Ten years ago a drink cooler was soda, a shelf of water and a couple of energy drinks. Walk into the same store today and the soda has held its ground while everything around it doubled. Sparkling mineral water took a full door. Bottled tea grew from one brand to a shelf. Energy drinks became their own cooler. Non alcoholic beer went from a novelty to a category customers ask for by brand. We stock more than two thousand items out of our South Los Angeles warehouse, and the reorder reports tell the same story every month: the money is moving to the doors beyond soda. Here is how to stock them.
Building out the non soda doors? Start with still and sparkling water, energy drinks, tea and coffee and the new non alcoholic beer category, or ask us for a mix by account type.
Sparkling and still water: the door that replaced the second soda door
Water is no longer the cheap facing at the bottom of the cooler. The sparkling mineral waters in glass are the most requested non soda item in Los Angeles, and they carry a premium.
- Topo Chico. The Monterrey mineral water with the hardest carbonation in the case. Restaurants pour it at the table, bars use it as a mixer, offices buy it by the case for the kitchen.
- Tehuacán Brillante. Lighter and softer than Topo Chico, from the mineral water town of Puebla. The loyal customer’s bottle.
- San Pellegrino and Maison Perrier. The Italian and French sparkling lines, with the flavored versions for the customer who wants bubbles and fruit without sugar.
- Fiji. The still water that sells as a brand. The 1 liter and 1.5 liter bottles move in gyms, offices and hotels.
Stocking note: glass sparkling water belongs at eye level next to the imported sodas. It is bought by the same customer and it retails at the same premium. Plain still water in plastic goes low and deep, because it is bought by the case and by the thirsty.
Bottled tea and coffee: the label readers’ shelf
Tea grew because it reads as the honest drink. The customer who checks the sugar line on a soda buys tea instead, and pays more for it. The new arrival that fits that exactly is Just Ice Tea: organic brewed tea in 16 ounce glass, in Peach Oolong, Original Green and Half Tea and Half Lemonade. It looks right in a cafe cooler and in an office fridge, and it is the kind of bottle people photograph. The rest of the tea, coffee and matcha shelf covers canned coffee for the morning rush, sweet tea for the lunch counter, and matcha for the customers who ask.
Placement: tea sits between water and juice, never next to energy drinks. The two customers do not overlap, and the calm label next to a loud can makes both look wrong.
Energy drinks: the door with its own rules
Energy is the largest non soda category in our catalog, more than one hundred and seventy items, because it turns faster than anything except water. Two rules keep it profitable.
First, stock the editions, not just the flagship. Red Bull in the tropical, watermelon and sudachi lime editions outsells a wall of the original at gas stations, because the flavor is the impulse. Second, give the newer style its own facing. Celsius in peach mango, watermelon lemonade and the sparkling flavors is bought by the gym customer who would never pick up a classic energy can, and it sells next to the protein drinks, not next to the original energy brands.
Keep energy at the front of the store. It is a morning and an afternoon purchase, both in a hurry, and the customer should not have to walk past the soda to find it.
Sports hydration and coconut water: the gym and the heat
Gatorade in the 20 ounce bottle is the backbone of the sports and hydration category, and in a Los Angeles summer it belongs in every store, not just the gym. Lemon lime, orange and grape are the three that never stop. Next to it, coconut water earns a facing for the customer who wants hydration without the color, and the protein drinks cover the gym’s after workout sale.
For gyms and studios, this is the cooler. Water low, hydration and protein at eye level, one facing of sparkling water for the members who want it, and no soda at all if the concept calls for it.
Non alcoholic beer: the newest door, and the fastest growing ask
This is the category that did not exist in most coolers two years ago and now gets asked for by brand. We just added six to the non alcoholic beer category, all in 24 packs:
- Heineken 0.0 in glass, the one people ask for first.
- Stella Artois 0.0 in glass, for the restaurant table.
- Corona Non Alcoholic in glass, the summer bottle.
- Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn in cans, the craft option that built the category.
- Lagunitas IPNA in cans, a real IPA taste without the alcohol.
- O’Doul’s Premium Golden, the long standing classic.
Who buys it: bars and restaurants that want a full round for the designated driver, markets near gyms and near schools, offices for the Friday fridge, and a growing number of customers who simply drink less. Stock it in the cooler next to the sparkling water, not next to the beer, because that is where the customer who wants it looks first. It carries no alcohol tax and no age restriction on the sale, but check the label on each brand for any residual alcohol statement before you place it near the kids’ drinks.
Putting the doors in order
A simple layout that works in most stores, left to right as the customer walks the cooler: energy first, then soda, then the international glass door, then sparkling and still water, then tea and juice, then hydration and protein, with non alcoholic beer sharing the water door. The loud doors up front, the calm doors at the back, and the customer who came for one thing walks past everything else.
Then let the reorders talk. Four weeks of data will tell you which non soda door deserves a second door in your neighborhood. In most of Los Angeles it is sparkling water. In gym neighborhoods it is hydration. Near offices it is tea and canned coffee. The soda door stays exactly where it is.
Prebiotic and functional: the small doors that grow
Two smaller shelves round out the picture. Prebiotic sodas are the answer for the customer who wants a soda flavor with the sugar line of a tea, and they sit best between the tea and the sparkling water. Functional drinks, the vitamin, focus and relaxation cans, sit next to energy without competing with it. Neither needs more than one facing to start. Both tend to earn a second within a quarter in office and gym neighborhoods.
Frequently asked questions
Which non soda drinks sell best in Los Angeles?
Sparkling mineral water in glass, led by Topo Chico, followed by energy drinks and bottled tea. Non alcoholic beer is the fastest growing new category.
Do you carry non alcoholic beer wholesale?
Yes. Heineken 0.0, Stella Artois 0.0, Corona Non Alcoholic, Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn, Lagunitas IPNA and O’Doul’s, all in 24 packs, in the non alcoholic beer category.
Does non alcoholic beer need a liquor license to sell?
Products labeled non alcoholic contain less than half a percent alcohol and are generally sold like any other beverage, but rules vary by city and by product. Check the label and your local requirements before you place it.
Can I mix water, tea, energy and soda on one order?
Yes. Every category comes from the same South Los Angeles warehouse on one truck and one invoice, and cases from any category count toward your zone minimum.
Where should I put sparkling water in the cooler?
At eye level next to the imported glass sodas. It is bought by the same customer and it carries the same premium. Plain still water goes low and deep.
Ready to stock the doors beyond soda? The full wholesale catalog is open, and if you tell us your account type we will draft the cooler layout to match.