How should small drinks brands approach seasonal discounting (Black Friday, Christmas) without destroying margins and brand value?

Members emphasise that deep seasonal discounting is often a losing game for small premium brands. The consensus is: **don't participate unless it genuinely works for your business model and customer base**.

**Strategic alternatives members are using:** - **Clear slow-moving or nearly-expired stock** — Several members use Black Friday/seasonal periods specifically to liquidate dead inventory at discount rather than applying across-the-board cuts. This frees cash from working capital without eroding core product margins. - **Modest, purpose-driven discounts** — One member runs "Green Friday" offers on B Corp soft drinks with tree-planting tied to sales, reframing the event around values rather than race-to-bottom pricing. - **Tiered discounting** — Offer small discounts on core range (e.g. 20%), larger discounts on slow-moving SKUs only. This protects your flagship products while moving problem stock. - **New customer acquisition campaigns** — Position it as a trial/tasting campaign rather than a blanket sale. Members note it can work for customer discovery if margins allow. - **Skip it entirely** — Several premium brands simply don't participate. One importer cited the "Huit Denim approach": close the website, reopen after the event when "common sense returns." Multiple members note that for premium aged spirits at £25–£50, the math rarely works—you attract cheaper customers, spend heavily on ads to reach them, and end up with zero margin.

**Key warnings:** - Seasonal discounting in premium spirits is often a trap. Customers buy rum 2–3 times a year anyway (Christmas gifts, birthdays, Father's Day); heavy Black Friday discounting doesn't create incremental volume, it just shifts when people buy and at lower price points. - Turnover is vanity; margin is sanity. Don't get sucked into a race to the bottom you can't win. - Massive competitor discounts (e.g. Diageo's aggressive pricing) make modest 20% offers look pointless and devalue the entire category. - Advertising costs to acquire discount-hunting customers often exceed the margin you make.

**The underlying advice:** If running Black Friday isn't profitable within 60 days *and* doesn't align with your brand values, skip it. Focus on making the rest of the year succeed and selling less at higher margin.