When people celebrate special moments, milestones, and days, food and drinks are always around in most cases. Usually, there are specific drinks that many people in the world always have when they reunite with their family and friends. Beer, liquor, and wine are the typical drinks many have when celebrating special moments.
If you love drinking one of those three, you know what brands produce those drinks in top-notch quality. Maybe that’s one of the reasons many people are starting their brewery and distillery businesses. And if you have the tongue for a good pint of beer or cocktail drink, there’s a chance you’re also likely considering your brewery or distillery business.
Starting a business is no walk in the park. It takes dedication, patience, and persistence to make it work. But managing a company or shop you love could make a huge difference. If you’re planning to start a brewery and distillery business, here are eight things you should do.
1 – Learn and understand the brewery and distillery process first
The idea of starting a business is exciting until you have to start working on it. One of the mistakes many make when starting a business is not knowing and understanding the nature of its products and services. Many learn too late how to manage their business accordingly or only when people outside of the organisation tell them what’s wrong.
Starting a brewery and distillery business requires expertise, thorough planning, and dedication to quality. You’ll also need to invest in high-quality machinery like steam boilers to produce your beer craft. Before you start planning your business plan, take all the time you need to learn and understand the nature of a brewery. Remember that when you know something, you can make a better plan for it.
2 – Study the performance of the leading brewery and distillery businesses worldwide
Many professionals say that one of the ways to succeed is by learning from other people’s mistakes and triumphs. Experience is the best teacher, but there are many things in life that you don’t have to go through to learn how to handle them best. In business, this advice is undoubtedly true.
With that, you must study the performance of the leading brewery and distillery businesses worldwide. By looking into their business strategies, you’ll learn the best ways to market and operate your business to your target market. Also, you can evaluate and review the areas where those businesses could have improved and apply them to your business plan.
3 – Consult advisors and mentors when revising your business plan
When working on something, sometimes, our pride gets in our way. Even though we know other people could help us, we refuse to ask for their help to boost our ego. If you’re eager to start a business that you wish to be successful, incorporating feedback from experts would help.
As you work on and finish your plan, have one person you trust review it without any biases. It would be even better if they were a professional business adviser who could give you honest and effective feedback. No matter how great you think your plan is, there are always areas that you can improve for the best.
4 – Try and test your beer prototype as many times as you need to
If you’re planning to sell your unique beer mixture, trying and testing your prototype is a must. Other brewery and distillery businesses use a composition of massive brands by franchising, but others offer their beer from scratch. If you’re considering the latter, trying and testing are a must.
Since you’ll be producing your drinks, you must ensure that your product quality is consistent. Most of the time, it’ll take hundreds of trials and errors to create a batch of beer that has the same quality and taste as your preference. If you don’t produce the same amount of drinks, the taste and quality of your beverage could change. And that usually happens when your business demands change over time.
5 – Create a team of professionals who’ll do the critical work behind the scenes
Aside from steam boilers, you need many other pieces of machinery when starting a brewery and distillery business. It’s important to point out that starting a brewery business is costly. But aside from your pieces of machinery, you’ll also need a team of professionals to ensure that your production is timely and efficient.
The people you hire can either make or break your business. That’s why when choosing people to complete your team, hire people with thorough experience in the same industry. If they don’t have the experience, they must have the skills that contribute to your business for the better.
6 – Work on your beer packaging
Packaging is critical in beverage products like beer. According to experts in the industry, packaging is a crucial aspect of the brewery industry because it acts as a protective measure for the beer while in transit. Aside from that, your packaging is another factor that could attract people to try your product.
Some breweries pack their beer in cans, while others in glass bottles. Your choice of packaging will also depend on the branding of your drinks and your target market. Nevertheless, you must work on a packaging option that is not only physically attractive but also preserves the quality of your beer.
7- Ask yourself if it’s really for you before working on it
Sometimes, no matter how much you think you like a business, there’ll come a time when you realise it’s not for you, and that’s okay. If, while working on your business plan, you realise that the expenses of starting the brewery business would cost you more than you can invest, it’s okay to postpone your business first.
Don’t push yourself to start the business because you spent countless nights working and testing your beer prototype. Take the time to reevaluate and reconsider if you’re planning for a business you’re willing to work on despite the challenges.
Don’t rush your planning; take all the time you need to work on it for the better.
Starting a brewery and distillery business is a massive decision. That’s why you must never rush your plan and work on it as long as you need. After all, it’ll be for you and your business’ best.
Written by Bianca Banda
