Ask Jo Malone: Taking your drinks mainstream will need bottle and great packaging

Dear Jo

I’m launching a drinks brand. I’ve tested it at street food markets to great acclaim and now want to get stocked by retailers. How do you go about doing market research for launching a new product? What do you focus on first, what should I be worried about and what can I cope with?

There is nothing I love more than a food market — they are always full of creative, entrepreneurial thinkers, who have often built a brand with very little, of which clearly you are one. Congratulations!

Moving from a stall to a being stocked by a retailer is a huge jump though. Check whether your supply chain is able to manufacture anything from 500 to 5000 units and up. Continuity and quality of product is vital. Does the recipe need to be tweaked when you scale up? At one point when I was building my business, my formulations were all in my head. I had to sit in laboratories unravelling every ingredient for weeks.

At each stage of getting your product ready for market, you need to ask yourself, where is the profit and where can I add value? Don’t just ask this question at the end, ask it all the way through.

The next thing to focus on is your packaging. With a large retailer you have lost the ability to communicate directly with your customer, and your packaging needs to be identifiable and memorable.

Finally, practice your pitch. Know all your numbers and lead times back to front, and be prepared for every difficult question.

If I were you, I would continue with your market stall. It creates a buzz around your product, and is a great place to test new things. Whether you are at Pike Place fish market in Seattle, your local farmers’ market or a supermarket chain, don’t forget the importance of theatre and circus. It’s key to making your brand stand out and is what connects the consumer to you emotionally.