The beverage industry is driven by trends, consumer preferences, and an ever-changing landscape of new product innovations. Beverage companies need to constantly evaluate and adapt their product lines to meet market demands, improve profitability, and stay competitive. One of the most effective ways for beverage companies to streamline this process is by using visual assortment boards. These boards provide a visual layout of the product lineup, helping teams identify trends, optimize offerings, and ensure they are making strategic product line decisions.
For beverage companies, these boards can go a step further by integrating sales data, customer insights, and even production capabilities. When used strategically, they offer a visual snapshot that helps product development, marketing, and sales teams make informed, coordinated decisions about the product lineup.
Optimizing Beverage Categories with Visual Boards
In the beverage industry, product lines often include multiple categories—carbonated drinks, bottled water, juices, energy drinks, teas, alcoholic beverages, and more. The challenge for beverage companies is to ensure that the right balance exists across these categories while keeping pace with shifting consumer preferences. Visual assortment boards help in this balancing act by offering a side-by-side comparison of all categories, allowing companies to evaluate which ones are overrepresented and which need more attention.
For instance, a visual board might show that a company’s soda selection is expansive, but there’s little representation of healthier, non-carbonated beverages. Using this information, the company can make a strategic decision to introduce new products in the non-carbonated category, such as a refreshing functional water or a cold brew tea, aligning the product lineup with current consumer trends toward health and wellness
Additionally, visual boards allow for a quick comparison of market performance. Beverage companies can assess which categories are performing well in certain regions or seasonal periods and adjust their assortments accordingly, ensuring they are not overextending in underperforming areas.
Identifying Product Gaps
One of the most valuable features of visual assortment boards is their ability to highlight gaps in the product lineup. Beverage companies often discover that there are certain trends they are not capitalizing on, such as low-sugar options, functional beverages (like those with added vitamins or probiotics), or region-specific flavors. Visual boards allow companies to quickly spot these gaps, helping them make informed decisions on what product to launch next.
For example, a beverage company focused primarily on traditional sodas may notice through the visual board that they have little presence in the “functional” category. As more consumers seek beverages that provide added health benefits, this insight could prompt the company to expand into products like kombucha or flavored sparkling water with added electrolytes, vitamins, or minerals. Without the clear, visual representation provided by the assortment board, such opportunities might go unnoticed.
Visual boards also help avoid unnecessary redundancy. Beverage companies may have several variants of similar flavors or product types that overlap too much in the market, leading to confusion and lost sales potential. By visually laying out their products, companies can identify these overlaps and rationalize their portfolios to eliminate less profitable variants.
Tracking Consumer Preferences and Market Trends
The beverage market is heavily influenced by trends, whether it’s a shift toward sustainability, demand for organic products, or the growing popularity of plant-based and low-calorie options. Visual assortment boards provide an easy way to track these trends and adjust a company’s product assortment accordingly.
For example, if plant-based beverages like oat milk or almond milk-based drinks are gaining popularity, a visual assortment board can help identify whether these products are missing from a company’s portfolio. The team can then use the board to plan for new product introductions or even discontinue products that no longer align with consumer preferences.
Similarly, visual boards can track performance data, enabling beverage companies to assess how well certain flavors or product types are resonating with consumers. If data shows that a particular flavor of soda is underperforming, the visual board can help decision-makers recognize this issue at a glance and pivot to developing a more in-demand product.
Managing SKUs and Packaging Variants
In beverage companies, managing SKUs (stock-keeping units) can be complex due to the large variety of packaging sizes, formats, and flavor combinations. A visual assortment board gives clear insight into the number of SKUs a company carries and helps teams assess whether they have too many variations of a single product or whether they need to introduce more.
For instance, if a company produces energy drinks in both 250ml and 500ml cans, a visual board can quickly show whether there’s a demand for both sizes or if consolidating the options into a single size might be more effective. Similarly, packaging options such as glass bottles, plastic bottles, cans, or tetra packs can be evaluated to see if the company’s offerings match consumer preferences and operational capabilities.
A beverage company might find that certain packaging types are not resonating with their target consumers. For example, if sales of glass-bottled beverages are lower than plastic or cans in certain regions, the company can make a more strategic decision on which packaging formats to prioritize for that market. Visual boards help companies quickly evaluate the trade-offs of carrying different SKUs, and whether the current mix is optimal for the business.
Summing Up
In the beverage industry, managing a diverse product line and responding quickly to consumer preferences is key to staying competitive. Visual assortment boards provide an invaluable tool for streamlining product line decisions. By offering a clear, visual layout of products, flavors, packaging formats, and performance data, these boards help beverage companies make informed decisions that are aligned with market trends and consumer demands. Whether optimizing product variety, tracking emerging trends, managing SKUs, or fostering cross-functional collaboration, visual assortment boards give beverage companies the insight they need to adapt quickly, innovate effectively, and ensure their product lineup remains relevant and profitable.
