In the current economic context of Brazil, many families are looking for new channels of purchase that offer more attractive prices. A new survey by Euromonitor International indicated that a channel that has gained prominence in recent years was the card that has ceased to be an exclusive channel of the lowest population and also won the preference of classes A and B.

The cash cards are mainly relevant in the sale of beverages. According to Euromonitor data, this channel (which in the survey is identified as one of the main ones in Mixed Retailers) represented, in 2016, 13% of sales of cold drinks (such as soft drinks, water and juices), 11% of alcoholic beverages beer, distilled beverages and wine) and 8% of sales of hot beverages (such as coffee and tea) in Brazil.

“While wholesale trading is still a developing channel for beverage sales, its growth rate is well above the traditional retail average. Take, for example, the hot beverage segment, whose retail sales grew 10.5% between 2011 and 2016 while the retail average (excluding online sales) was 1.6%, “comments Angélica Salado, Senior Research Analyst of Euromonitor.

Salado comments that the configuration of an account, however, is quite different from that of a supermarket in the matter of displaying the products in the stores and handling the items. “It is very common to use forklifts in the garages since they facilitate access to the higher shelves. Consequently, this requires that the products have a greater resistance in the packaging. In addition, the shelves of the cartouches tend to be much larger and taller, bringing several tags side by side or stacked. This, in turn, makes it difficult to see brands and, consequently, requires visually appealing and easy-to-identify packaging, “he says.

Not coincidentally, several brands of beer modified their packaging, changing logo and visual identity, to better position themselves with the consumer and also to meet the demands of this new channel in focus. The Euromonitor research presents as successful cases worthy of comment on Heineken, which increased the size of its iconic red star of packaging, and Itaipava, which brought new colors to its packaging and also incorporated a crown as a symbol of the brand .

Angélica says that although the development of new packaging requires a high investment, brands need to consider whether their products meet the new demands of the consumer in wholesale. “It is important to emphasize that this channel must certainly consolidate even more in the coming years, even if the consumer returns to a similar income in the pre-crisis years. For brands, this means that these packaging innovations must remain relevant for many years to come, “he says.

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Source: Euromonitor Blog.