Libations Management and Ambassador of Good-Times, explains, “Time is everyone’s most valuable commodity. And too many retailers are missing out on a lot of fun because they are over-thinking which beers to bring in next. Play the hot hand, people! And since you have a limited amount of space and/or tap handles, it only makes sense to stock brands that have the ‘numbers’ that will make you more money.”

And that’s what Lagu-Numerology is all about.*

#1 IPA Brand - Lagunitas IPA is the top-selling IPA brand.

+30% Annual Growth Rate - Lagunitas’ annual growth rate averaged 30% over the last ten years in our market.

#6 Craft Brand Family - Of all craft brand families, Lagunitas was the second fastest grower, while maintaining a premium price point.

An Origlio Top 10 Best Seller - It’s our 8th best-selling brand by margin.

#1 IPA 12-Pack - Lagunitas IPA 12-packs are up 16%.

#6 IPA Brand Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ - Accounts that added Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ increased total sales by 35% and increased IPA sales by 15%.

Craft Cans Up +39% - 12th of Never by itself would already be a top 75 craft brewery in IRI with just a single SKU.

*All national data cited courtesy of IRI.

Shelf Talkers "Stop the Shopper"

So Why Not Download Them For Free at Origlio.com?

"It works for wine,” says Bob Sokel, Off-premise Chain and Space Planning Manager for Origlio Beverage. “There is no doubt in my mind that shelf talkers stop the shopper and influence what a browsing customer purchases. That’s why we’ve invested so much money in custom software, which automatically generates shelf talkers for each one of our products. We know that consumers like variety and want to be educated, so why wouldn’t a retailer take advantage of this free service?”

Retailers know the importance of stopping customers in their tracks to get them to buy things that aren’t on their shopping list. A good shelf talker can do that. “When I’m in a wine store, I watch people shop. I see them drawn to a bottle because they are reading the shelf talker,” Sokel observed. “Once the bottle is in their hands, there’s a good chance it will end up in the shopping cart.”

Along with a full-color graphic, Origlio’s shelf talkers uniformly display the information consumers typically look up on their cell phones… style, ABV, IBUs, taste and food pairings. There’s even a space for you to include a score from whichever source you find credible. (ABI recently purchased RateBeer.com so we thought you would want to use a score from an independent source you trust.) Beers tagged with a rating – preferably those with a score of 88 or higher, tend to sell better. You could call them “better beers” that sell at higher price points. In other words, the beers you want to sell more of.

So why should you bother downloading Origlio’s shelf talkers?

Shelf talkers provide information that customers may be afraid or embarrassed to ask. Plus, consumers are more likely to buy a product that catches their eye. That factor outweighs promotions, coupons, recommendations and even ads according to a study by Market Force.

Origlio’s eye-catching shelf talkers, with their colorful graphics and useful information, not only tell the beer’s story, they grab the shopper’s attention right at the point of purchase, where 70% of buying decisions are made. How cool is that?

Shelf Talkers Add Another Level of Customer Service and…

1. Simplify the shopper’s decision making process

2. Highlight products with the hottest flavors and trends customers seek

3. Create a positive, “value-added” shopping experience

4. Guide the shopper to higher margin brands

5. Combined with a price promotion, shelf talkers signal value, increasing sales velocity

6. Shoppers seek strong value propositions, not always the lowest cost

7. Increase purchases made by loyal customers

8. Attract new customers who like the way you sell beer

Simply search for a beer at Origlio.com. Click on the beer and it will take you to a description page. Hover over the shelf talker box in the upper right corner. Select print. Four shelf talkers are then automatically sent directly to your printer.

Shelf Sets for Today's Single-Serve Consumer

For many retailers, the stereotypical single-serve customer drinks his or her purchase outside the store, leaving an empty container and paper bag behind in the parking lot as an ugly memento. “I don’t want that kind of business,” is a phrase lots of Origlio sales professionals hear when they discuss single-serve options with retailers.

But there is another kind of single-serve consumer, one who craves variety, new flavors and a customized – make that personalized – assortment of adult beverages that six and 12-packs don’t offer. “Today’s legal age drinkers have a set of roughly 12 different kinds of alcoholic beverages in their personal repertoire,” explains Ray Faust, Chief Sales Officer for Heineken USA. “Today’s consumers are eager to experiment with new flavors and styles. They are willing to pay more for something unique. And cost per ounce doesn’t really matter, as long as they get the assortment they want. Single-serve, two-fers and 4-packs are the preferred packages for these consumers.”

