Distilled Issue 8

We’ve had a makeover! Recently Endeavour Group launched its fresh new look and feel to better represent who we are and our future. You’ll see that come to life in this latest edition of Distilled, and we can’t wait to hear what you think!

In our biggest issue yet, you’ll find loads of valuable information to help spark ideas, inform conversations with our teams, and get some insights into our category.

As well as answering some of your most asked questions from the recent Supplier Forum, we spoke to the team over at Dan’s Daily for an update on our new digital lifestyle publication, and the folks at BWS for a report on how the very ‘unboring’ Cool Room activation came to life.

I also strongly encourage you to check out our sustainability update article, where we dive into how we’re tracking and what our vision is for the next few years.

Before I leave you, I want to wish you all a fantastic Christmas and summer trade, and happy celebrations with friends and family.

Cheers, Bree Coleman

General Manager Merchandise Transformation

04 Ask Tim

We tackle the most frequently asked questions from our recent Supplier Forum, including how to best engage with our ALH team.

08 Why sustainability matters more than ever

The latest on Endeavour’s initiatives and ideas on how we can all leave a positive imprint on our industry.

Contents

18 Endeavour launches first REFLECT RAP

As an important part of our purpose to create a more sociable future together, during October we launched our first Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan.

28 What are store clusters?

Clustering is a key pillar in Endeavour’s proposition to deliver the right products, in the right store, for the right customers.

30 Turning up the heat in the BWS Cool Room

Inside every BWS there is one of the most Unboring spaces in liquor retail - the cool room.

34 Making the most of our digital channels

We chat to our new Product Data Team on how you can set yourself up for success on our digital channels.

HELLO, AND WELCOME TO

spotlight: Agave mezcal review

spotlight: CUB

Top 5 questions from Supplier Forum

Ask Tim

Q1 We’ve heard about the new Product Data Team within Endeavour - can you tell us more about this new team and how we engage with them?

As part of our commitment to improve our customer and supplier experience, we have created a new team to own the delivery of product information from our suppliers to our customers.

The Product Data Team acts as custodians of product data for our business and are currently focused on ensuring we have rich, accurate and up-to-date product content feeding our BWS, Dan Murphy’s and Marketplace digital channels.

Please reach out to product.data@edg. com.au for support in getting your products online, updating existing product details or images, or with any questions you may have regarding product claims compliance such as allergen, dietary, lifestyle preference or other product claims. The Product Data Team can also help you with any issues you have enriching your products through SKUvantage.

We also invite our suppliers to input into our strategic content roadmap, and to partner with us to evolve our data and content sharing processes, making it easier for you to share relevant product information with Endeavour to inspire and guide our customers.

Over the next 12 months, we will be working on how we streamline your engagement with our tools and processes. We want to ensure we do our best to serve as many relevant products in the range as possible to customers. It is a key priority for us.

Improving our system interfaces, and by providing clear workflows and processes, will enable us both to spend more time on the conversations that matter - how to grow our businesses together. Our first initiative of reducing the number of days it takes to onboard a new supplier by 90% has launched and we are receiving extremely positive feedback.

Q2 What are the opportunities for your systems and processes that will assist with our interactions with Endeavour Group?

Tim Carroll Director, Merchandise and Buying

We are committed to making it easier for you to do business with us right from the start, and simplifying supplier onboarding is just the beginning.

We know there is such an appetite from you and our teams to tell us about your products in an easier and simpler way, so next on the horizon in F23, and the natural next step to supplier onboarding, will be an end to end review of our article creation process. This will be an investigation into the entire journey of getting products both live, in-store and online. Everything from deciding if a new product is needed and where it will be ranged in our store network, right through to being systemically ready to launch both instore and online. This will include examining the data journey, our stakeholders, and our systems and tools. We’ll also be looking at some of the main mid-life changes too such as ranging up or down, cost changes etc. Capturing data once, retaining that data throughout each step of the process and

providing a clear and traceable workflow will exponentially improve your experience.

We know that by helping you to better engage with our processes will ensure optimal participation, performance and execution across the Endeavour business.

Q3 How can a supplier best engage with ALH on ranging opportunities?

The ALH team are focussing on bringing each pub’s story and potential to life by delivering a truly local and authentic experience for their guests. This includes ensuring we have the right range in each and every pub.

The ALH Merchandising Team would love to hear from any suppliers regarding potential ranging or category opportunities. Andy Gupta, Head of Merchandising and his team, can be contacted via merchandisingteam@ alhgroup.com.au.

Feel free to drop the Team a note with details on your products and how you see these

playing a role in our 347 Hotels and clubs across Australia. From there, if the Team sees an opportunity with your products, they will come back to you to arrange for an introductory meeting.

Q4 Can we please have an update on the personalisation engine?

Personalisation of the email channel launched to all Dan Murphy’s members in early 2021. Personalisation harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning; utilising a combination of customer and product data to match the most relevant products with every member.

The engine looks at things like purchase history, product category, the customer’s favourite store, in addition to many other attributes; combined with rich product data to ensure we do our best to serve as many relevant products in the range as possible to customers.

Since we launched in the email channel, we have served over 14.5k products across 622m individual recommendations. As long as the product is live on the Dan Murphy’s website and has stock available, it is eligible for participation.

Following the success of personalisation in the email channel, the capability was rolled out with Push Notifications, providing personalised notifications on the Dan Murphy’s App.

More recently, the personalisation engine was deployed in its first successful website use case, and there is a plan to rollout across other relevant touchpoints on the Dan’s website and app.

Personalisation has delivered some great outcomes; lifting the online shopping experience by enhancing relevance, connecting customers to more of the product range and driving customer discovery, creating greater levels of engagement across channels as well and increased sales volumes and incremental sales.

Personalisation continues to be a key area of focus for both the Merchandise Team and endeavourX and we have a plan to expand this capability across more channels and brands in the future.

Q5 What are the priority initiatives Endeavour would like to see from suppliers to improve the environmental sustainability of the industry?

A lot of great questions have been asked on Sustainability. As this is a priority for us we have asked Dan Holland our Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability to provide an update. Don’t miss it on page 8. Dan talks about Endeavour’s responsibility to our local communities, how we can collaborate together on these initiatives and thought leadership on packaging, energy, production and more.

QGot a question for Tim? Email your query to distilled@edg.com.au

Why sustainability matters more than ever

by Dan Holland

Corporate social responsibility and sustainability have increased in importance, evolving rapidly as ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors become central market trends. People want to work for companies that they can be proud of, and customers and investors are increasingly choosing to support businesses that align with their values.

Endeavour Group’s purpose is to create a more sociable future, as our people come together with friends and families in a range of different ways.

“Our desire is to think about sustainability across all parts of our operations and stakeholders, from practices in our

vineyards to how we promote a culture of responsibility,” Dan explained.

“Working across the industry, we have the opportunity to make a bigger impact, and we’re excited that so many of our industry colleagues are focused on that change. Working together, the positive imprint we leave can be even more powerful,” he added.

In Endeavour Group’s sustainability strategy, launched in October 2021, we set a range of goals and commitments anchored to its purpose of ‘Creating a more sociable future together’.

The strategy is built around three core principles - Responsibility & Community, People, and Planet.

Dan Holland Director, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability

As an industry, we all have a critical role to play in making choices that will positively impact our shared tomorrow. We asked Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Dan Holland, about Endeavour’s latest initiatives and to share his perspective on how we can all leave a positive imprint on our industry.

“Our brands and team have led great progress in sustainability for some time. Our opportunity now as Endeavour Group is to accelerate that progress by establishing our own, standalone plans that reflect our relatively new company.”

“Some of what we’re doing is about establishing our baselines and our approach for the first time. While in other areas, such as Responsibility, we’re building on years of leadership and innovation.”

Collaboration is key

Under the Responsibility and Community Principle, Endeavour has made a comprehensive effort to go beyond regulatory compliance and to promote a responsibility culture among its 30,000 team members. Responsible service and the continued culture shift to greater responsible consumption is the key sustainability priority for us.

These commitments and programs are continually evolving, building on unique retail and hospitality initiatives as well as supporting industry standards. The long term commitment is to enhance the cooperation and dialogue across the community to

encourage greater responsibility and reduce harm.

“By showing leadership, we aim to engage a range of stakeholders in an effort to support whole-of-society approaches to improving responsible service and consumption,” he explained.

