Well it's all a bit strange to me, reading this thread.
Because, I'm thinking on the different ways that booze is sold in the US and here (not the licensing of sales etc).
For instance, it seems that you are thinking on the basis of "main stream" sales for the product. That doesn't seem to work here as it's not considered a main stream product, hence it's not often seen in "Off Licenses" i.e. liquor store type places are known as "Off Licenses" as they sell booze for consumption off the premises, whereas a pub holds a license for consumption on premises - which gives rise to the phrases of "Pub" (Public House which has an "On" License) and Off License (as above).
Now Pubs are different as a lot of them are either "tied" (tied to a brewery or company that specifically ties them to one distributor - the Licensee will be contractually required to obtain stocks from the one location), or "Free House" where they get their stock from wherever they can - and sell the types/brands that they want.....
Off licenses, some of which are chains, will sell whatever brands that either the chain or the Owner/Licensee can get the best deal on. The chains invariably manage to get the best deals as they can negotiate the price on the bulk purchase. There are still a small number of "traditional" type Off licenses around, that tend not to have young, uniformed staff on minimum wage, all lit with flashy signs and neon etc (think McDonalds but for booze), but something like a "normal" shop, just with rows of various products - and in the so called "main stream" that's about the only place you might see mead - though for example (a not mead example), in a chain "Offy", if you looked for something like an "anise", you'd see Pernod, possibly (depending on the location, racial mix of demographic) an Ouzo and even possibly a Raki. Whereas, the only independent Offy I can think of round here, he has the Pernod, but also keeps Noilly Pratt and Pastis 51 (didn't look at the Ouzo or Raki). But amongst the brandies, he had some of the usual suspects, but could separate into Cognac, Armagnac and Calvados - and again, the usual suspects plus a number of very select brandies from small independent makers (some of which would be considered up there amongst the very best - and no, I'd not heard of them either, but the prices told a very different story..... in excess of £100 a bottle type choices). He did have 3 or 4 different meads as well........
For meads themselves, here, they do tend to be very much a niche product and are found in places that sell "country" type products but also hold an "off license". A good example being Middle Farm, which not only is a working dairy farm, but has an extensive "Farm shop" with ranges of cheeses, cooked and fresh meats, organic veg etc etc, but also claims to sell the largest range of cider (that's "hard cider" to you non-Brits) and perry (the correct name for Hard Pear cider). You don't buy it in specially produced "pretty" marketing bottles, you get to taste it in the tiny medicine measuring cups (about 10 or 15 mls) and when you find the one you like, you can then buy it in quantities from a pint up to a keg (less than a keg it's provided in HDPE type milk containers up to a gallon).
This is the place that also keeps the largest number of meads I've seen in one location. He has about a dozen or so, but the UK market being a strange beast, they all seem to be sweet sack type meads as it does seem that the makers presume that mead/honey wine, suggests something like watered down honey with alcohol in it. I'm not a big fan of those.
So here I think, that marketing would be a whole different ball game. You'd have a hard job bringing it to the public consciousness. It'd be like starting from scratch. Of course, a lot of people have heard of it, and know what it is, but then it seems to be one of those "historical anomalies" that anyone still makes it. Let alone selling it........
As for where Ian should try and get it located......I'd suggest that if possible, follow the route of the "supermarkets" and the lines/products with the highest mark up are always the ones placed in the direct eye line of the potential purchaser - if they're too high, or low, they don't get seen straight away which reduces the number of potential buyers. Where or in which section is a little less important. If it can end up in the direct eye line of the buyer, specifically in the section that sells the greatest numbers of product, then he's likely to see the largest number of sales......."Mead ? Damn, I've heard of that, I wonder what it tastes like ? Wow!, not a bad price either, I'll have one of those" and bingo, not only higher initial sales but higher repeats to those who discover it's good shit...........
Just my POV and 2 cents worth.....
regards
fatbloke
Because, I'm thinking on the different ways that booze is sold in the US and here (not the licensing of sales etc).
