5 Questions to Ask Before Selecting Your Beverage Distributor

For a convenience store, restaurant, bar or other outlet needing a dependable beverage distributor for its business, there are some important factors to consider before selecting your preferred partner.

Your choice can make the difference between effortlessly keeping those shelves stocked with your customers’ favourite soft drinks and wasting time on the phone chasing up orders.

We have put together the five main questions you should ask before making your decision:

How reliable is the distributor?

One quality you definitely require from any soft drinks distributor is reliability. You want the correct order delivered on time without having to waste time chasing up. This usually means that the distributor must have an efficient order processing system and be large enough to cover its area with a fleet of delivery trucks.

How is the customer service and support?

If there is ever a problem, you need it sorted out quickly; besides that, it brightens the day to deal with pleasant people when you are ordering your supplies. So, factor in the customer service and support before you decide which beverage distributor to use.

Does it provide all your customers’ favourite soft drinks?

The advantage of going with a larger supplier is that they usually represent a wide range of manufacturers and brands, so rather than having to deal with multiple suppliers, you can deal with just one distributor.

What are the prices like?

Of course the bottom line is always important. Does the distributor offer the best prices, as this will affect your profit margins? Is there a delivery fee? It’s always best to compare a few distributors as deals may vary.

What is its reputation?

Speak to other businesses that use the distributor and find out their opinions. What is the reputation like? Have others ever had any problems? Are they well looked after? Check out online sources too. News travels fast these days, so you should be able to uncover any problems with a particular distributor before making your decision.

Statis Beverages is a quality non-alcoholic beverage distributor for the Brisbane area. We are Australian-owned and operated and have been providing great service, reliability and value to greater Queensland retailers and hospitality since 2002.

Please contact us for information on how we can help supply premium soft drinks to your Brisbane business.

How are Soft Drinks Produced?

On a hot Brisbane day there’s probably nothing you enjoy more than quenching your thirst with your favourite soft drink – maybe an iced tea, a mineral water, a fruit juice or a soda. But have you ever stopped to wonder how these drinks are made?

Many of these drinks are made right here in Brisbane, but from what? And what’s the general process used to create a soft drink?

What’s in a Soft Drink?

In the late 1700s Europeans and Americans started to drink sparkling mineral water, which was widely thought to have therapeutic benefits. Soda water was soon invented, consisting of water and sodium bicarbonate mixed with acid for effervescence. Flavours were added, creating ginger ale, sarsaparilla, root beer, lemonade and other fruit drinks, and that’s when they started to resemble modern day soft drinks.

Since the 1960s soft drinks have often replaced sugar with artificial sweeteners to lower the calorie count of many soft drinks; the caffeine content of some drinks was also reduced, though that reversed when energy drinks came onto the market in the 90s; however, health concerns have led to other drinks being developed that are totally free of artificial colours and preservatives.

The most popular beverages today consist mainly of water (up to 95%), sugar (up to 12%), and a range of flavorings which may be natural, “natural identical” (chemically synthesized imitations), or completely artificial. Emulsions (consisiting of water-based elements, such as gums and pectins) may also be added to make their appearance more pleasing.

The most recognisable versions of modern soft drinks – like a can of Pepsi or Lift – have combinations of ingredients that help top create the celebrated blend of sweetness, tartness, and acidity (pH).

How are They Made?

In Brisbane, like elsewhere around the world, soft drinks are generally made at the bottling or canning plant. Most of the brand name drinks you know and love provide licenses for the bottlers to create the drinks, based on strict adherence to formulas and manufacturing processes.

In general, for soda drinks the process is as follows:

1. The water is clarified – this is a crucial step as all water-based soft drinks depend on the purity of its main ingredient. Coagulation, filtration and chlorination remove impurities.
2. The water is filtered, sterilised and dechlorinated – it is usually passed through a sand filter; a carbon filter is used to dechlorinate it after it has been sterilised.
3. The ingredients are mixed – dissolved sugar and flavor concentrates are pumped into batch tanks for mixing together using sophisticated mixing machinery.
4. It is carbonated – once the mix is complete, carbon dioxide is usually added
5. The drink is bottled or canned –  and immediately sealed
6. The drinks are labelled – once they reach room temperature
7. The drinks are packed into cartons or trays – and dispatched!

Statis Beverages is a Brisbane-based, premium wholesale beverage supplier. Please contact us for information on how we can help supply soft drinks to your Brisbane business.

How to Select a Good Beverage Distributor

Without good beverage distributors, thirsty people around Brisbane wouldn’t be able to get hold of their favourite soft drinks day in day out! Imagine another sweltering day without that ice cold tea or that flavoured mineral water to help you along…

But what makes a good distributor? How does a small convenience store, cafe or restaurant select one that will look after them well into the future?