An Australian-first instore pilot saw Endeavour and DrinkWise Australia partner to investigate the role of in-store layout, category positioning and product marketing plays in changing awareness, consideration and purchase behaviours. The trial put zero, low and mid strength products at the front and centre of store design in BWS stores –improving awareness of and access to lower ABV and zero alcohol products available on the market.

The effort of suppliers in low/no alcohol drinks innovation is a great example of the collective effort to increase options for moderation. This enables a growing range of quality lower and zero alcohol drinks now available in Dan Murphy’s and BWS stores.

“We now have more than 300 different lower and zero alcohol SKUs across our range, which is an incredible result. The partnership between producers and our merchandise teams has created amazing choices for customers,” he said.

“There is a role for the industry to encourage the enduring consumer trend of greater moderation by these new offers to cater to consumers seeking out lighter options,” Dan added.

"The partnership between producers and our merchandise teams has created amazing choices for customers.”

Listening to locals

Under the Responsibility and Community principle, Endeavour Group is increasingly focused on the local community level.

“With our retail and hotels network, we are part of more than 2,000 communities across the country. To make a meaningful difference to the communities we engage with, we know we need to first listen and learn, and we’re committed to listening and engaging with local communities to find local solutions,” Dan explained.

Endeavour has established its first locallyled sustainability plan – a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) – in Darwin, Northern Territory (NT). The CAC is composed of diverse representatives across the city, reflective of the community it represents, and contributes a range of experience and professional expertise.

In place now nearly a year, Endeavour has been engaging diligently with stakeholders from health, police, academia and

“We need to first listen and learn, and we’re committed to listening and engaging with local communities to find local solutions.”

Government to first listen and learn before moving to recommending how we could play a greater role in the Darwin community.

“We’re fortunate that such a high calibre group of leaders is working so closely with us, with considerable insights already gathered this year and deeper relationships and connections being established,” he said.

Through its products and services Pinnacle arm, Endeavour Group has also partnered with suppliers to launch a range of products that support important community initiatives.

For example, the Loud & Proud wine, beer, and seltzer range raises money for Proud Foundation Australia; Hughie beer supports Aussie communities in need via donation platform GIVIT; while Sit Stay Society Wines raise funds for charity PetRescue.

“We have seen some great examples among our suppliers that have created delicious drinks for a good cause, from Jim Barry’s rose range that raises money for the McGrath Foundation to Taylors Wines that works alongside the Sydney Institute of Marine Science to help save endangered White Seahorses,” he added.

Reconciliation and First Nations partnerships

Under the People principle, Endeavour Group recently launched its first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), which is a Reflect level RAP.

“The Reflect RAP stage is a privileged opportunity for all Endeavour team members and partners to take the time to consider where we are in reconciliation and our own connection to First Nations culture and community,” Dan said.

“As a company of our size and reach, we recognise and celebrate that everyone will be at different stages of learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. Our biggest opportunity is to support and encourage the voice of our First Nations team members through our efforts in reconciliation,” he added.

Endeavour is also excited by the growing number of First Nations products available to range.

“Suppliers including Munda Wines, Sobah Brewery and Seven Seasons distillery are already among our valued supply partners, and we intend to grow our relationships with First Nations suppliers across the company,” he added.

“Our biggest opportunity is to support and encourage the voice of our First Nations team members through our efforts in reconciliation.”

“We have seen some great examples among our suppliers that have created delicious drinks for a good cause.”

Doing the right thing

Endeavour Group is committed to doing the right thing by every worker in our business and supply chain.

In August, Endeavour released its first Modern Slavery Statement.

“We’ve taken time to understand the range of behaviours that could indicate modern slavery risk, as well as determine the areas we can make the most impact. And we expect the same respect and values from our suppliers, especially in the way they do business on our behalf,” Dan said.

“We know there’s much more to do. We believe one of our biggest opportunities is greater partnership with our suppliers on the common topics we’re facing,” he added.

“We will look forward to more collaboration with suppliers through the coming year.”

Reimagining packaging

Under the Planet principle, Dan highlighted the collaboration in the industry, in particular in the packaging space.

“We are seeing great innovation coming out of this field. Packaging is a big category where there is huge potential, and the outcomes can even be greater when we work together as an industry,” he said.

In October, The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) and Accolade Wines announced it had together developed the first Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) of its kind for the Australian wine industry as part of the nationwide drive to encourage greater recycling among consumers.

In a similar vein, Vinpac International has partnered with sustainable packaging leader Orora to create lighter weight bottles for wine producers to use.

“Almost 30 percent of a wine’s carbon footprint comes from the glass bottle alone through its production and transportation, so the lighter weight options can create big carbon emission savings while still maintaining the look and feel of the bottle,” he explained.

Renewable energy

Using renewable energy across its operations is something both Endeavour and suppliers are embracing.

“We now have 104 sites including retail stores, hotels and wineries across the Group that have solar panels installed, reducing energy consumption and costs, and supporting our plans to achieve our renewable energy target,” Dan said.

Earlier this year, Victoria Bitter partnered with Dan Murphy’s to bring its first-of-akind Solar Exchange program to even more Aussie households across the country, allowing for the in-store collection of their hard-earned solar slabs. The Solar Exchange program launched in 2021, enabling Aussies to exchange the credit on their household power bill obtained from generating excess solar VB, via Diamond Energy.

“This was a great idea supported with a fantastic campaign that celebrated solar generation with a big audience.”

“We now have 104 sites including retail stores, hotels and wineries across the Group that have solar panels installed, reducing energy consumption and costs, and supporting our plans to achieve our renewable energy target.”

“As a business and as a wider industry, we have a responsibility to manage natural resources in a way to save water, protect soils and improve biodiversity.”

How we produce

Dan highlighted the new environmental practices and leading innovation across the drinks industry, which is providing inspiration for all producers.

Our inaugural Sustainability Supplier of the Year - Young Henrys - has partnered with climate change scientists from UTS to develop a microalgae bioreactor that eats up CO2 from the brewing process and churns out fresh oxygen. The craft brewery also distributes spent grain with added algae to farms as cattle feed, which reduces methane burps and flatulence, also resulting in cutting emissions.

“Young Henrys is a great example of a producer that has gone above and beyond with research-led innovation to create a more sustainable future for our industry,” he said.

“This is world leading and something the entire Young Henrys team should be proud of,” he added.

Endeavour Group’s Chapel Hill is an organically certified winery that also has achieved certification under the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) Program. The winery and vineyards are supported by solar power and are sustainably farmed using lowimpact techniques. This includes the use of reclaimed water for irrigation, the minimal use of synthetic fertilisers and herbicides as well as on-site composting of all grape stems and grape marc.

“As a business and as a wider industry, we have a responsibility to manage natural resources in a way to save water, protect soils and improve biodiversity,” he said.

Find out more information Endeavour Group’s approach to sustainability, and read the latest Sustainability Report on: www.endeavourgroup.com.au/sustainability

QHow you can partner with us

Do you have innovative ideas around how we can continue to lean into the positive trend of moderation, and help Australians consume more responsibly?

Do you have an innovative product that lives up to the ambition of leaving a positive imprint that you think we should know about?

Do you have interesting solutions on packaging or recycling initiatives?

Get in touch with the Endeavour Group sustainability team on sustainability@edg.com.au

Endeavour launches first

REFLECT RAP

As an important part of our purpose

future together, during October we launched our first Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan.

People are at the heart of what we do: our people and those whose social occasions we help bring to life. From local pubs to bottle shops, we’re part of the fabric of the community. And with that comes a deep responsibility. A responsibility that we all feel, to leave a positive imprint on the world around us.

Since 2006, Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs) have enabled organisations to sustainably and strategically take meaningful action to advance reconciliation. Based around the core pillars of relationships, respect and opportunities, RAPs provide tangible and substantive benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, increasing economic equity and supporting First Nations self-determination.

to create a more sociable

Endeavour Group launched its first Reflect RAP during a special ceremony in Sydney where host Mitch Russell, proud Worimi man and BWS Store Manager, spoke on his experience of being a part of the RAP working group.

“We’ve created our first step, and we’re on a journey,” he said. “Reconciliation is a long journey, and it’s about First Nations, non First Nations, and all Australians coming together as one.”

After a traditional smoking ceremony to cleanse the area and to honour our journey, Mitch invited Endeavour Group CEO, Steve Donohue to reflect on his own personal experiences and to share what this day meant to him.