“It’s all about the luxury of choice,” says Linda Ashbee, Origlio Beverage Off-premise District Manager for Delaware and Chester Counties. “The right assortment of single-serve and small format packages is an opportunity for retailers to drive impulse purchases. Plus, these packages make it easier to entice customers to trade-up to high margin items, which might be deemed too expensive in larger configurations.” “But to cash in on these opportunities, you have to ‘curate’ the right assortment for your store. What you don’t have to do is cram in everything under the sun. That just confuses and frustrates the customer,” says Jeff Stiles, Off-premise District Manager for Bucks and Montgomery Counties.

So what does the right assortment look like?

“There’s no one, simple answer to that question”, comments Bob Seeley, Off-premise District Manager for Philadelphia County. “But whatever the assortment is, it must be organized in some kind of logical order that makes sense to the customer. You want to make it simple for the customer to shop and choose. If you don’t do that, you can forget impulse buys and up-selling.”

Build Your Business with Single & Small Format Packages

To provide an organized and logical shopping experience, follow the suggested flow of product segments. The product assortment and space allocated to each segment should be based on your customer’s demands.

Remember: shoppers expect stores to fulfill ALL their needs, while still making it easy to shop.

Key Take-Aways

• Easy to change assortment

• Singles & small format packages are very profitable

• 55% of all beer purchases are singles

• Single sales have increased 31% since 2012 across all price segments

• The single shopper is more loyal to a store than any other customer

If you maintain this template, it will be easy to change your display to take advantage of new products and seasonals.

Rethinking Retail Podcast Ep. 1: Shelf Sets

Industry Analyst Bump Williams Explains Why Now is the Time to "Rethink" Your Retail Strategies

“I thought I had it all figured out,” a beer distributor said to a long-time customer while carrying a case of beer to her car. “I can sell beer in all different packages – even growlers. But now other licensees sell beer and some sell wine. How do I compete?”

Sound familiar? You built a thriving beer business in Pennsylvania playing by the rules. Yes, the rules [laws] have changed, but so have a lot of other things. Customers don’t just buy beer; they are looking for a retail experience. Beer-only drinkers are harder to find. Many customers who purchase beer often make decisions based on information they read on their mobile phones, while walking up and down the aisles. Then occasionally someone walks into your store, looks around, but leaves without buying anything.

“Stores across the country face the same challenges, but my heart goes out to the folks in Pennsylvania because the retail landscape there has changed dramatically in a very short period of time,” says Bump Williams, founder of BWC Company. Williams is well known in the beer, wine & spirits world where he has made his mark helping retailers grow sales. He begins by evaluating their current status and goals. Then he gives his clients actionable recommendations, which invariably improve their bottom line.

“It’s a lot to absorb,” says Williams about the situation in Pennsylvania. “Some guys have even admitted that they feel lost and don’t know what to do, or where to begin. If you want to stay in business, I tell them to take a deep breath and think about taking small bites out of the apple. There are ALWAYS things you can do, even if you don’t have a lot of money to spend, to show the customer that your store is where they want to buy beer. What you can’t do is NOTHING.” Bob Sokel, Off-Premise Chain and Space Planning Manager for Origlio Beverage agrees with Williams’s approach. “When times change, you have to change the way you think about your business. There’s lots of opportunity to grow by selling single-serve and six-packs along with cases. By taking small bites out of the apple, as Williams suggests, you can begin to make changes that will make you more successful.”

“I usually begin by asking my clients a few questions,” Williams says. “What do you think are your biggest challenges? Are you willing to make some changes to address those challenges? What are the kinds of things you have done in the past that have improved sales – like samplings or ‘Meet the Brewer’ events? What makes you different from the competition?” While these are important things to consider, both Williams and Sokel realize that there are only so many hours in a day. When asked to pick just one thing (that doesn’t cost money) you could do to improve sales, without hesitation both men said shelf sets. “Sokel and his Origlio Beverage co-workers have studied how products should be organized to maximize sales. Ask them what should go where,” Williams advised.

Have a strategy in mind before stocking the shelves and you will make it easier for your customer to buy more beer. A shelf set template is available at origlio.com in the Retailer Resources section.” “Hey, you’re not in grade school anymore,” Williams quipped. “Take a look at the plan-o-grams on Origlio’s website. For once it’s OK to copy off of your neighbor’s test paper!"

Tom Riley Talks Draught Quality

Serving your guests a brewery-fresh pint is easy and profitable. It just takes a little extra care.

Origlio Draught Service Manager Tom Riley visits hundreds of accounts each year, troubleshooting faulty draught systems, so he knows the ins and outs of delivering an excellent product to customers.

