Publisher’s Toast: Cheez, Louise! Focus on Taste!

I am proudly entering my 35th year chronicling the beverage arena. In that time, I’ve seen literally thousands of brands and interacted with an even greater number of people. It has been a labor of love, one that keeps me excited to come to my office every day (and it has nothing to do with the free Cheez-Its offered in the lobby of my building). The friendships and acquaintances I’ve made, and the admiration I have for these passionate and innovative people know no bounds. I exalt in their successes, and despair in their failures. We all know the failure rate for beverages, yet it doesn’t deter them from following their dreams. More power to them.

Needless to say, I’ve been witness to so many innovations, category creations, packaging upgrades, ingredient/formulation breakthroughs, and the like that I could write an incredible novel about beverages. Relax, though, it’s highly unlikely. Just looking up from the snack wrappers on my desk to write this little message every other month is hard enough.

I got into the industry right before the advent of “New Age”, which opened up a new world of beverages. (those of you who know me understand that before I got into the industry I’d been dabbling in the old “Age of Aquarius” myself for a while, so it fit me like a pair of Sansabelts. The “New Age” was followed by so many other ideas, although I always hoped for a “New, New Age” which never arrived. Each category had its turn in the trend-o-matic: juices, waters, sodas, beers, organics, teas, probiotics and the like dotted the landscape. We had the trend of the “big guys” buying up the innovators at super high prices, only to mismanage most of them and lead the brands to irrelevance. We saw a plethora of brands launched with the purpose of an exit strategy, a doomed proposition from the start. I can’t begin to tell you about my conversations with people about to launch, that led with the exit plan. What happened to the love of the beverage business itself?

My most recent observation is a sad one: many brands don’t taste good. From day one in my career, the most important aspect of a beverage is taste. That has been my only standard in rating a brand. There are so many popping up, with great ingredients, fun packaging, a cogent marketing proposition, and resources to support them, but unless you’ve nailed the taste, you’re doomed to fall. Too often, that simple proposition has been lost. I’ve had so many brands cross my desk in the past few years, all with good virtues, but lacking that most important facet,
tasting great.

There has been so much good in these 35 years, and ideas and trends come and go. Strive for the best, put your passion into your brands and get back on track with taste. How about something that goes well with a Cheez-It?