Soda is a trendy soft drink around the world. Therefore, the soda water market has great potential for exploitation. However, how to start a soda company when there are so many big players dominating the market at the moment? Is this too difficult a problem for you? Let’s find the answer in the article below.
Have a breakthrough and creative idea
Firstly, you need to have ideas for your product before getting involved further in how to start a soda company. The ideas will include the recipe, flavor, and ingredients of the sodas you plan to sell.
There are so many sodas on the market today; you can find thousands of soda flavors in the same supermarket display. But only a few products are regularly selected, what is the reason? Simply an explosion in their flavor.
Traditional soda flavors may be a safe revenue stream for you, but they’re too lackluster to compete in your brand’s launch phase. Therefore, you must have a different formula for them. If you can’t develop a different recipe, show your customers what your brand’s soda can do for them. Maybe it’s vegan soda for weight loss or soda with 100% healthy ingredients…
Also, try mixing fruit flavors to find the best taste. Many soda recipes are used in bars, pubs, or casual parties; try turning them into beverage cans? Any idea is worth a try, make a difference to your product.
However, you also need to pay attention to one thing: a breakthrough and creative idea does not mean a weird idea. Don’t try to create weird soda flavors if you don’t want customers to see you as an enemy of the beverage industry in general and soda beverage products in particular.
Should know: Why is the soft drink industry so profitable? An analysis
Build the perfect business strategy
How to start a soda company with the perfect product list? That is building an effective business strategy.
Given the recipes you have, how do you measure the love for each of these recipes? First, make samples and give them to your loved ones, friends, or volunteers. Let them taste it and give their opinion based on the survey criteria you want. Then, based on those unbiased reviews, you’ll know which soda flavors to start with.
Next, determine how much budget you have. This is very important because the budget is the main factor determining where you can start. Strict budget management will help you balance investment capital and revenue, avoiding unexpected capital losses. Dividing your budget into small investments also helps you develop a more coherent business strategy.
In addition, you also need to have a smart marketing strategy. Marketing strategy at an early stage plays an important role in leaving an impression on customers about your product. Only when customers impress and remember your product can the business develop smoothly. This impressive and memorable must be a good impression, about product taste, packaging, campaign slogan or customer approach of this marketing campaign, and so on.
Find out more: Soft drink marketing strategies: Best marketing lessons from the biggest players
Understand the operating rules of the logistics industry
When you want to learn how to start a soda company, you must delve into the rules of the logistics industry. This supporting industry plays a significant role in the production chain and transporting soft drinks to the market.
Ensure that every step of the production process, from raw material import to purified water treatment, ingredient handling, recipe measurement, beverage preparation, packaging, packaging printing, to logistics, is transported in good practice. Also, make sure your technology meets the safety standards published by the FDA.
Do not forget to prepare all kinds of business permits, transportation permits, production, and operation permits, which must be entirely by the law.
Absolute quality control
Product quality is the “backbone” to help your company stand firm in the market in the absolute best way. Many “big guys” have been quickly eliminated by a wave of boycotts from customers, the main reason being their violation of food hygiene and safety rules.
First, make sure the water you use to make soda is perfectly sterilized. The water source must meet TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) standards. The ingredients for the preparation must ensure safety for health, and do not contain carcinogens, cardiovascular diseases, bones, and joints …
In addition, if your product packaging is a recyclable material, effectively protecting the environment will help customers feel more friendly with your brand. Besides the taste of soda drinks, always putting the user’s health is the most important production criterion. Only when customers feel safe, and their health is cared for and protected when using your products, the business story can last forever.
Should read: Focus on quality control with certificates in food and beverage production
Looking for the ideal companion
What do you think about finding a business partner to start your first soda brand with? A like-minded companion not only helps you budget for your initial investments but can also help you refine and develop your business plans in many different directions.
However, you also need to be careful when setting the terms of cooperation. Be fair in all matters. No matter how close that associate is to you, being fair when agreeing on business cooperation conditions will help you avoid many troubles later.
You can also choose the form of calling for capital, aimed at large investors, specializing in supporting capital for start-ups with the corresponding stake in business management. However, this is not necessarily a good form because many investors will take advantage of your youth to squeeze your creativity.
Choose a companion you trust enough to be a support. And you must be the one holding the key to the way or you do not want all your recipes to be illegally copied.
Conclusion
To become a business owner, owning a brand of soft drink soda is not an easy, simple thing. In addition to the required knowledge above, you also need to have a certain sensitivity to the beverage market at the moment. Carefully study current and near-future beverage trends.
At the same time, learn from the business experiences of the formidable competitors in the market, and learn from their successes and mistakes in each stage of brand development. Based on the understanding of competitors and the market, you will have your own feelings to come up with exclusive products, bearing your own imprint that only your brand has.
Don’t forget to listen to the comments and contributions of your customers as well as all your business partners. Visual comments from them will always be the most straightforward comments, helping you to improve more and more in terms of product quality, taste as well as the production process.
Know more: Top 3 soda industry trends: What will determine the market in the next years
Tan Do is a global beverage ODM/OEM manufacturer and supplier in Vietnam. Since 1996, we have built trust and credibility not only throughout Vietnam but also in many parts of the world. Leveraging state-of-the-art technology, we have crafted thousands of products (soda drinks for an excellent example), that align with ISO, HACCP, HALAL, FDA, and many other standards.