“It’s a really special day for Endeavour and it’s an important next step on our path to reconciliation,” Steve explained. “As we all know, we are all pretty passionate about relationships and genuine connection, and those things are really at the heart of reconciliation.”

“Across Endeavour Group we all want to leave a positive imprint on one another and the communities we serve, and I think there is a clear connection with what we are trying to achieve here.”

Steve acknowledged that all 28,000 Endeavour Group team members will be at varying stages of their personal learning in this area, but that each and every perspective is something we should all collectively celebrate and lean on.

“My personal encouragement is for all of us to feel open and to feel positively about where we’re at on the topic of reconciliation. Even if you are just starting out, as a lot of us are, you’ve got to eventually find your own reason and you're going to have to find some time to learn about what an amazing and rich Indigenous culture this country has,” he said.

As an organisation, Endeavour Group has taken some good and important steps in recent times, with the establishment of the community advisory committee in Darwin, and its long association with Jawun. Another important aspect of Endeavour’s commitment to reconciliation is its support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the proposal to enshrine a First Nations voice in the Constitution.

But Steve explained that these are just the beginning: “We have a lot more. Having a Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan is obviously a really big part of that.”

“Reconciliation is a long journey, and it’s about First Nations, non First Nations, and all Australians coming together as one.”

Speaking personally, Steve said one of the most profound experiences in his journey has been talking with the team about building confidence.

“Just get comfortable with an Acknowledgement of Country, and making it your own,” he said. “That is something I have tried to do and it’s something that I encourage you all to try to do. You’ve got to make it real for you - and that’s one of our values here at Endeavour. It’s got to be authentic and it’s got to have the right level of connection with the audience that you're trying to communicate with.”

We encourage our suppliers to have a read of our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan here, because every time we create a conversation about reconciliation, we create a more sociable future together.

Celebration Place

BY RIKI SALAM (MUALGAL, KAURAREG, KUKU YALANJI), WE ARE 27 CREATIVE.

The artwork Celebration Place symbolises both occasion and belonging, time and space, and the process of coming together, as well as the outcome of being one through sharedexperiences and knowledge.

Riki explored how our purpose of ‘creating a more sociable future together’, and our values, align with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, values, practices and messaging through the lens of bringing people together in celebration. In the spirit of blending these beliefs, Riki looked to create a piece of artwork from both traditional and contemporary perspectives, and Indigneous and non-indigenous ways of being and seeing, to truly capture the message of reconciliation for the Endeavour Group.

Endeavour’s visual language is the imprint - the circular imprint a bottle leaves on a table. In our language, this mark symbolises the positive impression we as a business leave on society. Riki has brought our imprint to life through visual symbols of the Dreaming. The use of the circular motifs, (which, since time immemorial have symbolised significant gatherings) in this artwork is a visual nod to our purpose of ‘creating a more sociable future together’.

“Across Endeavour Group we all want to leave a positive imprint on one another and the communities we serve.”

SERVING UP THE INSIDE WORD ON DRINKS

“Dan Murphy’s purpose is all about helping Australians discover the world of drinking experiences. With our 70 years of incredible industry expertise, knowledge and passion, we hope Dan’s Daily will become the new home for drinks culture,” says Maija Bell, Head of Content Dan Murphy’s. “By providing inspiration, we want to connect with existing and new customers and become that trusted source where drinks lovers can learn and be encouraged to try, see and do something different.”

Dan’s Daily not only recommends the best or latest drinks to try, but it is a true celebration of the people, culture, places, news and stories behind what fills your glass. “Think of it as that go-to friend who has all the best intel and can’t wait to share it,” says Maija. “Our coverage is wide-ranging but carefully curated – spanning everything from the biodynamic wineries making waves in McLaren Vale, to a pitch-perfect recipe for Penne Alla Vodka. The ideal spot to sit at Carlton’s newest bar, to the cocktails Australia’s top bartenders think are totally underrated.”

After 18 months in the making, Dan Murphy’s exciting new digital publication, Dan’s Daily launched in June. Generating an incredible response from customers, suppliers and industry, the online platform signifies a fresh look for Dan Murphy’s as it makes its foray into the media publishing space.

Our story

Dan’s Daily builds on a tradition that stretches back to our founder, Daniel Francis Murphy. “I remember when I joined the business two years ago, I spent hours and hours digging through his incredible archives. From Mr Murphy’s Vintage Club newsletter to his weekly wine columns in the Age, I thought there is something in this. How can we continue his legacy and bring his deep passion about growing and sharing his knowledge of all things drinks into the digital age?” says Maija. “Dan was fixated on seeking the new, understanding the old, and passing this knowledge and passion on to others, something Dan’s Daily aims to deliver too.”

Dan’s Daily is powered by some of Australia’s most dialled in drinks, food and culture connoisseurs – driven by curiosity and a serious thirst for uncovering the very finest in drinks experiences. The editorial team is headed up by Dan’s Daily Editor, Lara ChanBaker and consists of five full-time team members with new articles published daily. We have also partnered with some of the best food and drinks writers in Australia, including restaurant critic Pat Nourse, drinks writer Matty Hirsch and bar and restaurant reviewer Larissa Dubecki.

“We could have just launched a fancy blog but we really wanted to push our thinking and transcend the Liquor Category.”

“We could have just launched a fancy blog but we really wanted to push our thinking and transcend the liquor category - move from a retailer to a media publisher in our own right,” says Maija. The publication aims to adopt a broader lens on drinks culture, stretching into lifestyle and on premise content. “This isn’t just about selling products, we want to speak to drinking occasions more holistically as we know this is important to our customers.” This initiative has been designed to recruit the MilZ audience, who are curious and open to trying new things and want to connect with brands and their purpose on a deeper level. “Rapid and recent shifts in consumer expectations (accelerated through COVID) are driving demand for branded content, especially amongst young Australians,” says Maija. “Content marketing is becoming a key tool for discovery of brands, products and services. They expect it to be useful, educational, inspirational and even entertaining – and, if it fulfils this criteria, brand content will lead to purchase and long-term customer loyalty,” says Maija.

How can suppliers get involved?

Dan’s Daily is all about connecting our readers with the right drinks experience. We’d love for our suppliers to be involved in Dan’s Daily through articles, editorial content, and product news - just like any lifestyle platform. All communication and requests should go through the Merchandise team and this will be cascaded to the DD Editorial team.

What’s next?

The new publication is the culmination of an 18-month process, along with an investment in a new content management system based on Adobe Experience Manager. The longer-term vision is to use the technology’s personalisation capabilities to deliver one-to-one marketing and personalisation of the content and offers contained in Dan’s Daily and continue to build a loyal readership.

Dan’s Daily is its own destination within the Dan Murphy’s website, but is also accessible through www.dansdaily.com.au.

“Our coverage is wide-ranging but carefully curated.”

What are Store Clusters?

Clustering is a key pillar in Endeavour’s proposition to deliver the right products, in the right store, for the right customers. Here we talk to Assortment Optimisation Manager, Mark McNaught, on how we use them to drive optimal outcomes for both our customers and our suppliers.

The opportunity to understand common trading patterns across our network allows us to adjust new and existing products in line with our customer’s expectations.

How are they determined?

Our clustering model is driven by the way our customers shop with us. Historical product sales trends and machine learning are used to assemble our network in such a way that the resulting stores in a group (cluster) are more alike than those in other groups.

The model allows for known variances across our customer base by applying an initial state lens, before being run at a planogram category level – Red Wine, Premix, Craft Beer, and so on. This allows delivery of a highly tailored range across the different locations within each store.

How do we use clusters?

The outcome of clustering are variable sized groups of stores across our network that are known to have similar customer behaviour and product trading patterns. We are able to leverage these known patterns to build cluster-level demand forecasts that help adjust product distribution across the varying fixture sizes that exist across stores within each cluster.

This process allows Endeavour to continue to deliver our customers the largest possible product catalogue, targeting products to the right clusters at the right time, and adjusting product distribution inline with customer interest.

Recent examples include the expansion of Asian Spirits, which started as small subsets of clusters that now has an expanded, and tailored offering due to increasing customer demand.

Inversely, where product innovation may have traditionally started at a national levellike Craft Cider - our cluster demand models have reduced distribution to the clusters where it is most impactful.

Customer-driven insights

As we continue to grow our product and customer attribution datasets, we are able to deliver more insights on the targeted opportunities across our clusters. Ability to group products based on their most granular attributes allows improved understanding on which clusters have the greatest likelihood of commercial success for new product developments, and where to further expand in the future. This seeks to improve the product life cycle, allowing distribution growth in line with quantified success and customer interest.

