Commerical Display Idea

[epetkus]

Well, this past weekend I visited a local, indoor produce market with my sweetie (they were having wine tastings, chocolate fountain, etc.), and to my pleasant surprise after my asking, they said they had mead! The lady had to go in the back to ask another coworker where it was located (and it is a SMALL store), but she came out and led me to (oh the horror!), the beer section! Adding insult to injury, while Lambics, fruit beers and what not were neatly lined up on the shelves, the "mead" was on the floor in the wooden crates they were shipped in. They had one bottle of Polish mead, and melomels from Redstone. That was it. Lonely, dusty bottles in a box on the floor.

So, one of the endeavors I have added to my life goals is to "evangelize" and significantly increase the awareness, interest, education, and enjoyment of mead in the United States. A part of that "plan" is to establish an attractive and prominent presentation of mead for purchase in stores that can be convinced to carry it (it's all about the money for retailers).

So, I offer the following mead display rack concept for stores willing to give this a serious go. I probably won't be in the commercial realm for several years, but I would LOVE for this concept to be adopted, tweaked, improved, etc. to further the mead appreciation in this country.

As you'll see, it's not all inclusive, that would be difficult and large. However, my idea was to provide the primary mead categories, allowing for various meads/meadery products to be crisply displayed in the store.

Comments, suggestions, and even critiques are welcome.

Eric

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Arrgggh! After 30 minutes of struggling, I still cannot get this image uploaded, even though the .jpg is well with the image size limits.

Help!

 

[WRATHWILDE]

Arrgggh! After 30 minutes of struggling, I still cannot get this image uploaded, even though the .jpg is well with the image size limits.
Help!

I had the same problem the other day. Here's what to do. Upload the pic to http://bayimg.com/ ~ be sure to add tags or it will refuse the upload.

Then click the uploaded image when complete, right click the image to open image in new window. this should take you to the jpg file address.

Example ~ http://bayimg.com/image/canjiaabk.jpg - notice address ends in .jpg

To insert the image use [ img ]http://bayimg.com/image/canjiaabk.jpg[/img]
No spaces in the brackets - spaces were used to nullify the image loading and show the code needed.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde

 

[JB175]

It seems like this situation is pretty much reality for the time being. Most areas don't have much of a mead selection, and those that do don't organize it well. At the same time, where should meads be in most stores? The beer section, with Dessert & fortified wines, with "local" wines (the section on the east coast that designates the non West Coast and Import wines)? The best I've seen is Oak Tree in Northern NJ ( http://www.oaktreebuyrite.com/STOREPICS021007017.jpg/STOREPICS021007017-full.jpg ) - they at least have a dedicated mead "section" that addresses mead by name.

 

[WRATHWILDE]

Pet peave, liquor shops that store corked bottles upright. I can't tell you how many bottles I've of wine over the years I've gotten with dried out crumbling corks because they weren't stored properly.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde

 

[osluder]

To insert the image use [ img ]http://bayimg.com/image/canjiaabk.jpg[/img]
No spaces in the brackets - spaces were used to nullify the image loading and show the code needed.

There's also a NOPARSE BB code you can use rather than spaces:

[noparse][img]http://bayimg.com/image/canjiaabk.jpg[/img][/noparse]

results in

[img]http://bayimg.com/image/canjiaabk.jpg[/img]

-- Olen

 

[epetkus]

Here's the image. (Thanks to Wrathwilde!!)

Remember, this is just a concept. It could be larger, smaller, etc. based upon what is being presented.

The top row shows how the bottles might be stored; one upright in the front, the others laying on their sides behind.

Eric

 

[CBiebel]

At the same time, where should meads be in most stores? The beer section, with Dessert & fortified wines, with "local" wines (the section on the east coast that designates the non West Coast and Import wines)?

Well in the store I work in, the mead that we have is with the "specialty beers" for a few reasons:

1. The bottles are similar in their makeup (We have Redstone with the swingtops). It's on the same rack as the Lambics, Chimays, and other "big bottle" beers.
2. If it's with the wine, some people will just assume it's wine.
3. The people who tend to look at specialty beers would be the ones more likely to know what mead is.

 

[JB175]

Well in the store I work in, the mead that we have is with the "specialty beers" for a few reasons:

1. The bottles are similar in their makeup (We have Redstone with the swingtops). It's on the same rack as the Lambics, Chimays, and other "big bottle" beers.
2. If it's with the wine, some people will just assume it's wine.
3. The people who tend to look at specialty beers would be the ones more likely to know what mead is.

This makes sense, and I imagine its why most places do it this way. The problem I see is that most places give poorer placement to beer (relative to wine & spirits), and mead tends to get some of the worst shelf placement in the beer section. Its not too hard to find if you know what you're looking for, but I'm guessing fewer consumers pick up a mead on impulse because of this (not to mention ignorance of the product).

In my state of PA there is an additional challenge in that mead is typically sold only in state liquor stores (which do not sell beer). The only place a mead lover can find beer & mead together is at a few brewpubs that occasionally feature a braggot.