For instance, it seems that you are thinking on the basis of "main stream" sales for the product. That doesn't seem to work here as it's not considered a main stream product, hence it's not often seen in "Off Licenses" i.e. liquor store type places are known as "Off Licenses" as they sell booze for consumption off the premises, whereas a pub holds a license for consumption on premises - which gives rise to the phrases of "Pub" (Public House which has an "On" License) and Off License (as above).
Now Pubs are different as a lot of them are either "tied" (tied to a brewery or company that specifically ties them to one distributor - the Licensee will be contractually required to obtain stocks from the one location), or "Free House" where they get their stock from wherever they can - and sell the types/brands that they want.....
Off licenses, some of which are chains, will sell whatever brands that either the chain or the Owner/Licensee can get the best deal on. The chains invariably manage to get the best deals as they can negotiate the price on the bulk purchase. There are still a small number of "traditional" type Off licenses around, that tend not to have young, uniformed staff on minimum wage, all lit with flashy signs and neon etc (think McDonalds but for booze), but something like a "normal" shop, just with rows of various products - and in the so called "main stream" that's about the only place you might see mead - though for example (a not mead example), in a chain "Offy", if you looked for something like an "anise", you'd see Pernod, possibly (depending on the location, racial mix of demographic) an Ouzo and even possibly a Raki. Whereas, the only independent Offy I can think of round here, he has the Pernod, but also keeps Noilly Pratt and Pastis 51 (didn't look at the Ouzo or Raki). But amongst the brandies, he had some of the usual suspects, but could separate into Cognac, Armagnac and Calvados - and again, the usual suspects plus a number of very select brandies from small independent makers (some of which would be considered up there amongst the very best - and no, I'd not heard of them either, but the prices told a very different story..... in excess of £100 a bottle type choices). He did have 3 or 4 different meads as well........
For meads themselves, here, they do tend to be very much a niche product and are found in places that sell "country" type products but also hold an "off license". A good example being Middle Farm, which not only is a working dairy farm, but has an extensive "Farm shop" with ranges of cheeses, cooked and fresh meats, organic veg etc etc, but also claims to sell the largest range of cider (that's "hard cider" to you non-Brits) and perry (the correct name for Hard Pear cider). You don't buy it in specially produced "pretty" marketing bottles, you get to taste it in the tiny medicine measuring cups (about 10 or 15 mls) and when you find the one you like, you can then buy it in quantities from a pint up to a keg (less than a keg it's provided in HDPE type milk containers up to a gallon).
This is the place that also keeps the largest number of meads I've seen in one location. He has about a dozen or so, but the UK market being a strange beast, they all seem to be sweet sack type meads as it does seem that the makers presume that mead/honey wine, suggests something like watered down honey with alcohol in it. I'm not a big fan of those.
So here I think, that marketing would be a whole different ball game. You'd have a hard job bringing it to the public consciousness. It'd be like starting from scratch. Of course, a lot of people have heard of it, and know what it is, but then it seems to be one of those "historical anomalies" that anyone still makes it. Let alone selling it........
As for where Ian should try and get it located......I'd suggest that if possible, follow the route of the "supermarkets" and the lines/products with the highest mark up are always the ones placed in the direct eye line of the potential purchaser - if they're too high, or low, they don't get seen straight away which reduces the number of potential buyers. Where or in which section is a little less important. If it can end up in the direct eye line of the buyer, specifically in the section that sells the greatest numbers of product, then he's likely to see the largest number of sales......."Mead ? Damn, I've heard of that, I wonder what it tastes like ? Wow!, not a bad price either, I'll have one of those" and bingo, not only higher initial sales but higher repeats to those who discover it's good shit...........
Just my POV and 2 cents worth.....
regards
fatbloke
So they poke and hope or at least have a type of wine in mind and limit their search to a style. You will be slotted to the mead section and that is almost certain death as the masses are not geared to thinking " Mead "...