The use of clustering within Endeavour is designed to provide more avenues, with greater granularity, to understand customers and products across our store network. These understandings help drive more optimal distribution adjustments and targeted new product decision making. These insights will continue to become more granular as we grow our product attribution catalogue and develop our systems to provide store specific forecast models.

TURNED UP THE HEAT IN THE COOL ROOM

Music and drinks go hand in hand, and with music being a strong passion point for Millennials and Gen Z customers (Milz), there was an opportunity for BWS to connect with this audience in a powerful and emotional way.

Inside every BWS there is one of the most Unboring spaces in liquor retail - the cool room. A space that gives BWS a prime opportunity to build equity in one of its most ownable assets and also to establish our connection to music culture - insert the BWS Cool Room.

Never seen before

The BWS Cool Room is a world first, bringing together the hottest music talent in the coldest room, literally the giant fridge. BWS partnered with the best in the music bizSpotify and Universal Music - and invited two of the hottest music acts to perform a live set in two of their stores’ cool rooms.

NZ brother sister duo BROODS launched the series at BWS Fountain Gate Drive on 29 September, while the high energy Client Liaison brought the fire to BWS Glebe on 27 October. The campaign was live from 4 September to 30 November, and was brought to life across four activation pillars, each with their own specific task and objective in ensuring that everyone knew about Cool Room.

The campaign phases

• Always On: Spotify takeover across audio, podcast and playlist drivers tapping into real music enthusiasts.

• Pre Activation: This was all about driving maximum hype and entry to be part of this exclusive performance across social, OOH, content partnerships, Spotify Audio, Influencers, PR and BWS owned channels.

• Activation: The physical Cool Room events.

• Post Activation: The live performance and artist content was amplified across social, YouTube, PR and BWS owned channels to keep the good times going and give people that FOMO factor.

Customers from all across Australia partook in a game of chance competition at www.bwscoolroom.com.au where they simply had to submit their first party data for either event, for their chance to win a double pass (because there is nothing better than seeing a live gig with your best mate) plus flights and accommodation if required.

The review

Throughout the campaign we continually placed creative in weekly communications and brand tracking with market research company IMI Tracking. The results over indexed with relevance and engagement within the Milz audience, delivering some of the highest campaign awareness for BWS, with customers seeing The Cool Room as being “a truly ownable and memorable platform with music and drinks being a natural fit” and that “BWS is cool and fun and is a bit different to other bottle shops”. The physical events were a stand out with multiple cross functional teams from Endeavour coming together to ensure that we delivered a world class, memorable experience for our customers. From supply chain, legal, health and safety, risk, finance, operations, corporate affairs, ecomm, merch, marketing, ALH and many more; months of planning ensured that everything went off without a hitch. However, it would have been nothing without the support and dedication of the state, area and store managers along with the teams from Fountain Gate Drive and Glebe to make this happen.

In partnership with Lion and Byron Bay Brewery the BWS Cool Room has catapulted BWS into the music culture, and is strengthening our connection to our customers by bringing them memorable experiences and overall good times.

To catch up on the performances from Client Liaison and BROODS head to www.bws.com.au/the-drop/coolroom

Best Practice Making the most of Digital channels

“With the rapidly evolving online marketplace, our customers’ expectations have shifted.”

As part of our commitment to improve our customer and supplier experience, we have created a new team to own the delivery of product information from our suppliers to our customers. Here we talk to Product Data Lead, Jamie Hill on how you can set yourself up for success on our digital channels.

Covid-19 has accelerated a customer shift to digital channels, with customers not only spending more online but also utilising websites as a virtual sales assistant to inform purchasing decisions with around 30% of our digital visits leading to an in-store sale.

With the rapidly evolving online marketplace, our customers' expectations have shifted. Collectively, we need to ensure we are keeping up with other discretionary categories by providing our customers with engaging product experiences and trusted information so that they can make informed purchase decisions, both online and in-store.

“A shift in the way we range products - now more customer focused with targeted, localised ranging - has resulted in Endeavour onboarding and managing more products across our retail brands than ever before,” says Jamie Hill, Product Data Lead. “We are also dealing with increasing complexity of product information, with the added intricacies of the Liquor Category, such as vintage management, and varied pack configurations.”

Dedicated support and better systems

To address this and better capitalise on customer opportunities, Endeavour has recently started on its journey to evolve our

product data and content, setting up a new team that will be focused on growing and improving our data assets across the Group.

“We are also in the process of launching our Product Information Management (PIM) platform, a central platform to enrich, manage and govern product information across our business,” Jamie explains.

“The PIM and processes we are establishing will provide us with a single view of Endeavour’s products - giving us visibility of products across our various retail brands for the first time.”

“We will improve manual sourcing of product content, speeding up internal workflows to increase our speed to market,” she says.

Benefiting from better data

Richer product information will better inform our systems, teams and customers, as more data points and variations enable Endeavour’s digital marketing to be more targeted towards key focus demographics, allowing us to better capitalise on growing customer opportunities.

“Looking forward, product data will also help us to simplify ranging decisions and ensure that as our customers' needs become more segmented and differentiated, we will be able to more easily offer products in the right local dynamics. Our Insights and Analytics Teams will utilise this data, identifying opportunities for our Merchandising Teams to expand product offerings across our network and channels.”

Richer product content will also greatly benefit our personalisation engine, allowing us to better understand our customers’ interactions with products and more accurately surface up personalised product offers that meet their needs.

Where can you find more information?

Details on enrichment processes and requirements for publishing across our digital channels are available in our new Content Guidelines that can be found on our Partner Hub portal here.

Any questions regarding product data can be directed to Jamie and the team at product.data@edg.com.au

How can you be a part of our journey?

• Update your products in our SKUvantage catalogue as required. This guarantees we are working with the latest product information and that we are not sharing incorrect or outdated product information with customers.

• Provide the required information we need to validate your product claims, so that we can pass on these claims to our customers with confidence.

• Provide as many data points as possible via enrichment through our SKUvantage catalogue.

At Endeavour, we’re committed to building a vibrant drinks market that delivers engaging experiences for our customers and sustainable growth for our industry. Integral to this mission is continuing to innovate our stores and range, offering customers products that better meet their changing needs.

Last year we launched our new way of working through Range Reviews which has resulted in the ability to deliver new tailored ranges in our stores, specific to the communities they serve. It has allowed us to be more agile, take a leadership role in trends and ultimately, increase the speed at which we can bring your products to market in the right stores, for the right customers, at the right time.

The opportunity

As part of this new Range Review cycle, our Category and Insights’ teams came together to investigate the trends that were happening in the market, as well as assessing what our customers were looking for from our range.

A lot of work goes on behind the scenes during a range review. Here we talk to our Spirits team and partners on how that process works and the opportunities for collaboration.

Agave had been building and gaining significant momentum, and we decided this sub-category was to be a focus during the Spirits Range Review process.

Prior to COVID, we identified an increasing trend towards agave consumption - in particular Mezcal. The trend is being driven by several different customer occasions including customers looking for refreshing or different styles of cocktail like the Margarita, as well as customers who are looking for a premium Spirit outside of the traditional segments of Whisk(e)y or Brandy.

The process

Throughout the Range Review, our ambition was to quantify what we thought the future opportunity was, which allowed us to re-evaluate macro space allocations within Dan Murphy’s and the SKU count allocation to Agave within BWS.

Once established, the team could then assess how many products were needed to achieve the outlined ambitions, including in which areas there were gaps in the current range, for both current and future customer demand.

We also took the opportunity to review the store clusters we had implemented, adding in a more premium cluster for Agave to enable better ranging of super premium products and the largest range possible. With our ambitions set, we were then able to share our plans with our supplier partners, sourcing a larger range of agave products. The response from our partners was outstanding and there was an impressive number of submissions which has resulted in a monumental shift in the Agave range and store availability that customers in Australia now have to choose from.

Collaborating on the range

As a vital part of our Range Review process, we spoke to some of our supplier partners on how they found working with the team to bring this new range to life.

Building Relationships: Ballhaus –Espiritu Lauro and Buen Bicho Stuart Andrews, Sales Director

Q: What is important to your business that you feel Endeavour delivers on?

In the developing Mezcal market of Australia, our company Ballhaus - which imports Espiritu Lauro and Buen Bicho mezcalsrequired a strong national representation, fostering boutique artisanal labels, and the Endeavour team conveyed their strong direction in Agave development which suited us perfectly.

