Beverage Entrepreneurship Conference 2026 in Johannesburg

What I Told a Room Full of Beverage Founders in Johannesburg

Last week I spoke at the Beverage Entrepreneurship Conference 2026 in Johannesburg — a room full of founders trying to figure out where to place their bets. Here’s what I shared with them.

Three big shifts that aren’t “beverage trends” — but will decide who wins

1. AI won’t replace you. Someone who knows how to use AI will. AI agents are increasingly helping customers make purchase decisions, which means brands need to tick the boxes those agents (and their owners) care about: who owns the brand, what’s the real story, is it genuinely local, is it actually available.

2. The information gap between brands and consumers is collapsing. Brands used to hold all the cards. Not anymore. Our research found that 80% of brands make decisions affecting customers without ever consulting them — and soon, a customer will be able to scan a product and instantly see who owns it, where it’s sourced, and how pricing compares across channels. Get ahead of this now, because AI can fake almost everything except a human who actually shows up. 67% of South African consumers want brands that prove they understand South Africa — not a slogan, but a name, a face, a place.

What’s happening in alcohol?

Counterfeit and illegal alcohol is a real problem — R16.5bn is lost annually to illicit alcohol in SA, roughly 1 in every 5 drinks sold. Nobody’s making their product verifiable yet. That’s a wide-open trust advantage for whoever moves first.

Meanwhile, 72% of alcohol occasions have shifted into the home — but most brands are still marketing to the out-of-home moment. People still want the ceremony (the ice, the glassware, the pop of the can) without the hassle of a full bar cart. And here’s the insight I love most: people rarely reach for a drink in those at-home moments to celebrate. The honest need is transition — that feeling of “the day is done, I can exhale.” Almost nobody is marketing to that moment directly.

What’s happening in non-alcohol?

The ownership question — who really owns this brand — is the hottest, most polarising conversation in the category right now, with real backlash against brands seen as “slapping a flag on the can.” If you’re genuinely SA-owned, say so specifically: name the town, name the headcount. Provable facts beat vague claims every time.

Every major energy drink also sits in the same R20–R35 band, leaving the affordable, everyday occasion completely unserved. And while the whole category is shouting in bright colours and maximum-intensity claims, our data says calm-coded products will outperform loud ones going forward. Nobody local has built “functional calm” (think Bacopa, Ashwagandha, mushrooms) at scale yet.

Where alcohol and non-alcohol quietly meet

Consumers aren’t cutting indulgence — they’re demanding control. 58% say cash is king again, simply because it stops overspending, and 8 in 10 protect their “treat fund” even while cutting back elsewhere.

There’s also a real gap in sharing formats. 85% say making others feel included is a top priority at a gathering, yet non-alcohol has almost nothing celebratory to offer, and alcohol’s sharing formats (a case of beer, anyone?) are pretty unsexy and generic.

The takeaway

If founders remember one thing, it’s this: the brands that win the next five years will be verifiable, bounded, everyday-premium, emotionally honest, and inclusive. Everyone else is competing for what’s left.

Why this matters for your research plan

Research isn’t a cost — it’s a must-do investment. You need to get all 5 Ps right — product, price, promotion, place, people — because getting only 4 out of 5 right can still mean you fail.

A quick way to think about research for each:

· Product → Blind taste tests (CLTs)

· Price → Online survey

· Promotion → Campaign testing (tools like Test 24)

· Place → Mystery shopping

· People → Know exactly who you’re targeting

You can’t afford not to research. As Sam Walton put it: “There is only one boss — the customer. And they can fire everybody in the company, from the CEO down, simply by spending their money somewhere else.”

Want help figuring out which of the 5 Ps needs your attention first? That’s exactly the kind of thing we help beverage brands work through — get in touch and let’s talk.