Sleigh Your Christmas Beverage Logistics: Storage & Distribution Tips

UK sales of canned drinks at Christmas

During the festive season, approximately 500 million cans of soft drink are sold in the UK. While there are no overall figures for the sale of alcoholic canned drinks, we do know that 22% of total beer sales occur during the 12 weeks of Christmas. Beyond beer, the Ready-To-Drink canned cocktail category hit £94 million last Christmas, up almost 2000% from £4.7 million in 2004, providing an insight into the scale of the canned market during the festive period. In short, it’s absolutely massive! For brands operating in the beverage space, this boom represents both a challenge and an opportunity – and it’s an area where team Prism can definitely help

Managing storage during the festive period

To prepare for seasonal peaks in demand, make sure you plan your storage. Finding space for additional pallets of cans in the run up to Christmas may be a challenge, but there’s also the potential need for extra staff, changes to inventory management, supplementary risk assessments – any number of complications that can give drink brands a real headache.

Using a 3PL solution is often the best way to manage storage during seasonal peaks. A storage and logistics partner such as Prism can not only offer extra storage capacity, but they can also handle all of the operational challenges that can come with increased stock and demand, avoiding extra labour costs and possible delays.

HMRC Audit Duty Suspended Accreditation

Choosing a warehouse with HMRC Audit Duty Suspended Accreditation means the premises are approved and regularly audited to store and move excise goods, such as alcohol, under strict duty suspension regulations. As well as offering cash flow benefits, this accreditation provides peace of mind that compliance, safety, and timely delivery are always maintained. That means hassle-free handling, with zero admin hangover!

Logistics during the holiday season

In 2024 UK parcel deliveries reached a record breaking 1.3bn, and given that this year’s retail sales are predicted to grow by 3.5% versus last December, we can reasonably assume that seasonal deliveries will break records again. This spike means courier services are overwhelmed with businesses, driver demand skyrockets, and the likelihood of delivery delays increases enormously.

This is where using an experienced distribution partner like Prism can be invaluable, especially for challenger brands working to establish themselves as reliable suppliers. Our same-day pick, pack and dispatch service, for example, is ideal for handling those ‘crunch’ moments which can happen during times of high demand. And, as functional drinks brand Hip Pop found out, it pays to work with a provider which will go the extra mile under stressful conditions.