For us, Endeavour’s willingness and understanding of the growing Mezcal market and diversification of Agave selection in Australia is exciting and forward thinking for future clientele.

With Espiritu Lauro and Buen Bicho being relatively new to the Australian market, Endeavour has helped in assisting to grow the business through different marketing and pricing strategies throughout the year, enabling further stable growth and visibility.

One of the main hurdles for us initially was being able to deliver nationally, however Endeavour developed the fulfilled by endeavour system for ease of transportation which has helped immensely.

Having an open dialogue with Endeavour and support teams gives the stability to invest more in the future development of Ballhaus imports with Espiritu Lauro and Buen Bicho in Australia and we look forward to a strong and exciting future with Endeavour.

Strategic Partnerships:

Pernod Ricard – Olmeca, 1ltr

Paul Harper, National Account Manager

Q: Can you tell us about how the conversation with Endeavour helped unlock value for both businesses?

The Agave category has been rupturing globally and locally, and the Olmeca Altos Brand is seeing the highest growth for tequila in Australian liquor and gaining great momentum in the global markets.

Through conversation with the Spirits Category Manager, we identified a consumer opportunity for a 1 litre Premium Tequila as Dan Murphy’s was also seeing some strong sales uplift in the large formats.

In collaboration with Endeavour Group, Pernod Ricard developed a new line of 1 litre premium tequila as a scalable exclusive and was launched in October 2022 which helps achieve the objectives that we are aligned to as part of our strategic partnership.

Building

a

Brand Together: Bacardi – Cazadores Prue Andrews, National Business Manager

Q: When considering an exclusive retail partner for Cazadores, why was Endeavour your partner of choice?

Bacardi is a family-owned business that believes in building strong partnerships that drive long-term sustainable growth and we consider scalable exclusive as an important pillar of our partnership with Endeavour Group.

Endeavour identified early on that Agave and Tequila was an emerging category where tailored range solutions could further unlock growth – an output of Customer first ranging (C1R) targeting the right range in front of the right customers.

With a global portfolio in Agave, it was a natural fit for Bacardi-Martini to collaborate within this category and we have done this with the renowned brand Cazadores - the third largest premium tequila in the U.S.

Partnering exclusively with Endeavour provided an unparalleled opportunity to optimise the category and brand focus for Cazadores through a range of omnichannel solutions including their sophisticated digital shopper journey, 1:1 personalisation, large scale distribution, in-store visibility, consumer sampling, staff education as well as other content opportunities on Dan’s Daily. The resulting benefit is an amplified focus and execution for the Cazadores brand, with over 6 million members that could have an opportunity to see or hear about this amazing brand.

Partnering with Pinnacle: Proof Drinks Australia - Cazcabel Drew Doty, Managing Director

Q: Can you tell us about the benefits you see from partnering with Endeavour through Pinnacle to distribute in retail, while you focus on building the brand on-premise?

Partnering with Pinnacle on the Cazcabel brand has been a fantastic opportunity to help build the brand in the Australian market. The ability that Endeavour has to support exciting brands entering the retail space supports our business goals and allows us to leverage the on-premise opportunity.

Three key areas that we see the benefits are in national availability, solid promotional support plan, and collaborative approach to drive customer sales. This also allows us a great platform to conduct sampling and store support by our specialist team.

Focusing on the on-premise market allows us to engage customers at the point of purchase, drive curiosity around the brand, and support with marketing initiatives that would otherwise not be conducted. This means the visibility of the brand is well pronounced linking the on and off premise engagement for customers.

Better together

The CUB Account Team shares how they have built a strong partnership with Endeavour Group, keeping the customer at the heart of everything.

Q1. Winning Account Team of the Year shows there is a deep partnership with our Endeavour team. Can you share how you built this partnership?

Our partnership with Endeavour Group has been built upon a foundation of trust and mutuality, with an overarching focus on the Beer category, our customers and Beer consumers.

A few years ago, we reflected on the nature of our existing relationship with Endeavour Group and the potential to deliver more for both of our businesses. This highlighted the need to redefine the way we engaged with Endeavour Group as a strategic customer.

By addressing the fundamentals and understanding our individual and collective business ambitions, we were able to identify a clear north star tied to delivering great outcomes for the category and customers.

was made.”

The teams involved in bringing this partnership to life have been so important along the way. The Endeavour Group team members that we have worked tirelessly with over the last few years have come to the table with a real desire to grow and deliver more for their customers, whilst always being highly engaged and supportive with us as a key Supplier within the category. The engagement has been cross functional across both businesses which has been a game changer in enabling the outcomes we have achieved togetherfrom CUB sales, marketing, category, supply and innovation teams to the Endeavour merchandise, category, insights, marketing and store operations teams.

“There was a buzz around the office when the announcement

Supplier of the Year Awards 2021 Account Team of the Year

“We are working closely with Endeavour who have the goal to ‘make beer cool again’.”

Q2. How has collaboration and partnering with Endeavour contributed to CUB providing a great Beer experience for our customers?

Collaboration with Endeavour Group has been a key ingredient in enabling us to deliver great Beer experiences for customers.

Across the last year, our joint approach of putting consumers at the heart of everything we do has also played heavily into our innovation plans and the way in which we go to market across BWS, Dan Murphy’s and Jimmy Brings – the most recent and exciting example of which is the Fruity Beer launch via our Sungazer and Empire brands. It’s an entirely new sub-category of flavoured Beer that launched in BWS and Dan Murphy’s in September.

Through our partnership with Endeavour Group, we identified an opportunity within the category for a flavour-forward, less ‘beery’ Beer to feature within the repertoire of customers that are increasingly looking for more discovery. We are working closely with Endeavour who have the goal to ‘make beer cool again’ and we are proud to say we think we’re on the way to achieving this. Whilst the launch is in its infancy, we are confident it will appeal to Beer and non-Beer customers alike!

Q3. What have been some of your highlights and achievements working with Endeavour?

Winning the inaugural Endeavour Group Account Team of the Year award was certainly a big achievement. It was fantastic to be recognised as a team, particularly coming out of some challenging years navigating through COVID-19, and to be able to celebrate the award on the night with the Endeavour Group teams that have been on the journey with us.

Outside of this, the people that we work with day-to-day and who help to bring our trading relationship to life are a real highlight. We’ve been privileged to work with some great individuals and teams across the Endeavour business – starting with the Beer Merchandise team, but extending across the organisation into Marketing, Replenishment and Operations to name a few.

Q4. Can you tell us what the next 12 months look like for CUB - what is exciting you?

CUB has an exciting year ahead, with a real focus on continuing to provide great offers across our much-loved Mainstream and Craft brands, whilst also cultivating exciting new beverages for our customers and consumers. We know that customers who shop and consume Beer are always on the lookout for new news – and our innovation agenda will look to meet their increasingly evolving needs. Indeed, innovation is at the heart of everything that CUB and Asahi Beverages do.

In the coming months we will also look to nurture and grow our Fruity Beer brands – Sungazer and Empire – through the key summer trading period, as well as harnessing the quality and imagination that our Craft partners such as Balter, Pirate Life, 4 Pines, Matilda Bay, Green Beacon and Mountain Goat can bring to the table.

Importantly, we will also work to ensure that our most loved brands – the likes of Victoria Bitter, Great Northern and Carlton Dry –continue to remain relevant and exciting for customers each and every day.

Q5. What does winning the Account Team of the Year mean to CUB?

This meant a lot to our team. But importantly it also meant an enormous amount to the broader CUB and Asahi Beverages businesses. To be recognised by one of our key strategic partners was in many ways a validation of the approach we have sought to apply across our business, which puts our customers and consumers at the core of the way we do business. For the support teams that help to elevate the way in which we partner with Endeavour – be it Category, Marketing, Finance or Supply – this award was an acknowledgement of the work they do too, so there was a buzz around the office when the announcement was made. But we don’t rest on our laurels. There is a strong desire to continue and elevate the strong partnership we have with Endeavour Group, and we hope to be in the mix for consideration every year!

“To be recognised by one of our key strategic partners was in many ways a validation of the approach we have sought to apply across our business.”

Breaking it down

With Bree Coleman

There are so many ways to look at business right now. From the growth in e-commerce, to unwinding from COVID, we know it can be difficult to keep up with exactly what we’re looking for and measuring.

