Margaret River Beverages enjoys lasting relationship with retailer

Established by Mr Ryan in 1999, the family-focused business is experiencing an extraordinary boost in sales and there has never been more opportunities to purchase the range of sodas across the state.

“We are stocked by Dome cafes up in Perth, which is a great way for people to be introduced to our products,” Mr Ryan said.

“Many will have had one or two soft drinks while down south on holiday and we are finding more and more that customers are asking for them on metropolitan shelves, which is fantastic.”

Enter the Woolworths Locally Sourced program, headed up in Western Australia by state manager Aaron Hood.

“The program allows stores and producers to have a conversation they might not otherwise have had the chance to enjoy,” Mr Hood said.

“A lot of smaller manufacturers assume that being a part of a supermarket like Woolworths is impossible, with piles of paperwork and time and money a barrier, when in fact it can be quite simple,” he said.

The program has enabled Margaret River Beverages to increase distribution from 12% of stores across WA in October 2014 to 32%  in March 2016. 

Today the Margaret River Beverages range is stocked in 30 Woolworths stores and Mr Ryan said assistance from the retail giant has been a personal affair.

“We have a great relationship with people from the local stores right up to the heads of departments in Sydney,” he said.

“Having this support has meant we have been able to take our product to a wider customer base without huge pressure on our day to day operations.”

Woolworths Margaret River manager Brett Harrex said the store was in a position to listen to customers and reach out to producers where possible.

“Often we have customers asking us to supply a certain brand or product and we will do what we can to accommodate those requests,” Mr Harrex said.

“Many assume there has to be hundreds of customers asking for something to make it viable for us to begin stocking, when in fact as few as ten customers could influence our shelves.”

Mr Hood agreed and urged producers to resist being daunted by red tape when considering retail options.

“My role specifically is to guide manufacturers, be they small mum-and-dad type businesses to larger producers, through the process and how we can get more local products on shelves for customers.”