17 Easy Ideas for Promoting Beverages

There are lots of reasons to promote beverages, including boosting sales, introducing new offerings, engaging customers, and more.

Here are 17 simple ideas for accomplishing all of them:

1. Introduce new beverage products and discount them for a short introductory period. Test items such as nitro cold brew coffee, energy drinks, coffee desserts, or specialty iced coffee.
2. Get employees and/or customers involved in a new beverage launch with a naming contest promoted via social media and in-store point-of-sale.
3. Expand the concept of the traditional Happy Hour with afternoon tea or juice specials or late-night snacks to complement specific beverages, such as tapas or chocolates with wine-by-the-glass, or biscotti and other Italian-style cookies with specialty coffee beverages.
4. Host an event-based promotion during a traditionally slow period, such as Date Night Monday or midweek Trivia with beer, coffee, and popcorn, or a hot cocoa and dessert special during cold weather.
5. Partner with a local charity, school, or other nonprofit to host a food-and-beverage fundraiser in which part of the proceeds go to that organization.
6. Don’t forget sports promotions like big game night, tennis championships, Little League, or a popular local event unique to your area. A fantasy sports team pool is another way that you can engage customers in a promotion, offering free food or drink or other prizes.
7. Use social media to get the word out about promotional events like wine dinners or seasonal drink introductions by encouraging people to RSVP online.
8. Offer unique flavor combinations in juices, iced tea, smoothies, and flavor-infused waters to pique the interest of Millennials and others who are curious about trying new beverages.
9. Another idea that will appeal to adventurous patrons: let them customize beverages with buzzworthy on-trend beverage flavors, such as spicy, umami, yuzu, and botanical.
10. Test customer interest in new beverages with LTOs (limited-time offers), which can also be promoted as news in social media and at the point-of-sale.
11. Menu new flavors, integrate staff and social media beverage ideas, and offer easy mix-ins such as grab-and-go coffee creamers.
12. Market food and beverage pairings, such as a tropical fruit juice with a Caribbean-influenced menu item (jerk chicken and passionfruit-guava cocktail, anyone?).
13. Ramp up a standard bar program with interesting mocktails (muddle fresh fruit in iced green tea for example) to appeal to nondrinkers, designated drivers, younger patrons, and others.
14. Suggest à la carte flavor shots for hot and cold coffee, tea, and even cocoa using syrups or flavored creamers to boost interest—and profits.
15. Plant-based beverages are in demand, so promoting them as such can have a big payoff. Making sure plant-based milks and coffee lighteners are available is an easy yet effective way to leverage customer interest.
16. Consider putting cold brew or iced coffee on draft, to promote sales and take the prep burden off service staff.
17. Offer grab-and-go or easily prepared smoothies and juices for snacks and portable refreshment.

^{The information provided is based on a general industry overview and is not specific to your business operation. Each business is unique, and decisions related to your business should be made after consultation with appropriate experts..}