In that spirit, and trying to make doing business with us easier, each edition we will feature articles like this one, to simplify how we measure performance, and the different angles we believe we should all be looking at. Think topics such as inflation, digital growth, and customer profiles.

The aim is to equip you with all the right information for constructive and productive conversations with our teams that lead to the best possible partnership outcomes.

We’ve recently announced the launch of MixIn by Endeavour and for our first deep dive, in this edition we take a look at one of the most helpful metrics when it comes to evaluating advertising performance - Return on Ad Spend.

Simplifying how suppliers engage with the MixIn platform was a major priority for us and the self service model enables users to jump in and download reports themselves. But while the ability is there, we’d really like you to also get the most out of the reports by breaking down exactly what they mean for your performance.

Coleman, General Manager Merchandise Transformation

Bree

Let’s break

it down: Return on ad spend

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) measures the amount of revenue generated from sales for each campaign you run. And, it’s an important key performance indicator (KPI) in online and offline marketing. To calculate ROAS, you divide the revenue generated by the ad spend. For example, if you spend $1000 on advertising and generate $2000 in sales, your ROAS would be 200%.

Why isn’t everyone using ROAS?

Customers, people like us, are hard to measure: think about out of home advertisements such as billboards for example - not all advertising channels make it easy to attribute the appearance of an ad to a transaction. Sometimes that billboard might change our mind about the product and encourage a sale, but the advertiser can’t easily link that sale to the billboard.

The rise in popularity of Retail Media over the last couple of years has been, in part, due to the ease of comparing advertising investment to sales, especially through eCommerce channels. Marketers can approach marketing planning with a much greater degree of accountability and demonstrate to their businesses the contribution that advertising makes to sales.

What’s ‘good’ ROAS?

As a rule of thumb:

• Below 300% = Re-strategise

• 400% - 500% = Decent

• 600%+ = Looking great but make sure that this is sustainable and scalable –read on to find out how to achieve this.

What is ROAS and how is it calculated?

MixIn launched sponsored product placements on the Dan Murphy’s website at the end of October and early campaign results are looking outstanding for our suppliers.

ROAS continues to trend upwards, with an average of +800% since launch. We’re currently running campaigns for over 1,200 products using these sponsored product placements and we’ll be rolling them out on BWS early in the new year.

How can you use ROAS?

Firstly, remember that ROAS isn’t about how much you spend; instead, it’s about the effectiveness of that spend. In the auctionbased environment of MixIn’s platform, suppliers set their own budget (called a bid) to give their product more prominence on a product listing page, paying for a click on the product, similar to Google search.

The key to achieving a high, sustainable ROAS starts with:

• Advertising a wide portfolio of products: get your brand across multiple categories or demonstrate its depth in a chosen category.

• Keeping a close eye on the conversion rates you see: too many clicks and not enough sales will quickly erode ROAS. This could be a point to consider reducing bids and reinvesting in other areas such as display advertising, MixIn’s digital signage in Dan’s and BWS stores, etc. It might be that you need to create some more brand awareness or product consideration before consumers are ready to purchase.

• Testing and learning: MixIn’s platform provides very detailed reporting. For example, you could look at daily trends to see if there’s a sweet spot during the week at which you get higher conversion rates or sales volumes; consider reducing bids during lower times and focusing your budgets to capitalise on higher performing periods.

For more support

MixIn and Promote IQ will be hosting a training webinar for suppliers and their agencies on 16 December, 2022. Please contact steve.jones@edg.com.au for registration details.

Insights Report

Welcome to the new look insights section of Distilled.

James Marinelli, Head of Category Strategy and Insights

Each quarter we will continue to share insights relevant to our category strategies and also share progress against our strategic initiatives.

In this edition, we will be exploring the world of Asian Spirits and its broad appeal across the entire customer landscape, from nostalgic second and third generation Australians to enthusiasts looking to discover something new and different. We will also explore the trends driving the impressive performance of Premix and the drivers behind the recent range review. Finally, we will dive into the biggest launch of the year, Fruity Beer, and how keeping the customer at the heart of the project has delivered the most disruptive innovation the liquor industry has seen in years.

Happy reading and Happy Holidays!

– James

Asian Spirits

Australia has come to love Asian cuisine in all its forms. And now, our customers are embracing Asian drinks with the same enthusiasm, looking to discover their next favourite amongst our range of unique and deliciously different products.

Fruity Beer

Over the last 18 months, we have been on a journey in search for the right Beer for our Millennials and Gen Z (Milz) Beer drinkers. Here, we take a deeper look at that process and the recent launch of Fruity Beer.

Premix Review

Premix is a case study into how understanding our customers and developing the right products for the right occasions will result in success. In fact, the Category has done a rare job of recruiting younger customers while also driving trade-up. The impressive growth we saw in F22 has continued throughout Q1 this year, with Premix going from strength to strength.

Inside our Range Reviews Asian Spirits

Australia has come to love Asian cuisine in all its forms. And now, our customers are embracing Asian drinks with the same enthusiasm, looking to discover their next favourite amongst our range of unique and deliciously different products.

In 2021, more than one quarter (29.1%) of the Australian population was recorded to be born overseas*. That’s 7.5 million people. Since more than half (12.5%) of those born overseas were born in Asia*, we identified an exciting opportunity there for Endeavour Group to connect with those customers. This rich Asian culture has influenced everything from the food we eat to the music we listen to, and while Asian Spirits play a key role in connecting Australia’s overseas born population with their favourite drinks in a convenient and meaningful way, it also provides discovery and inspiration for all customers.

The Asian Spirit customer

Asian beverages appeal to a broad group of customers and they can be split into three key categories:

Traditional – Overseas born migrants who have everyday consumption occasions, as well as social and gifting.

Young Nostalgic – Second and third generations who are discovering and seeking to connect with their culture.

Discovery/Enthusiasts – A broad group of people including enthusiasts of Asian culture/drinks (driven by travel), expats, premium discoverers/explorers.

*Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Insights driven ranging

‘Asia’ consists of 48 countries, each with its own unique culture, religion and alcohol consumption behaviours. In order to better understand the opportunity, thorough research was done to understand;

1) The impact of religion and culture on alcohol consumption by country

2) The key drinks, key occasions and events, and rituals around consumption

The team spent considerable time researching the right range for the right stores, as well as activations during key events like Lunar New Year, to ensure we execute in a meaningful, authentic and

sensitive manner, based on feedback from a diverse group of customers from these cultural backgrounds.

This led to a focus on building out the ‘East Asian’ range further with products that have wider appeal such as a more broad and premium range of Sake, Soju, Shochu and Umeshu, and Asian inspired RTDs like Chu Hi, Sake cups, Makgeolli.

The goal of the recent Asian Spirits review was to continue to develop our range across this emerging sub-category that is resonating with new and younger customers as they look to discover and experience new and interesting styles of drinks.

Increasing customer demand

Endeavour’s Asian beverages range has enjoyed double digit growth over the last year, with our customer percentage growing twice as fast as sales growth, setting the Category up well for the future.

The sub-categories delivered double digit growth by attracting new customers and increasing frequency as customers continue to experiment with these new products, in particular younger customers who overindex in Asian Spirits.

Looking ahead

Knowing our customers has been critical to the success of this review. Understanding who the customer is, using insights to determine what their unmet needs are, and championing those throughout the review process has been paramount.

It’s an important message for all suppliers, across every category. Being deliberate in your targeting and understanding the social occasions your product captures will be key to your success in creating great customer outcomes.

Insights Report

Disrupting a Category

Over the last 18 months, we have been on a journey in search for the right Beer for our Millennials and Gen Z (Milz) Beer drinkers. Here, we take a deeper look at that process and the recent launch of Fruity Beer.

It started with a challenge: How do we recruit Milz customers, who aren’t currently consuming Beer like past generations? And secondly, how can we retain these new drinkers to ensure the long-term health of the Category?

Once very popular amongst young Australians, Beer was losing relevance with some younger customers, and we began seeing a trend of these customers allocating more of their spend to sweeter and lower bitterness alcoholic drinks.

With a Category ripe for disruption, we set out to reimagine Beer for our younger customers.

Beer, but not as you know it

Our journey started by collaborating early on in the life of the project with CUB. Together, our aim was to better understand the barriers preventing some younger customers from entering the category, and in turn, create a style of Beer which actively counteracted them.

There were three major barriers discovered that we needed to address in order to get light, younger buyers - or so called ‘Beer Dabblers’ – more engaged with the category.