Below are a few of the features that make a good beverage distributor in Brisbane:

Organised and Reliable

Delivering the right products on time to the right place requires efficient and streamlined processes. If the back-end is well- organised and well-managed then the front end will be reliable.

Great Customer Service

A good distributor will rectify mistakes quickly and excel in service, making customers feel like they have a partner upon whom they can rely to look after them in the long term. Larger customers should have a dedicated account manager to look after ongoing bulk orders.

A Wide Range of Products

Providing a wide range of beverages for retailers to choose from means they don’t have to source multiple suppliers; dealing with the same one or two friendly faces each time to keep the fridges stocked is a big plus. A good distributor should have quick access to new drinks on the market too.

Great Prices and No Delivery Fees

Of course distributors must pass on cost savings to their customers; retail and hospitality businesses can run on low margins so these savings can make a big difference to the bottom line. Free delivery should be fundamental.

Marketing Initiatives

Serious beverage distributors need to help a store or cafe sell their beverages. Inquire about a beverage refrigeration solution to suit your business, as well as display units and other marketing initiatives.

Large Enough to Cover a Wide Area

Distributors with the muscle to cover a wide area can deliver to multiple locations of the same business around the local Brisbane area.

Statis Beverages is a quality beverage distributor offering all of the above. We are Brisbane-based, Australian-owned and operated, and family-run; and we pride ourselves on providing great service, reliability and value to greater Queensland retailers and hospitality outlets since 2002.

Please contact us for information on how we can help supply premium soft drinks to your Brisbane business.

How did Coca Cola become popular?

Coca Cola wasn’t always the mega brand it is today. But how did it get that way?

The story started in 1886 when a pharmacist, John Styth Pemberton made just another potion to sell in his pharmacy. This particular one was made of cane sugar, caffeine, coca leaf extract and kola bean extract. This produced a syrup that was diluted with water.

The name, Coca Cola, was created by Mr Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, who through his penmanship skills also designed the iconic logo seen on every Coca Cola product today.

Pemberton sold portions of his business to a number of pharmacies in Atlanta where he lived. Unfortunately he died a few months later but had unknowingly created a brand that would be recognised throughout the world.

The majority holder of Pemberton’s business was now a man named Asa Candler, who grew a distribution network across America through the use of Soda Fountains. By 1891 Mr Candler had bought out all the other share holders and was the sole owner of Coca Cola, forming the Coca Cola Company in 1892 and patenting the recipe the following year.

In 1894 a soda fountain owner in Mississippi named Joseph Biedenharn, first bottled Coca Cola after installing a bottling machine in his establishment. Just 5 years later, the rights to bottle Coca Cola, and thus allowing the first large scale Coca Cola distributor to become operational, was bought for just $1 by three Tennessee businessman. 

Due to Coca Cola’s success imitations of the beverage where rife but in 1916 a special patented bottle, said to be modelled on the Kola bean, was produced which set the brand apart from all the rest.

That same year, Asa Chandler retired from the business and left it to his children. Their reign didn’t last long, as just 3 years later they sold the business for $25 million to Ernest Woodruff. After making his son president of the company in 1923, Coca Cola’s success grew as they were selling 6 million bottles a day. This success increased exponentially to the point where in 1950, 50 million bottles were being sold every day.

The success of Coca Cola is not only down to the exceptional product but in a large part down to Coca Cola marketing the product correctly. In 1897, a cutting edge tactic, for the time, was used by giving away coupons for free samples. This was followed up by newspaper advertising and the creation of promotional products to send to beverage distributors. In more recent times big budget TV advertisements are the preferred advertising method with the Coca Cola Christmas advertisement being one of the most iconic. Coca Cola were also the first company to sponsor the Olympic games in Amsterdam and have continued that commitment to this day.

All of this marketing has clearly had a big effect on Coca Cola’s global presence as it is now sold in over 170 countries and more than 600 million bottles are sold every single day!

The 6 differences between Pepsi and Coke!

Everyone has had an argument about which is better but it can still be extremely hard to distinguish between Pepsi and Coca Cola in a blind taste test. Here are some hints and facts to help you out:
1.      Sweetness Pepsi tastes sweeter than Coke. Despite having a similar sugar content Pepsi contains more artificial sweeteners so tastes sweeter in your mouth. 

2.      Carbonation Coke has more ‘fizz’ than Pepsi. When you first take a sip notice this in your mouth. However, when it starts running down your throat Coke has a much smoother feel, whereas Pepsi will maintain it’s fizziness. 

