Beverage equipment is a necessity for any producer, but the type of equipment should be appropriate for the type of product, the company's structure, and the stage the company is in. Is it a new or mature company? Is it a newly formed subsidiary of an established company? Does the company prefer to own or lease? Due to its highly specialized nature, high quality beverage equipment is very expensive costing millions of dollars for very basic beverage equipment. It is built to last under extremely demanding conditions, and many beverage facilities will run 24 hours a day 7 days a week putting tremendous strain on the equipment. Along with the cost of the beverage equipment, there are the installation costs as well as the costs of owning or renting the large facilities that will house all of the beverage equipment. For most new beverage brands, it makes much more sense to start their beverage brands first and create a decent revenue stream before considering buying beverage equipment. Many contract manufacturers can produce the new beverage brand for you at reasonable price while you build the business.

Drink Manufacturing History

The drink manufacturing process in the United States, European Union and Asia, are among the most efficient manufacturing processes in the world. Because of the enormous scale of the drink industry, American, European and Asian drink manufacturers have become increasingly better equipped to manufacture drinks at high speed and low cost while maintaining high standards of quality. Drink manufacturing has a long history, tracing its origins to when drink manufacturers were simply tea brewers, wine growers and home producers. Back then, they produced a little more than they could consume and sold or bartered the rest, giving birth to a new livelihood. Drink manufacturing streamlined and became manufactured on a much larger scale. Vineyards flourished growing more and more grapes that would con into wine, tea plantations produced more tea and facilities that could manage the drink manufacturing process on a regional scale began to spring up to address the growing demand. This growth continued, until the day that Coca-Cola, founded in 1886, became one of the first major international drink manufacturers. Milestones in the Drink Manufacturing Industry 1966: Gatorade was born. Soon it would become the worlds first popular sports drink, and drink manufacturing would never be the same. 1971: Starbucks emerged, putting Seattle on the drink industry map, indicating another turning point for the industry. 1972: A couple of natural food storeowners wondered if the drink industry was ready for a healthier alternative beverage. Since then, Snapple has kept drink manufacturers busy for over 35 years. 1978: Perrier and Evian became the first widely available bottled waters in United States. 1980: Until Odwalla, the only way to get fresh juice was to squeeze it yourself. The drink industry has changed for the better with this innovative company. 1981: Red Bull energy drink started its iconic rise to become one of the most successful drink manufacturers in history. 1982: Diet Coke became the nation's favorite diet soda. 1992: Pepsi-Cola revolutionized drink distribution by including Lipton and Ocean Spray as part of its drink distribution strategy. 1995: Pepsi introduced Aquafina, and Coca-Cola introduced Dasani. Now bottled water is one of the largest segments of the drink industry and is here to stay. 1996: SoBe defined the functional drink category. 2007: Coca-Cola buys vitaminwater for a record $4.1 billion dollars, and the drink industry keeps growing.