While the initial blow was tough, many of your bar and restaurant partners have pivoted to adapt to the new reality by taking additional safety precautions including expanded outdoor seating. But they are just scraping by at best. And Winter is coming.
This should not only be concerning to them, but also to you. Without any help, many of these businesses won’t make it to next Spring. Winter is the time when everyone wants to pack into warm, indoor areas to avoid the cold, but that can’t happen this year. And after all that you’ve lost, you can’t afford to lose out on Winter sales, let alone losing distribution points that are so greatly needed for a recovery next year.
So how can you help your retailers?
The majority of on-premise businesses will have to rely heavily on take-out orders to make up for these limitations. One way you can help them, while also promoting your brand, is to place branded “To-Go” signs in windows. This reminds customers that they can order takeout from their favorite bars and restaurants, and reminds them that they can order your products “to-go” as well.
To offset the cost, many of our clients will split the cost of the sign with their distributor partners or even offer them at a low cost to the retailers after that co-op, making it much more affordable for each tier. Partnering with your distributors can also help by boosting the quantities a bit and making shipping and placement faster and easier.
In the end, the businesses in all three tiers of supply, distribution, and retail are highly reliant on each other. Retailers in the On Prem channel make up our favorite restaurants, bars, watering holes, and hangouts. We have all made memories at these places and the role they play in our communities cannot be overstated. Right now they have pivoted as much as they can and need help in order to hang on. And the role they play in the recovery will be critical.
Those who anticipate the struggles that lie ahead and find creative ways to support their partners now are going to be the ones who come out ahead in 2021. For our limited part, and in any way we can, we’re here to ensure those businesses are you and your retailers.
Drop us a line to get the ball rolling, and we’ll take it from there!
Cheers!