3.      Taste Coke contains Vanillan, a chemical that tastes like vanilla, but Pepsi has a more citrus and fruity flavour.

4.      Buzz! Pepsi contains more caffeine per can than Coke so if you need to stay awake Pepsi is the one to choose.

5.      Leave it open for a time The flavour profile of both Pepsi and Coke changes over time, so leave an open can or glass on the side and taste again. Coke will have become watery and bitter, but Pepsi’s flavour will have intensified.

6. Ask or look at the can! If you’ve bought a can from a shop the obvious solution is to check the packaging. If however, you are out, ask your Pepsi or Coca Cola distributor what you are drinking. After all, we want to be drinking our favourite!

Ever wondered how that carton of orange juice or can of iced tea came to be in your hands?

The beverage industry in Brisbane reflects the worldwide trends; it is a multi-billion dollar concern, but it hasn’t just appeared overnight. It has a long and rich history…

Since the seventeenth century, when the Compagnie de Limonadiers of Paris was granted a monopoly for the sale of lemonade soft drinks to local Parisians, the idea of selling soft drinks to the masses has appealed to entrepreneurs.

Below is a 200-year plus timeline of some of the key events showing how the industry has developed from the invention of soda water in the late eighteenth century, through the many packaging inventions, to the latest energy drinks available in Brisbane supermarkets:

• 1767 The first drinkable man-made glass of carbonated water was created in England
• 1798 First use of the term “soda water”
• 1806 Sale of soda water began
• 1810 The first U.S. patent was issued for the mass production of imitation mineral waters
• 1835 The first bottled soda water and soda fountains became available in the U.S
• 1851 Ginger ale was invented in Ireland
• 1876 Root beer started to be mass produced
• 1885 Dr Pepper was invented in Texas
• 1886 Coca-Cola was invented by Dr. John S. Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia
• 1892, The Crown Cork Bottle Seal was patented – to keep the bubbles in the bottle
• 1898 Pepsi-Cola was invented
• 1899 The production of glass bottles started
• Early 1920’s Automatic vending machines dispensed sodas drinks
• 1929 The first versions of 7 Up and Lucozade were produced in the UK and US respectively
• 1952 The first ‘diet’ soft drink was introduced to the market in the US
• 1957 Aluminum cans were first used.
• 1962 The pull-ring tab was introduced by Alcoa
• 1965 Vending machines started to dispense soft drinks in cans
• 1965 The resealable top was invented
• 1970 Plastic bottles were first used for soft drinks
• 1973 The PET bottle was first created
• 1974 The stay-on tab for cans was introduced in Kentucky
• 1985 Jolt Cola was introduced in the US – with its high caffeine content possibly the first “energy drink”
• Early 2000s – The relaxation beverage market starts as a response to energy drinks

That brings us more or less up to date with the history of the non-alcoholic beverage industry. Next time you have a soft drink in your hands, think about where the packaging and the contents have come from!

Statis Beverages is a Brisbane-based, premium wholesale beverage supplier. Please contact us for information on how we can help supply beverages to your Brisbane business.

In our climate here in Brisbane, we need to keep our fluids up! What’s your favourite non-alcoholic tipple? As we approach more sweltering weather, let’s take a look at the most popular non-alcoholic beverages available on the market.

Most of them aren’t too surprising, but there are many interesting “twists” on common drinks that make life just that little bit more refreshing.

Water

Only one place to start, really. Every living organism on the planet needs water to survive; it may be drunk from a puddle or the finest sparkling mineral water sampled from a custom-designed bottle – but it’s still water. A wide range of flavoured waters, as well as still and sparkling bottled waters are available today.

Tea

Tea has been drunk around the world for centuries and was widely used in China thousands of years ago. It’s maybe the English heritage here in Australia that has made the tea-drinking tradition live on; hot black and green teas are very popular but, in warmer climates like ours, cold, iced and flavoured teas are also very popular.

Coffee

Prefer coffee to tea? You’re not alone – the Australian coffee industry is booming. As well as supping a hot cup of your favourite brewed beans in the morning to get that much-needed boost, did you know that there are a range of chilled coffees available that can be enjoyed throughout the day as the temperatures climb?

Fruit Juices

Fruit juices are drunk around the world, from being picked and enjoyed straight from the tree to being poured from a carton or bottle to drink with breakfast. The most popular fruit juice remains fresh orange juice, but a wide variety of other fruit drinks and long life versions are available today, all using fruit juice as their base.

