Drinks brands must identify category codes before embarking on search for sales – Comment

The drinks industry is in the grip of an innovation frenzy. Brand owners that built their portfolios around their established brands are watching their core consumers age out, drink less or defect to categories that didn’t exist a decade ago.The response, almost universally, has been to innovate outward - to chase the growth that's happening in the categories they aren’t in, such as premix RTDs, flavour extensions, stouts, world beers, agave-based spirits and whatever is the next big thing.It’s the right instinct. The problem is how to do it successfully, and most brands trying to break