 

[epetkus]

This makes sense, and I imagine its why most places do it this way. The problem I see is that most places give poorer placement to beer (relative to wine & spirits), and mead tends to get some of the worst shelf placement in the beer section. Its not too hard to find if you know what you're looking for, but I'm guessing fewer consumers pick up a mead on impulse because of this (not to mention ignorance of the product).

Which is why, in my opinion, a sharp, crisp, wine-like display in the wine section of stores will go a long way towards increasing the awareness, understanding of different mead types, and "stature" of mead to the general public. The fact that Redstone uses swing-top bottles doesn't make it more like beer, but I understand the visual comparison, and even shelving, to beer, and how that might clash with a wine display.

If we, as a greater mead community, truly want to see mead re-emerge as an understood and widely accepted beverage (at least in America), then we need to ensure that it gets marketed (read displayed and adverstised) in a manner worthy of its merit. It isn't going to happen by itself, and the wine industry probably isn't going to take kindly to giving up display space to mead, so pricing/profit for retailers is important.

Of course, we need quality commerical products to be the backbone and foundation of a marketing push, and maybe we aren't there yet, but I for one would love to see the wine review in the Delta Air Lines magazine give praise to some commercial mead he/she just tasted.

Eric

 

[CBiebel]

Which is why, in my opinion, a sharp, crisp, wine-like display in the wine section of stores will go a long way towards increasing the awareness, understanding of different mead types, and "stature" of mead to the general public. The fact that Redstone uses swing-top bottles doesn't make it more like beer, but I understand the visual comparison, and even shelving, to beer, and how that might clash with a wine display.

If we, as a greater mead community, truly want to see mead re-emerge as an understood and widely accepted beverage (at least in America), then we need to ensure that it gets marketed (read displayed and adverstised) in a manner worthy of its merit. It isn't going to happen by itself, and the wine industry probably isn't going to take kindly to giving up display space to mead, so pricing/profit for retailers is important.

Of course, we need quality commerical products to be the backbone and foundation of a marketing push, and maybe we aren't there yet, but I for one would love to see the wine review in the Delta Air Lines magazine give praise to some commercial mead he/she just tasted.

Eric

Part of the problem is how everything has to be "quantified" when it comes to alcohol in the US, not to mention differences in how states treat alcohol.

One thing that comes to mind is how is mead classified. Yes, it's actually a different beverage, but in some ways it might benefit by being incorrectly classified as something else. For instance, in New Jersey, you are allowed to have "wine tastings" in a liquor store, yet you aren't allowed to do the same with beer (even though beer has a lower alcohol percentage). This doesn't make sense (it's likely due to the view that wine is more diverse than beer, even though this is false). So if you classify mead as "wine" then you could do tastings and allow people to experience it firsthand. Of course, if you have a braggot, then you couldn't do so, since according to federal law, you can't have any malt on the premises of a winery.

Then you have the problem of various states having different places where you can sell things. Most states allow beer and wine sales in supermarkets. Some, though, require special stores. Some states have wines in one type of store and beer in another. In New Jersey, wine, beer, and liquor are actually all sold in the same store.

 

[CBiebel]

Of course, we need quality commerical products to be the backbone and foundation of a marketing push, and maybe we aren't there yet, but I for one would love to see the wine review in the Delta Air Lines magazine give praise to some commercial mead he/she just tasted.

Eric[/QUOTE]

Just thought I'd add that I did read some reviews of mead in Draft magazine a few issues back. They have an area where they do "seasonal reviews" and for one of these, they had a section listed as "mead."

 

[CBiebel]

Of course, we need quality commerical products to be the backbone and foundation of a marketing push, and maybe we aren't there yet, but I for one would love to see the wine review in the Delta Air Lines magazine give praise to some commercial mead he/she just tasted.

Eric

Just thought I'd add that I did read some reviews of mead in Draft magazine a few issues back. They have an area where they do "seasonal reviews" and for one of these, they had a section listed as "mead."

 

[capoeirista13]

Hey, this thread helped me back when I was writing a paper for my food-writing class. Although there was only a reply or two when I was writing. It is the second paper in this thread
http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13875

And some of the critiques of the paper were that I said the producers and the consumers needed to be reeducated, but I couldn't think of any real solid ideas to put in the paper. It would be great if you guys had any ideas?

Another critique was that I could expand on the idea of why drinks like bacardi and smirnoff have grown in popularity while mead remained stagnant. So, any ideas on this?

I think these two things tie in with the idea of this thread.

 

[Medsen Fey]

There is no greater force for marketing in this country than the power of celebrity. Just look at the impact that hip-hop stars had on the price of Cristal Champagne.

If a few notable celebs take to mead, the next thing you know everyone will me wanting (and making) mead. Send a couple of cases to the White house, and if President Obama likes it, I expect the industry will be set for a generation. If Brad and Angelina are seen with a bottle of Tej, there's no telling what will happen. Mead just needs to get one good face in front of the paparazzi.

The last famous person seen drinking mead was Robin Hood!

 

[capoeirista13]

hmm that is a good idea, and a really good point! I never considered celebrity power as a factor, but it makes sense. Maybe a gotmeader will get famous and take care of that for us, lol.