Market research before launching a gin
Market research for a gin does not need a big budget at the start. It needs a few good questions, a notebook and a willingness to hear that the idea needs changing.
What you are trying to find out
Before you spend, you want answers to five questions:
- Who buys gin where you plan to sell? What do they drink now?
- What do competing gins cost? How are they positioned?
- Where does gin get bought: shops, bars, hotels, online, events?
- What gap, if any, is there in style, price or story?
- Will anyone pay your price for your gin?
Write the questions first, then choose the method. Research that begins without questions produces a pile of facts and no decision.
Start with the shelf and the menu
A shelf audit is the cheapest research there is. Visit a sample of shops and bars. Record every gin: brand, style, strength, bottle size, price and position on the shelf. Take photographs where allowed. Note which brands get the most space and which look new.
Do the same online. Write down prices and descriptions. A simple spreadsheet turns this into a map of the market that you made yourself. It is better than a number borrowed from a press release, because you know where it came from.
Talk to buyers and drinkers
Interview bar managers, shop owners and distributors. Ask open questions: what sells, what does not, what do customers ask for, what would make you try a new gin? Listen more than you talk.
For drinkers, run a short survey or small group conversations. Keep to adults of legal drinking age. Ask about habits and price, not about how much they drink. Avoid leading questions such as "Would you love a gin made with local botanicals?". Ask what they would pay and what they would give up.
Test the product and the price
When you have a sample, ask trade buyers and a group of drinkers to try it against two competing gins, with the brands hidden. Keep measures small and offer water. Ask what they notice, how they would use it and what they would expect to pay. Then compare their price answer with your cost from working out the cost of a bottle.
Small tests do not prove demand. They show whether your idea survives contact with a buyer.
Know what your numbers can and cannot say
A survey of thirty people tells you about thirty people. Say how many you asked and how you chose them. Do not turn a small sample into a market size. Where you need larger or more systematic work, such as a consumer survey across cities, a retail audit across many outlets or a price study, a research partner can run it properly.
We do consumer surveys, retail audits, competitor and price research and location research for drinks projects. The work can be done remotely by video call and shared data, with site visits by arrangement.
Turn answers into decisions
End the research with a one-page note. What did you learn? What will you change in the recipe, the price, the pack or the channel? What will you drop? Which assumptions in your business plan still need evidence?
Research that does not change anything was a waste of time. Research that kills a weak idea early was cheap.
A simple shelf audit sheet
Make one sheet and use it in every outlet. Columns: outlet, date, brand, style, strength, bottle size, shelf price, shelf position, any promotion and notes. Fill in twenty or thirty outlets across the kinds of place you want to sell in: neighbourhood shops, larger stores, bars and hotels.
When you finish, sort by price and look for clusters. Where are most gins? Where is there a gap? Is the gap empty because nobody wants to buy there, or because nobody has tried? That question is the heart of the research. Only buyer conversations can answer it.
Research ethics and repeating after launch
Research on alcohol must stay within the law and within good manners. Survey only adults of legal drinking age. Do not offer incentives that encourage drinking. Tell people what the research is for and how you will use their answers. Respect data protection rules where you collect personal details. Keep the answers anonymous where you can.
Markets move. Repeat a small shelf and price check each quarter. Ask your trade accounts what they see. A habit of simple research keeps you in touch with the market after the launch excitement has gone.
Common questions
How much market research is enough?
Enough to answer your five questions with evidence you collected yourself. Start small and extend where the answers are weak.
Can I use online reports?
As a pointer, yes. Check the source and the date. Do not treat a headline figure as your market.
Is a survey worth it?
A well-designed one can be. A badly worded one misleads. Keep it short, neutral and aimed at the right adults.
Do I need research if I already know the trade?
Your experience helps. Still check prices and shelves, because they change.