Milk

With Australia producing some of the finest dairy products in the world, we had to include this one. When you think of milk you think of the white stuff, but there are plenty of great variations, with flavoured milk and soy milk varieties now available.

Sodas

Ice cold sodas are still very popular. Huge brands like Schweppes and Coca-Cola tend to dominate the market with household names that everyone recognizes from the supermarket, convenience store or milk bar.

Energy Drinks

Energy drinks are the perfect pick-me-up after a hard day, or to recover from a bout of exercise. They come in many varieties and will replenish lost energy rapidly.

All these non-alcoholic beverages are available from Statis Beverages. We are a premium wholesale drink supplier to Brisbane cafes, restaurants, convenience stores, and bars. Please contact us for information on how we can help supply beverages to your business.

Coca Cola Distributors recognise how important this brand has become in the Australian Market

Although Coca-Cola once was not seen as the dominant beverage brand in the Australian market, its contemporary popularity has been reflected through the hospitality industry and market’s changing consumption trend. From previously being a mere alternative option to being the top beverage of choice, today Coca-Cola has managed to get to the hearts of the Australian market.

The Advantage of Stocking Coca-Cola

Ever since the rising demand of Coca-Cola products, a lot of restaurants and café’s have found themselves unable to meet the orders of this increased demand. This is why it is important to form a relationship with a reputable Coca Cola Distributor, to assure you are always in stock of the most up to date ranges and appropriate quantities for your busy restaurant or cafe. By stocking Coca-Cola beverages, it is needless to say that establishments can bank on a more loyal following of diners who will have the confidence that they can easily procure their drink of choice.

 What Statistics Show

In year 2002, the soft drink consumption in Australia was estimated to be at 100.1 liters per person annually and more recently, Coca-Cola has been more heavily favored in Australia than its closest competitor. It has been shown that Coca-Cola distributors have been outselling their competition by as much as three times. Therefore, it’s a clear choice when choosing the appropriate and most loved beverage line in Australia for your venue.

Reasons To Go For Coca-Cola

Analysts have confirmed Coca Cola has gained rightful dominance over the market compared to other very similar soft drink brands for the following reasons:

• Coca Cola’s history, which means consumers are more trusting of the brand
• Coca-Cola’s broad availability – which means you will get appropriate quantities stocked at all times with a reputable Coca Cola Distributor like Statis Beverages
• Greater buying convenience for most consumers, since they are consuming a brand they know and love
• Increased demand for a familiar product from your consumers means they are likely to consume other food items in your venue

To get in with today’s consumers and be able to cater for their requirements, contact Statis Beverages – Brisbane’s premium Coca Cola distributors that will provide you with a range of products from the brand, all with free delivery!

The Unusual History of How Soft Drinks Started

Most people nowadays think that the abundance of soft drinks wholesale selling and consumption are essentially reflective of today’s modern taste. On the contrary, soft drinks were actually in existence as far back as 17th century where it was originally marketed as lemon juice with water and sweetened honey as its primary ingredients.

Some popular beverages.

The Shift to Carbonated Drinks

By 18th century, the said variant of lemon juice soft drink received its first twist on an old formula through the successful discovery of how carbonated mineral water can be replicated. This reproduction was made possible via the infusion of carbon dioxide in order to create carbonated water and Joseph Priestley, the discoverer, found out that it lent a pleasant taste to an otherwise flavorless water. This process was later on improved by John Mervin Nooth who enabled companies to produce it on a larger scale and made soft drinks wholesale likely today.

From Soda Fountains to Bottle Sodas

Before the ever-present bottle sodas of today, one common part of American culture in the 19th century are soda fountains. Typically, most pharmacies had one where everyone can get their soda fix and allowed Americans to drink it a daily rate since it’s easily dispensable. For the reason that bottle packaging in the 1900s only comprised a small part of the market, it was only in the 20th century that the sales of bottled soda grew profusely and led to the effective flourishing of soft drinks as a wholesale pursuit.

Present-day Sodas

Through the years, soft drinks have evolved into various soft drink flavours and variants that include cherry, grape, vanilla, diet, no sugar and lemon-lime among others, which now cater to a wide array of taste and enabled soft drinks wholesale to be enjoyed by everybody.

When you’re looking for a drinks supplier, there are lots of different qualities and services you might especially be wanting them to have. For example, when you search for something like energy drink wholesale , you obviously are looking for wholesale energy drinks to buy – but you might also be looking for that something extra from potential drinks suppliers.

At Statis Beverages, we can offer you wholesale energy drinks, and we can also provide you with many other great benefits including:

• Free delivery
• Option to have an account manager allocated especially to you for easy ordering
• Refrigeration and display options