1. Beer was too bitter

2. Beer lacked interesting flavour

3. Beer was very masculine

“Beer was losing relevance with some younger customers.”

Throughout the process, CUB and Endeavour worked closely to develop and pressure test various liquid and branding concepts to address these barriers. What we ultimately discovered was that customers wanted something different.

It was time to break Category conventions and deliver a new style of liquid; something that was more flavoursome and fruit forward than a Seltzer, and with toned down bitterness notes of existing Flavoured Beers. Research told us that customers were looking for the perfect portion size and in a slimline can but importantly, they wanted bright, fun and gender neutral brands that better represent who they are. Throughout this project, the research and customer insights were our ‘north star’ and guided all of our decision making.

Enter, Fruity Beer

The new sub-category, Fruity Beer, distinguishes itself from traditional Beer and sets clear expectations on flavour.

We believe this innovation will help support our strategic imperative to increase Category involvement with younger, female, and light users. Fruity Beer can act as an approachable gateway product into the Category by better delivering to the evolving taste preferences of this audience.

We have been very pleased with the disruptive launch of Fruity Beer. It is reaching the intended target consumer, and in fact it’s the sub-category with the highest proportion of Gen Z sales within Beer. We are also seeing impressive customer trial results and have been pleased by how many new non-Beer drinkers we have attracted to the Category.

During our recent Supplier Forums, you would have heard us talk about the importance of innovation and emphasise the need to work together. Co-creation is a vital step in the innovation process and we’re really looking for suppliers to engage us early, so we can collectively identify the customer’s need and then work together towards a solution that fulfils that need.

Fruity Beer is an excellent example of cocreation in action and how starting with the customer challenge, and collaborating on a solution, can deliver great results. We would like to thank CUB for their collaboration, Category leadership and commitment to the customer.

Collaboration with the customer at the heart

“Throughout this project, the research and customer insights were our ‘north star’ and guided all of our decision making.”

“It was time to break Category conventions and deliver a new style of liquid.”

As outlined in our last edition, Premix is a case study into how understanding our customers and developing the right products for the right occasions will result in success. In fact, the Category has done a rare job of recruiting younger customers while also driving trade-up. The impressive growth we saw in F22 has continued throughout Q1 this year, with Premix going from strength to strength.

A range to engage

Compared to other category customers, Premix customers across all affluence and generation segments allocate a higher proportion of their overall Premix Category spend towards ‘new’ - that is, new to them from our existing range, and innovation. Therefore, innovation is integral to keep these customers engaged with the Category, and while innovation plays a key role, navigation and in-store engagement are equally important.

The Premix customer

The recent range review focussed on two key customer deliverables; give our existing Dark Spirit loyalists a reason to stay; and to recruit the Millennials and Gen Z (MilZ) by offering something new and different. For Light Spirits, it’s all about inspiring our customers to continue to provide premium, interesting and flavour-forward options to be a part of more occasions.

Insights Report

Insights driven decision making

Discovery through flavour

Flavour is a great way to drive discovery and exploration not only in Premix, but all segments in liquor. Flavour has played a key role in this latest review with the introduction of products that deliver against taste through interesting, adult flavours. Products featured in this latest review include flavour-forward nostalgic flavours and products that offer subtle refreshment and sessionability. You will see Dark Premix Spirits elevated with fruity flavours; flavour-forward Vodka products; and more sophisticated, complex Seltzer options.

High tempo moments

Driven by a combination of rebounding from COVID-19 lockdowns, customers are celebrating their reclaimed freedom and seeking products that complement those occasions. As a result, there has been significant growth in high ABV offers - growing 2.5x faster than the total Premix Category. Higher ABV options in occasionready packaging have been introduced to the range to meet the needs of our premium customers.

Moderation

As the moderation trend continues and evolves, our customers still seek interesting, sophisticated and complex product experiences to honour and complement some of the best moments of their lives. The introduction of a number of premium, nonalcoholic Premix options, including mocktails in a can, will offer an alternative to traditional soft drinks.

Convenient cocktail options

Cocktails are experiencing solid growthmore than doubling sales within the last 12 months - and to continue the momentum, the recent review delivers our customers innovative options within this segment. Interesting takes on classics such as Margarita, Bloody Mary, Martini and Tom Collins will be available to customers in innovative formats to offer a convenient option when cocktail hour arrives.

Moving forward

As the needs and tastes of our customers continue to change, the Premix Category will play a key role in responding with interesting, occasion-driven products to keep the Liquor Category fresh and relevant.

Not being bound by category conventions means that Premix can push the boundaries on liquid, packaging and brand conventions to continue to recruit new customers to Liquor through relevance. However, we need to keep an eye on the sizable core of our Category and keep it strong by responding to customer needs and changing lifestyles, particularly in Dark Spirits.

In the News

Premium wine packaging gets a sustainable makeover in South Australia

The Australian-first innovation is the result of an industry collaboration between Endeavour Group’s wine bottling and packaging arm Vinpac International and leading sustainable packaging solutions provider Orora.

“We are excited to be able to offer significant environmental benefits and cost savings for our customers with this new, innovative lightweight bottle,” said Vinpac International Commercial Manager, James Vallance. The new lightweight Reverse Taper bottle weighs 420 grams - 195 grams less than a standard Reverse Taper bottle, which is equated to an 18 percent reduction in emissions. In addition, bottles from the Orora Gawler facility where this bottle is produced had a recycled glass content of approximately 38 percent over the 2022 financial year.

The Reverse Taper bottle, which is wider at the shoulders than at the base, has always been a popular premium option in the wine industry. “Historically, heavier glass and deeper punt have been used for premium wines so when developing this new option, it was important to keep the same look and

feel for that premium touch,” explained Orora Glass National Account Manager, Chris Blanchard.

The bottles are manufactured at Orora’s state-of-the-art facility in Gawler, South Australia, and are available to wine producers from Vinpac International.

In the News

Endeavour Group partners with LGTBQ+ owned and operated Ampersand Estate

We have announced a partnership with LGTBQ+ owned and operated Ampersand Estate; a winery and distillery in Pemberton.

“We are always looking to work with suppliers that craft products that we think our customers will love, but we are increasingly looking to partner with suppliers that also share our values,” BWS area manager and Proud at Endeavour member, Damien Watts said.

“One of our values is that ‘We’re inclusive’, which is why we approached Ampersand.

They are focused on building a culture of diversity, acceptance and equality, just like we are,” he added.

A selection of Ampersand Estate wines and Rainfall spirits are available in 50 BWS and Dan Murphy’s stores in WA and will soon land in selected ALH hotels, with the handcrafted products being rolled out to more stores and venues in the coming months.

Ampersand Estate is now working closely with Proud at Endeavour, a 300+ strong network of LGBTQ+ and Ally team members, on a range of events and initiatives in WA.

In the News

ALH cleans up at recent NSW and WA AHA Awards for Excellence

The AHA Awards For Excellence are the most prestigious awards in the hospitality industry, honouring the achievement of excellence in a wide range of categories.

We are delighted to share that ALH Hotels WA has been crowned The Best Group Venue Operator 2022. The WA team had wins in the Cookery Employee Award, Administration Employee Award and Venue Manager Award.

Congratulations to:

Dylan Jewels-Angwin Cookery employee award

Trish Lowth Administration employee award

Troy Landers

Venue Manager award (3rd in a row!)

ALH Hotels WA Group Venue Operator of the year award.

The Forest Hotel, Frenchs Forest in NSW took out the Best Metropolitan Casual Dining Award at the NSW state event. This award recognises excellence in venues offering a quality dining experience through a general pub bistro. Congratulations to Venue Manager Deb Haskins, Head Chef Sydney and Operations Manager Michael McPherson and the team!

In the News

Introducing new Kemps Creek Distribution Centre

We are excited to introduce our new state of the art Kemps Creek Liquor Distribution Centre (KCDC) in Kemps Creek, NSW.

The Kemps Creek Distribution Centre will exclusively service our network with about 350+ BWS and Dan Murphy’s stores as well as around 55 hotels in NSW.

With 35,800 sqm, which is about five times the size of a regular soccer field and 25% larger than the space we currently occupy at Erskine Park (SLDC), our new Distribution Centre will support our future growth and range plans.

This facility replaces the existing liquor operations at Sydney Liquor Distribution Centre (SLDC) in Erskine Park.

The Distribution Centre will be bonded for imported products.

