The questions independent drinks founders ask most — answered. Distilled from years of community knowledge so the good stuff never disappears in the feed again.
Marketing niche spirits to the on-trade is fundamentally different from consumer education—bartenders and bar managers need inspiration and creative freedom, not category explanation. **Strategy & positioning:** - Niche categories are hard to sell through education alone; instead, follow the **Aperol/Campari playbook**: show bartenders *how to drink it* rather than explaining what it is. Let them get inspired by the product itself rather than lengthy category primers. - Provide bartenders with creative guidance (e.g. reference signature cocktails like the Negroni) but allow them the freedom to innovate—this drives both buy-in and on-trade traction. **Sales approach:** - **Sales agencies** (e.g. **Nomad Collection**) can provide existing networks and relationships, though members report they may not deliver on-trade traction despite years of representation. Assess honestly whether agency representation is actually moving the needle. - A dedicated **single sales rep/single brand approach** offers the most focused attention but requires significant patience and budget investment—on-trade wins in London can be loss-making for several years. - Be clear on your objective first: profit, London halo accounts, or volume at any cost? This determines whether agency representation makes sense. **Key insight:** The category education burden is real and draining. Success depends on having a *genuinely easy-to-communicate* product and pairing it with bartenders who are excited to work with it—not convincing them why they should care about the category itself.