Beverage Wholesale for California Stores: Cooler Planning Guide

The cooler is the store's engine

Cold drinks are the reason many customers walk in. They are also the department with the least flexibility: the cooler has a fixed number of doors, each door has a fixed number of shelves and each shelf holds a fixed number of facings. Planning the cooler well means deciding what deserves that space and what does not.

Five cooler categories

Soda. The anchor. Cola, lemon-lime, orange, root beer and diet versions. Expect soda to take the most doors.

Water. Still and sparkling, single bottles and multipacks. Low price per unit, steady volume, no flavor risk.

Energy drinks. A fast-growing section in most stores. Keep the leading brands and a few flavors each rather than every flavor of one brand.

Tea and juice. Iced tea, lemonade, fruit juice and coffee drinks. Broad range, so choose a few reliable lines.

Sports drinks. Isotonic drinks in 20 oz and larger bottles. Strong near gyms, parks, schools and job sites.

See the beverages department for the current range by brand.

Pack sizes and what they are for

12 oz cans. Sold in 12- or 24-packs. Good for multipack shelves and for single-can sales in a cooler bin. Cans chill fast and stack neatly.

16 and 20 oz bottles. The single-serve workhorse of the cooler, usually 24 to a case. Most soda, tea, sports and energy lines sell in this format.

1 to 2 liter bottles. Take-home size, usually 6 to 12 per case. Give them the bottom shelf of a door or a floor stack near the cooler, since they are heavy and bought for later.

Counts change by brand, so read the case size on every listing and divide the case price by the count to compare unit cost.

Planning door space

Count your doors and shelves, then multiply by the facings each shelf holds. That number is your total cooler capacity, and every item on your order must fit into it. Give the most doors to soda, then split the rest across water, energy, tea and juice, and sports drinks. Keep each category together so customers find it without hunting.

A common mistake is ordering more flavors than you have facings for. Extra cases end up in the back room, and warm stock does not sell. Decide the planogram first, then build the order to match it. Leave one or two facings free for a new product to test each month.

Rotation and dates

Beverages carry best-by dates and cooler stock is easy to neglect. On every delivery, pull the front bottles out, load the new case at the back and put the older bottles in front. Check dates as you go and move anything close to its date to a front facing or a marked shelf. Done on each fill, rotation takes a few minutes and prevents surprises later.

Keep the back room cool and off the floor. Cases stored next to a heater or in direct sun lose quality before they reach the cooler.

Ordering by the case

Start with the facings you planned, then order enough cases to fill each facing and keep a backup in the back room for fast movers. Soda, water and energy drinks usually need a weekly order; tea, juice and sports drinks can often stretch to two weeks. After a month, your sales records will tell you which facings deserve more space and which should shrink.

Approved customers of Al Eryani Wholesale order online 24/7 through Login, with case counts on each item. The San Leandro warehouse serves convenience stores, gas stations, liquor stores, mini marts and markets across California. Delivery availability, minimums and schedules are confirmed with the team.

Opening a beverage wholesale account

A California retailer needs a seller's permit from the CDTFA and basic business details to buy beverages wholesale. The registration form accepts the permit as a PDF, JPG or PNG up to 2 MB. The team reviews each application and approved customers receive login access to pricing and ordering.