If the first challenge to meeting consumer needs is a strong and diverse portfolio of brands, the second is making certain the right brands are available in the right formats and right places at the right times.

Our channel plans are based on working with customers to get the brand our consumers want into their hand at the exact moment they want it. It might be a 20-something guy out with a mixed group of friends at the trendiest new club, a 40-something couple entertaining at home or a 60-something bloke at the local pub for the game - our aim is always to be there in a form they want and like.

To be able to deliver on this we’ve had to really get our heads around why and how different occasions cue different brand needs and purchase decisions for consumers. We’ve had to think like and about the people who look to us for great times. And that’s meant working alongside the owners and managers of a diverse range of venues, looking at and trying out solutions that are right for their particular businesses at the point of purchase. It’s also motivated us to invest more than ever in sales capability to ensure our people are the industry experts.

The result: our customers are able to stock and present the products their customers – our consumers – want most, and to do it in a way that makes it easy for the consumer to readily identify and purchase the brand they’re after.