La croissance d'une marque of Beverage suit rarement une ligne droite. Mais the decisions you make at 500L impactent directement your capacité à scale to 5000L. Here's how to plan ahead.
Phase 1: Test — 100 à 500L
L'objectif n'est pas de vendre en volume, c'est de valider. Validate the recipe, packaging, pricing positioning and first customer feedback. At this stage, the unit cost is high (€1.15-1.50/can excl. VAT, excl. excise duties) but that's normal — you're buytez de l'information.
Key decisions: can format (25cl vs 33cl), recipe type (catalog vs custom), initial distribution channel (direct, horeca, events).
Phase 2 : Lancement — 1 000L
You've validated your product and your first customers. Moving to 1,000L drops the unit price to 0,90€/canette HTVA. It's time to structure: formalize the recipe, standardize the label, secure 2-3 recurring points of sale.
C'est also le moment de penser multi-format if your market demands it: the same recipe in 25cl (specialty stores, events) and 33cl (horeca, large-scale retail).
Phase 3 : Croissance — 2 000 à 4 000L
À 0,84€/canette HTVA, your marges deviennent confortables. The stakes change : production regularity, slot planning, gestion de stock, diversification de gamme éventuelle.
This is often the stage where a second recipe is considered. Caution au piège de la diversification trop rapide — mieux vaut un produit star well distribué that trois produits moyennement poussés.
Phase 4 : Scale — 5 000L+
production récurrente, logistics palettisée, account manager dédié. the négociations se font on of the engagements annuels and the price continuent de baisser. À this stade, certaines brands envisagent d'investir in their propre outil — but beaucoup restent en co-packing for the flexibilité.
Conseil PotionLab
Don't block your growth by over-investing too early. Co-packing lets you scale without CAPEX — keep your cash for marketing and distribution.