Why on-trade data matters now
Until now, drink brands have had very little visibility on what is actually drunk in the horeca (bars, cafés and restaurants), where and at what price.
- Marketing relied on wholesaler data, surveys and sales-team feedback. Market share, price elasticity and consumption patterns were guesswork.
- Sales teams lacked hard facts to support their pitch, and couldn't be deployed where they'd have the most impact.
- Promotion budgets were large, but their real return couldn't be measured.
Four changes now make this market transparent:
Let’s get to the value
Every sales and marketing decision comes down to four questions: price, place, promotion and product. For the first time, you can answer each one with real on-trade sales data instead of estimates.
Price
What do venues charge for your product, and how does that compare with competitors? How does price vary by region or postal code? What is your price elasticity, and your market share in volume and value?
Growing sales, hidden risks: the 38% price gap
An international drink brand saw its sales grow in Belgium, but didn't know why. Its sales team also reported big price differences between regions.
We analysed one year of consumption data and found that:
- Growth came from new venues, not from higher sales per venue.
- Prices varied by up to 38% between regions.
- The cause was the venue mix: the product was sold in very different types of venue, with different prices and customers.
Behind healthy sales figures, the brand's positioning was at risk. The data gave management the facts to act.
Place
Which types of venue sell the most of your product? Is the number of venues selling it growing? What are your competitors doing?
Six venue types, two that matter: a razor-sharp brand launch
An international brand owner planned to launch a new flavoured water brand in Belgium, a market where it did not yet distribute. It knew the retail market well, but lacked a clear view of the on-trade.
Tea Time Data defined 6 venue types together with the client, and mapped waters, soft drinks and non-alcoholic beers across them. We found that:
- Two venue types out of six are the right place to launch the brand.
- Not every venue is worth the investment: the other four are far less of a priority.
Instead of flooding the market, the brand launched with a razor-sharp strategy. According to the client, this saved a very significant amount of money.
Promotion
What did your campaign really return? Which of two campaigns worked better? How can you run a proper A/B test? What are the key elements a marketing campaign should have?
Two cities, two campaigns, one clear answer
A leading soft drink brand tested two marketing campaigns in two cities. It needed to know which one worked better, and what each really returned.
Together we defined 18 key metrics and tracked them day by day, before and after the campaigns. For the first time, the company could calculate an objective ROI for each campaign.
The data also revealed a surprise: the best choice depended on the mix of venues in each city. The right campaign is not the same everywhere.
The right pairing: testing a decades-old advertising choice
For many years, a premium alcohol brand has advertised its product next to one specific food item. The choice was based on gut feeling, and it was never questioned.
Tea Time Data tested this pairing against actual consumption data. We found that:
- The iconic food item was not the top pairing. Other food items came out stronger.
- The setting matters as much as the food. The best pairings varied by venue type, price level and region.
The brand kept its iconic campaign, now with a slightly different food item and venue setting, based on facts.
Product
How does your product mix vary by region? What is your product drunk with, and when? How do weather and sports events affect sales?
Non-alcoholic beer isn't competing with beer
A beverage brand asked us a simple question: how is our non-alcoholic beer really drunk in bars and restaurants?
The answer changed its strategy. Non-alcoholic beer is drunk much earlier in the day than regular beer. Its pattern matches soft drinks, not beer.
The conclusion is clear: the real competitor of non-alcoholic beer is the soft drink. That has direct consequences for marketing, sales and distribution.
Sunshine beats sports: putting numbers on gut feeling
An alcohol brand believed that good weather and televised sports boosted its sales in bars. But it didn't know by how much, or whether the effect was big enough to build a strategy on.
We combined 12 months of consumption data with local weather data and the sports calendar. The answers were clear:
- Weather matters, at a precise moment. Sales peak on sunny days between 17:00 and 20:00.
- Sports events don't. Their effect is too small to justify a dedicated campaign.
The brand now knows exactly when to activate its marketing, and stopped spending on sports campaigns that didn't move sales.
Our case studies
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