How A RTD Beverage Brand Prevented $1M+ in Losses with Wiser’s Retail Intelligence

Background

A Ready-To-Drink (RTD) beverage brand partnered with Wiser to improve visibility and compliance of their products in convenience and grocery stores across the Asia Pacific region. In the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, it’s a common practice to offer branded fridges to retailers in exchange for exclusivity of use or a higher share of shelf. This strategy secures in-store space, boosts brand awareness, and drives impulse purchases through eye-catching merchandising. The brand aimed to address execution gaps and fully leverage the impulse-buy potential of their branded fridges at checkout, a critical driver of sales.

Challenges

In spite of a strong market presence, the brand faced several challenges:

• Asset Visibility:
  The brand struggled to appropriately track their branded fridges across retailer stores. While fixed assets could be managed in systems, understanding their actual condition and placement in the field was a completely different challenge.
• Risk of Ghost Assets:
  Without regular field audits, the brand risked “ghost assets” - fridges that were misplaced, unused, or unaccounted for - leading to costly asset disposal and a direct negative impact on sales results.
• Resource Constraints:
  Conducting in-store audits with internal teams was both time-consuming and inefficient. The brand needed a faster, more reliable solution to collect and analyze field data effectively.

Solution

The beverage company implemented Wiser’s Retail Intelligence to gain real-time, store-level insights into checkout fridge execution. Wiser’s solution delivered:

• Crowdsourced Asset Tracking:
  Wiser deployed mystery shoppers across convenience stores throughout Australia to locate branded fridges, report asset numbers, and verify their in-store placement.
• Comprehensive Data Collection:
  In addition to mapping assets, shoppers provided detailed insights on equipment condition and any maintenance issues, ensuring a complete overview of fridge performance.
• Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness:
  By leveraging crowdsourcing, the brand was able to collect data twice as fast, achieving more affordable asset mapping compared to traditional in-house audit methods.

“Once you try [Wiser REM], you'll love it. It's easy, efficient, and versatile, a complete tool for the whole team.”

Alexandre Comtois

National Sales Director

Results

The partnership with Wiser delivered strong results:

• $1M+ at Risk Recovered:
  By leveraging Wiser Retail Intelligence, the brand avoided writing off over 400 branded fridges, protecting the company’s bottom line and preserving key assets worth over $1M AUD.
• 400+ Branded Fridges Audited:
  Wiser’s crowd of mystery shoppers identified and reported on over 400 branded fridges across convenience stores in Australia, delivering detailed data at an unprecedented speed.
• Critical Fridge Issues Resolved:
  Missing, misplaced, or non-functioning fridges represented lost opportunities for impulse sales. Wiser’s data empowered the brand’s field teams to address these gaps quickly, ensuring their fridges were visible, operational, and driving revenue where it matters most.

Through a strategic partnership with Wiser, the RTD beverage brand transformed its approach to managing branded fridges across convenience stores in Australia, highlighting the value of real-time field data to increase visibility, improve execution, and protect sales.