Fairer way to sell? We’d drink to that
THREE years ago, when my son William and I launched a soft drinks brand, Overhang, based on a 100-yearold family recipe, we had no idea what difficulties would be put in our way. Our drink ticks all the boxes: it is low in calories and sugar, so is unaffected by the sugar tax, and is made from real ingredients, such as ginger, burdock and milk thistle. It is free from E-numbers, sweeteners, flavourings or chemicals. It tastes amazing and is made in Britain. We were delighted that within a month of launching we were stocked nationwide by the health food chain Holland & Barrett. We are now in supermarkets, on an airline, in petrol stations and corner shops. However, our hard work to build a strong and successful business is being undermined by what we consider to be unfair tactics by some of the big players. Almost every brand of soft drink, water, juice and smoothie is controlled by these giants. The supermarkets give the impression they are supportive of small business, but we are told that if we can’t sell the same quantities as the most popular cola brand, we will be kicked out and if we can’t match the marketing spend of the leading energy drinks, we will not be given shelf space. Despite the introduction of the grocery supply code of practice, fees to entry — where brands are required to pay to be stocked by a supermarket — are disguised as marketing costs. We have been told we would have to pay £100,000 to be stocked for nine months in 32 stores. It’s an unfair and misleading way of boosting a company’s profit and loss account — a large portion of reported profits are coming directly from suppliers, not sales to the public. It is compounded by sales reps for other brands who resort to such tactics as hiding our drink behind their own or even taking it off the shelf. We are a small business that values honesty, integrity and doing the right thing. We only wish the rest of the industry shared the same values. STEPHEN WILKINSON,
Cheltenham, Glos.