Quenching the thirst By Emma Verkaik, Membership & Marketing Director, BCMPA
Outsourcing partners are adapting to new and sustainable alternatives in the drinks sector.
s with so many other retail markets, the pandemic and its far-reaching effects have fundamentally changed the drinks and alcohol sector. During the lockdowns, brand owners and retailers have taken the opportunity to develop a significant number of innovative and interesting drink offerings. As a result, the need for agile and effective solutions from their third party contract partners to meet new trends and sustainability requirements has never been stronger. The ‘New Retail’ There seems little doubt that the series of lockdowns endured by consumers in the last two years has awoken a strong preference for home delivery of drinks and alcohol, and this demand seems unlikely to dissipate. Whilst born out of necessity, the continued closure of high street outlets and increase in employees working from home has seen this trend remain both strong and at the forefront of brands’ and retailers’ thinking. In turn, BCMPA members have had to work hard and at pace to meet
these new requirements, whether it be scalable production, product formulation and innovation, or packaging and sustainability. Along with many other contract packers, Ian Wright, Sales Director of Bluefrog Contract Packing, has witnessed exponential growth in brands looking for nimble contract partners, able to respond quickly to trends: “With the growth in demand for home delivery, and the greatly increased need for variety and novelty, our advanced short-run capability is in high demand, allowing clients to produce multiple new flavours at quantities that are viable and compatible with consumer market testing,” he comments.
David Berryman, has seen demand develop strongly over the last 18 months. “With retailers and brands seeking to meet the rapidly changing tastes and interests of consumers, we’ve worked with many clients, both old and new, to develop and deliver a range of products and packaging options to satisfy demand. In the last year alone, we have received over 1800 new enquiries, seeking to take advantage of the agility that a ‘one stop shop’ service can provide. In some cases, the journey from concept to despatch can be as short as three months, providing our clients with the ability to react quickly and effectively to new market trends.”
This demand for innovation has also opened doors for thirdparty contractors who have the capability to develop new products from scratch through to production and distribution, providing brands with a fully external outsource function. Rachel Collins, Managing Director of Luton-based co-packing experts
Trends and innovations The transformational shift away from high street retail sales towards personal home delivery, has seen significant changes in both products and sizing, with growth in ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages forming a large part of this expanding market.
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