With the outbreak of what is known as the “experience economy” that focuses on experiences and engagements, beverage companies are creatively redefining between themselves and their customers. These companies are no longer satisfied with just producing a good that is well made; they proceed to create a memorable experience that a consumer can relate to on the emotional and social level.

The emergence of experiential marketing

That is why the concept of experiential marketing, which relies on direct and live communication between consumers and producers, is considered to be the keystone by which the beverage industry can develop. This goes beyond just placing an advert; the goal here is to engage the emotions of the audience in this case the customers. One can notice that the beverage sector is interest-related and has a rather deep cultural and social background, which will allow embracing this trend.

Crafting memorable in-store experiences

In-store promos form one of the most important channels through which beverage firms interact with consumers. The comfort and friendliness of retail areas, which are sweeping the globe, have become an important tactic among such strategies. What is more, these establishments personalize services and organize unique store designs, as well as focus on events that benefit the community, all of which add value to the brand as they are not just serving a drink.

Immersive brand activations

Another example of how companies engage an audience is through pop-up bars and other fully realized brand experiences. Brands have started with various tasting sessions of the products and production tours to the various production facilities. Such experiences enable the consumers to interact with the production process and the narrative of a brand first-hand, which creates trust.

Based on the above analysis, the future of beverage experiences can be discussed in the following areas:

It will be interesting to note how the experience economy will further develop but clearly, new strategies which integrate will be looked at by beverage companies. Effects such as virtual reality (VR) experiences, and AI-driven personalisation measures, and innovations such as interactive packaging are some of the trends that could shape the future consumer experiences with beverages.

It is therefore evident that the adoption and advancement of the experience economy are conditioning beverage firms’ approaches and improving customer touch-points. It is proving that through establishing experiences that are easily memorable and that exist beyond the product, such companies realise deeper, more passionate connections whilst building more fan-centric associations. Thus, with the development of new technologies and growing consumer demands, the options are only vast for new and exciting experiences in the consumption of beverage products.

The article has been written by Chai Sutta Bar co-founder Anand Nayak.