Ready-to-drink beverages are hot sellers in summer, but what about winter? Most go quiet, except for those with warming properties, like coffee. Imagine holding a warm coffee while walking in the cold wind, taking a sip now and then—it feels more comforting and empowering than an iced drink in summer. Ready-to-drink coffee is hard to find in terminal warmers Most beverages are still displayed at room temperature, as seen at Haohaolin on Jinbao Street. When Judy, a young woman from a small town, casually walked into a Haohaolin convenience store on Jinbao Street in Beijing, she was somewhat disappointed. All kinds of beverages were still arranged as in summer, the only difference being that the refrigerators were unplugged, and the drinks were separated from the shelves by a glass door. At a 7-Eleven at the intersection, there was a warmer. Unlike the countertop warmers in Shanghai FamilyMart stores, the warmer at 7-Eleven was about the size of a refrigerated cabinet, with 7 shelves and over 20 types of drinks around 280ml, all warm, making you want to try them all. Warmers are common in Shanghai convenience stores, but for some reason, they are rare in Beijing's retail outlets and small shops; 7-Eleven is an exception. Among all beverages, Nestlé is the brand most frequently using warmers. Whether in Shanghai or Beijing, wherever there is a warmer, Nestlé occupies the top shelf with at least three SKUs, including both new and old products. Coca-Cola's coffee brand, Georgia, is not yet densely distributed in CVS, but in stores where it is present, its display closely follows Nestlé, likely to achieve visual scale, with two flavors lined up on the bottom shelf. Additionally, Suntory and Uni-President are also regulars in warmers. This year, Suntory is promoting "Nuan Ping," and Uni-President's star products are Assam milk tea and Li Lai Wu San (a canned pear drink). Overall, coffee accounts for only about one-fifth of warmer contents, with tea and various fruit and vegetable drinks dominating. The ready-to-drink coffee market has growth potential As a foreign beverage, coffee largely carries the genes of Western lifestyle. Nestlé began consumer education in China in the 1990s, telling consumers that the dark, bitter, roasted drink "tastes great." The first to accept and benefit were students. Having a cup of coffee during late-night study sessions was also a fashionable thing. If Nestlé broke down the barrier between Chinese and coffee, then Starbucks' entry integrated coffee into daily life on an emotional level. As coffee's popularity and acceptance increased, it gradually became an urban lifestyle, and coffee consumption diversified, leading to the emergence of bottled ready-to-drink coffee. Besides Nestlé, Uni-President was also an early entrant. In 2003, Uni-President launched Yaha Coffee, offering consumers a ready-to-drink, convenient experience, followed by C'estbon's FIRE, Coca-Cola's Georgia, and Master Kong's Starbucks Frappuccino. After years of cultivation, the market shares of instant coffee, freshly ground coffee, and ready-to-drink coffee are 71.8%, 10.1%, and 18.1% respectively (data from Mintel). To date, the relationship between coffee and Chinese consumers remains ambiguous. Consumers have some demand for coffee, but both in terms of consumption share and frequency, it is not significant, resulting in no blockbuster products in the coffee category, nor dedicated coffee products in corporate brand families. This is why FIRE, which is popular in Japan, hasn't taken off in China; Kirin transferred it to China Resources. Coca-Cola's Georgia coffee, launched at the end of 2014, also had heavy advertising, but its market performance has been lackluster. So, we must ask: how to break this lukewarm situation? Analysis of China's ready-to-drink coffee market size Source: Zhiyan Data Center Data shows that as of 2015, the top three in China's ready-to-drink coffee market were Nestlé, Suntory, and Uni-President, together holding nearly 75% share (according to Euromonitor). China's ready-to-drink coffee market reached 6 billion yuan. The market space is considerable, and sales opportunities are yet to be developed. As Uni-President's general manager Hou Ronglong said, "Consumers don't lack new products; they want valuable new products." Mr. Hou believes that true innovation in the food industry is rare, and Uni-President aims for tangible innovation, moving towards irreplaceable, cost-effective innovative products. The only thing Uni-President needs to do is closely monitor consumer behavior. How to encounter ready-to-drink hot coffee in winter Yaha Coffee—Right taste, pleasant chat FIRE Coffee—About 'dreams' Georgia Coffee—Launch promotion in subway stations Nestlé Coffee—Everything starts with Nestlé Frappuccino—Spreading happy emotions Consumption scenarios stimulate desire. In the beverage family, ready-to-drink coffee is a niche category, with total sales of