The Distribution Centre will be managed by our Supply Partner Primary Connect. The dedicated DC team will ensure smooth operations to fulfil all our partners’ interests as well as all our retail and hotel network needs.

The transition period from Erskine Park to Kemps Creek is planned for early 2023. You will receive further information regarding the transition in the coming weeks. Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support!

Partner Hub

The latest updates

Supplier Experience

We are still on the journey of improving your digital experience by creating new User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) components to tailor and improve the article submission, enrichment and management processes.

We would like to update you on the following improvements to the Dashboard and updates to Article Submission and Enrichment Processes.

What has changed?

We have introduced a price submission section for you and more filters which enable your view to be tailored.

We’ve made some changes to the Packaging Tab when submitting a New Product via the Range review calendar for ease of use:

Support training materials

There is updated online training support materials available. Please click here to view the videos and reference material.

We have been listening to your feedback and suggestions on how to improve your experience in partnering with Endeavour, and working within Partner Hub.

Range Review Engagement Windows

Within the Partner Hub Dashboard you will now be able to find the Endeavour Range Review Engagement Windows in the ‘What’s New’ section. Here, you will find six months of our upcoming Engagement Windows.

Product Withdrawal / Recall Management (PWRM)

The PWRM Admin and Stock claim functionality are now available. This will make it easier for you to have a more reliable and consistent experience in managing claims.

What do you need to do?

Cost recovery associated with a recall or withdrawal will have been collated and calculated by the PWRM coordinator and checked by your Category Manager, and will now be available for you to review in Partner Hub.

Firstly, review the admin and/or stock claim submitted associated with a Product Recall and Withdrawal, then if all details are correct you will need to approve it. If you choose ‘Not Accepted’ rather than approving it, please add comments about why you haven’t accepted it, and contact your Category Manager to discuss.

In addition, we have also provided clarity for the Admin Claim. The additional fields that have been added are cost centre name, type, number of stores, fee per store (inclusive of GST) and articles.

Support training materials

Click here to view support videos and reference material, which will explain the step-by-step process of how to manage PWRM Claims in Partner Hub.

Change and Range change Freeze this Christmas

We are sharing with you the change freeze dates over the month of December/January. We ask that requests are kept to a minimum to assist the workload for our Stores and Supply Chain teams, allowing them to focus their efforts on our customers at this busy time.

• The change freeze is effective from Monday 5th December 2022 to Sunday 8th January 2023

• The freeze on Range changes going to stores is from 14th November 2022 to 29th January 2023. (Exceptions to be approved)

Register for a training session

We offer online training sessions on Partner Hub. Please click here to register and select a date and time that is suitable for you.

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the training session. This will also provide you with an opportunity to ask questions.

Partner Hub Help & Support

Should you have any enquiries or require more information in regards to these topics, please do not hesitate to contact Partner Hub Support by raising an admin case for support.

Engagement Windows

Wine (Sparkling)

Beer (All)

Wine (White)

Snacks, Soft Drink & Accessories

January 16, 2023February 17, 2023

January 2, 2023January 28, 2023

February 6, 2023March 4, 2023

February 6, 2023March 4, 2023

Cider

March 6, 2023March 31, 2023

RTD’s (All)

Beer (All)

June 5, 2023June 30, 2023

June 5, 2023June 30, 2023

January

2023

Engagement Windows

Wine (Sparkling)

Beer (All)

Wine (White)

Snacks, Soft Drink & Accessories

January 16, 2023February 17, 2023

January 2, 2023January 28, 2023

February 6, 2023March 4, 2023

February 6, 2023March 4, 2023

Cider

March 6, 2023March 31, 2023

RTD’s

(All)

Beer (All)

May 2023

June 5, 2023June 30, 2023

June 5, 2023June 30, 2023

Directory

Leadership Team

Name Position Email

Tim Carroll

Director - Merchandise & Buying tim.carroll@edg.com.au

Bree Coleman General Manager - Merchandise Transformation bree.coleman@edg.com.au

Pedro Da Costa General Manager - Range & Value pedro.dacosta@edg.com.au

Harriet Wischer

Georgia Stott

Beer & Cider

Spirits/ Complementary Categories

Wine – Commercial

Head of Beer & Cider (Acting) harriet.wischer@edg.com.au

Category Manager, Trading - Beer & Cider (BWS) georgia.stott@bws.com.au

Darren McKenzie Category Manager, Trading - Beer & Cider (Dan Murphy’s) darren.mckenzie@edg.com.au

Billy Ryan Category Manager, Customer Discovery billy.ryan@edg.com.au

Jody Liddle Category Manager, Range - Commercial, Craft, Local & Cider jody.liddle@edg.com.au

Rylee Martin Category Manager, Pinnacle Range & Trade rylee.martin@edg.com.au

Sarah Hall

Head of Spirits, Premix & Complementary Categories (Acting) sarah.hall3@edg.com.au

Michael Vagli Category Manager, Trading - Glass & Premix (Dan Murphy’s) michael.vagli@edg.com.au

Fahime Durbali Category Manager, Trading - Glass & Premix (BWS) Fahime.durbali@edg.com.au

Hamish Fyfe Category Manager, Range - Premium Craft & Local Spirits (EG) Hamish.fyfe@edg.com.au

James Duvnjak Category Manager, Range - Mainstream Glass (EG)

James.duvnjak@edg.com.au

Stephanie Petracca Category Manager, Range - Premix (EG) stephanie.petracca@edg.com.au

Lance Friedman

Leigh Firkin

Category Manager, Complementary Categories (EG)

Lance.friedman@edg.com.au

Head of Commercial Wine leigh.firkin@edg.com.au

Mathew Young Category Manager, Trade - Wine (BWS) mathew.young@edg.com.au

Kristina Poljak Category Manager, Range - Wine (BWS) kristina.poljak@edg.com.au

Ben Lafford Category Manager, Red Wine & Cellar (Dan Murphy’s) ben.lafford@edg.com.au

Darren Leivers

Category Manager, White, Rose, Zero Alc & Cask (Dan Murphy’s) darren.leivers@edg.com.au

Tim Yu Category Manager, Champagne, Sparkling & Fortified Wine (Dan Murphy’s) tim.yu@edg.com.au

Directory

Name Position

Email

Andrew Shedden Head of Fine Wine andrew.shedden@edg.com.au

Ian Wolfe Category Manager (EG) - WA & SA ian.wolfe@edg.com.au

Tim Merrett Category Manager (EG)NSW, VIC, QLD & TAS tim.merrett@edg.com.au

Wine – Fine Wine

Nicholas Rose Category Manager (EG) - Imported Wine nick.rose@edg.com.au

Ramon Gunasekara Category ManagerLangton’s Domestic Wine ramon.gunasekara@langtons.com.au

Jesper Kjaersgaard Category ManagerLangton’s Imported Wine jesper.kjaersgaard@langtons.com.au

Eleni Hatzigrigoriou Category Manager, eCommerce (DM’s) eleni.hatzigrigoriou@edg.com.au

eCommerce Team

Camille Singh Category Manager, eCommerce (BWS) camille.singh@edg.com.au

Sarah Linhart Category Manager, Subscriptions (EG) sarah.linhart@edg.com.au

Merchandise Assistants - Merchandise Assistants egmerchassist@edg.com.au

Marketplace - Marketplace Team partner@endeavourmarketplace.com.au

Lachlan Brahe Head of Retail Media lachlan.brahe@edg.com.au

MixIn by Endeavour

Rhiannon Hart Production & Compliance Manager rhiannon.hart@danmurphys.com.au

Steve Jones Supplier Partnerships Manager steve.jones@edg.com.au Product

Jamie Hill Product Data Manager jamie.hill@edg.com.au

ALH Hotels - ALH Merchandise Team merchandisingteam@alhgroup.com.au

Back Issues

Edition 1

March 2021

Feature article: It’s a generational thing Click here to view.

Edition 2

July 2021

Feature articles: Get to know our premium customers

Low and no goes mainstream Click here to view.

Edition 3

October 2021

Feature articles: Peek into the future with leading trends Interview with Claire Smith, Director Endeavour X Click here to view.

Edition

Edition 5

March 2022

Feature articles: A Christmas retrospective Innovation within industry Click here to view.

Edition 6

June 2022

Feature articles: Supplier of the Year Award winners and finalists

Insights Report: Moderation Click here to view.

September 2022

Feature articles: MixIn: Our retail media business. Christmas F22: Predictions Click here to view.