“Temperature is key,” says Riley. “When a beer is having foam issues, some people mess with the pressure gauge to try to fix it. But 9 times out of 10, your problem is temperature.” Riley says the most common reason for warm beer, which should be 34 to 38 degrees, is excessive opening and closing of the cooler door. Do you store food items in your beer cooler? Is it left open, while morning or evening prep is going on? If so, chances are the actual cooler temperature is closer to 50 degrees. At this temperature, the beer, and more importantly the beer lines, begin to warm, making it almost impossible to serve a proper pint.

Another issue Riley sees at many accounts is an insufficient stock of kegs. When beer is delivered, even from a refrigerated truck, it may have warmed up beyond the proper serving temperature. Riley suggests that beer sit for at least 24 hours in your cooler, prior to tapping, so the liquid chills to the correct temperature. Consider purchasing extra kegs to avoid having to tap the day of delivery. It will improve the quality of the beer and ultimately the amount of foam-free beer poured from the keg.

If a beer cooler is running properly, chilling the beer to the proper temperature is an easy way to prevent foamy beer. But Riley often encounters technical problems from “draught systems that aren’t properly balanced or maintained.” A balanced system (in terms of pressure, temperature and cleanliness) delivers beer (not foam) at the rate of two ounces per second. If your system is not doing this, then it might be time to call a draught system expert, like Riley.

The other key is proper line cleaning. “In states like Pennsylvania, there’s actually a law that states that beer lines must be cleaned once a week.” A recirculating pump is best to do the job and it should run for at least 20 minutes.

“Another important thing to do, that a lot people forget (or just ignore) is taking the facets apart for cleaning,” says Riley. “Sometimes there’s a lot of hard yeast built up that creates off flavors. It’s a problem I see just about every day.”

One final piece of advice from Riley, to ensure the best draught experience for your customers, is to make sure the beer is poured properly from the tap. Hold the glass at a 45-degree angle so the beer will pour down the side of the glass. Grip the tap handle at the base, never at the top and open the faucet quickly. As the glass fills, gradually bring it upright and pour down the middle to form a proper head on the beer. Then, close the faucet quickly to avoid overflow. A couple of absolute don’ts from Riley’s experience: never touch the glass with the faucet, never touch the beer or foam with the faucet and never open the faucet part way.

When draught beer is properly poured, customers are satisfied, retailers maximize efficiency & profits and create loyalty amongst customers. So, take the extra time to make sure you’re getting the most out of your draught system!

For more detailed information on improving and maintaining your draught system, check out draughtquality.org.

Want to Maximize Fourth Quarter Holiday Sales?

Understand What Customer Service Means to Women & Men, Because It’s Not the Same.

Even the best assortment of products isn’t a guarantee that customers will walk through your door. That’s why you’ve given so much thought to customer service. Customer service begins with the one-on-one interaction between the salesperson and the customer. Most importantly, it’s your chance to create an exceptional in-store shopping experience, something even the best online companies can’t deliver.

Bridget Brennan, author of Why She Buys, stresses the importance of having a real customer service strategy in place to sell to women. Why? Because women are powerful consumers driving 85% of all consumer purchases. They shop for family, friends and parents. By understanding why and how women make purchasing decisions, you can develop a selling strategy that motivates them to buy more from you, rather than your competitors.

What should a female-focused selling strategy entail? Ginger Johnson wrote the book on how to sell beer to women. It’s called How to Market Beer to Women: Don’t Sell Me a Pink Hammer. Johnson says, “An engaged female customer is a happy customer.” She goes on to explain that women want help from a knowledgeable person, who will assist her in selecting the right product.

• For women, customer satisfaction is strongly linked to a shop’s willingness to share expert advice (demonstrate familiarity with the product) and the shop’s ability to help them determine which products suit best. According to a study by The Verde Group, 29% of women considered the “lack of help when needed” as the top problem when shopping. It is also the likeliest reason that stores lose the business of women.

• For men, good services mean helping them find the right item and helping them get through checkout quickly.

Gender, more than any other factor, determines how people define a good shopping experience. It doesn’t mean one set of criteria is better, or worse, than the other. It’s just different. And that’s ok. Even women in sales need a strategy to sell to other women. These lessons aren’t meant for men solely.

A husband and wife, who own a local beer retail shop, discussed this topic with their staff the other day. “I always tell new employees how important it is to keep the restrooms clean and carry packages out to the car,” commented the woman. “Now, I have to remind myself to tailor my sales pitch to whomever I’m speaking to, based on gender, so I can make the most of a selling opportunity. As the French say, ‘Vive la Difference!’”