all brands just over 4 billion yuan, far less than Nongfu Spring's annual sales of tens of billions. So, how to sell ready-to-drink coffee with the same fervor as plain water? First, look at pricing. Currently, ready-to-drink coffee is priced around 5 yuan, still at a homogeneous, entry-level stage, with ample room for product innovation. Second, look at channels. Channel homogenization is also a major issue. Currently, the main sales channels for ready-to-drink coffee are still KA, convenience stores (especially those near office areas), and special channels like university campuses. Additionally, channels with high immersion, such as high schools, cinemas, and skating/skiing venues, are rarely stocked. Table: Ready-to-drink coffee brands in the 5-yuan price band Data: Compiled by Sales A based on 1号店 prices Third, create emotionally warm sales methods. Uni-President's Yaha Coffee, launched in 2003, still remains lukewarm. Besides lacking iterative products, innovation in sales channels is also lacking. Among all warm beverages, hot coffee has the strongest affinity with winter. If warmers are placed at the above points of sale, the winter cold becomes the best natural promotional condition. Coffee excels at emotional marketing, a strategy that allows foreign beverages to cleverly bypass Chinese consumers' psychological barriers, gradually forming a natural association between coffee and emotional scenarios. For Easterners who value family ties, this is undoubtedly another reason to consume. If brands can understand this consumer need, they can derive various styles of warm, memorable interpersonal stories. As a sensory beverage, if paired with in-store promotions and hot coffee tasting opportunities, sales will surely increase. Of course, this is far from enough to create an internet-famous coffee; it requires activities more in line with the product's character, such as New Year's Eve outdoor countdown events, allowing consumers in the cold to taste hot coffee. The mood of special moments combined with coffee's unique sweet aroma will leave a clear brand imprint in consumers' minds. Leveraging winter's unique temperature factor to release the unique value of ready-to-drink hot coffee is an innovative marketing approach. Self-selling capability in warmers. The FMCG nature of ready-to-drink products requires such items to have strong self-selling capability. What constitutes self-selling capability? It mainly comes from unique bottle designs, eye-catching price tags, shelf facings of more than five bottles, and buy-one-get-one promotions. If conditions allow, adding special displays in main aisles can make products stand out and induce impulse purchases. For example, Uni-President's coffee series, milk tea series, and health beverage series are all suitable for winter warmer displays. Relatively, the Hey series coffee with the strongest star appeal can take the lead, conquering the warmer. Concentrated multi-category displays not only show momentum but also better balance input-output ratios, especially during the year-end and New Year period when holidays are concentrated, making it an excellent time to boost sales. Uni-President recently dressed its beverages in Manchester United jerseys, giving terminal displays a bold image. Of course, to maintain stable self-selling, clear requirements must be set for distributors and store-visiting salespeople to ensure regular visits and, under real sales data, achieve a more-work-more-reward terminal maintenance method. Therefore, standardized terminal sales management is needed, especially in sensitive terminal expense management, including warmer costs, number of outlets, and activity expense management, all requiring refined process management to avoid waste and improve sales efficiency. In summary, terminal sales management must achieve standardized sales nodes; regularized visits and distribution; authentic sales data; and implemented incentive policies. By understanding consumer needs and formulating and adhering to terminal sales management, you will surely sell hot coffee from warmers and master the "cold" business in winter. -END- China's best FMCG distributor learning platform Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for enterprises and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get the corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent article selection | 002 Distributor market operations | 003 Terminal visit management | 004 Sales supervisor skills | 005 Sales improvement techniques | 006 Channel expansion | 007 Managing distributors | 008 Distributor development | 009 Distributor internal operations management | 010 Team management | 011 Efficient distribution techniques | 012 Sales manager's eighteen skills | 013 KA operation methods and strategies | 014 First lesson for new salespeople | 015 Internet, brands | 016 Distributor B2B transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]