Prepping your Alcohol Brand for SOND Sampling Events

Updated: September 2, 2025

SOND sampling events are crucial for pulling product through retailers and increasing business for your alcohol brand. Here is how to prepare for them.

Most alcohol suppliers begin preparing for their SOND (September, October, November, and December) sampling programs as early as April or May. Retailers are locking in calendars earlier each year, so waiting until summer often means losing the best opportunities.

The truth is that in store demos are one of the strongest ways to pull product through retailers for many months after the event. A shelf placement secured prior to SOND can remain in place into the first quarter of the following year and sometimes beyond. What matters most to your retail partners is pull through, which means SOND activations can deliver significant gains in business well past the holiday season.

In this blog, we will give you a step by step breakdown of how you can prepare for your SOND sampling campaign.

How to Get Ready for SOND Sampling

If you haven’t already started prepping for your SOND sampling campaigns, here’s what you’ll need to do to get all your ducks in a row. 

Step #1: Prepare your schedule

Beverage suppliers often work with their distributor partners to schedule in store samplings at both the independent level and with larger chains. In 2025, retailers are locking calendars earlier than before. Some chains may require commitments as early as spring, while independents might allow shorter lead times.

It is best to book a variety of events on different days of the week and at different times of day to test which combinations yield the strongest results. Once the schedule is locked, confirm that your product is stocked on shelves and that you have talent secured to run each event.

Step #2: Hire brand ambassadors 

If you still need to secure a team of brand ambassadors to run your sampling events, now is the time to staff up. Demand for talent during SOND is always high, and by 2025 many agencies and staffing platforms are asking brands to lock in requests earlier in the year to guarantee coverage.

You can continue to source quality talent through event staffing platforms such as PopBookings or through consumer packaged goods recruitment platforms like Force Brands (BevForce). Newer marketplace style apps have also emerged that connect brands with trained demo specialists, so it is worth exploring multiple channels to expand your roster.

Even if you already have a reliable team of ambassadors, consider contracting a few additional agents to support the heavy demand of the holiday season. Some markets will require back up staff to cover last minute callouts, and many brands are working with promotional agencies to handle recruitment and scheduling at scale.

For tips on selecting and managing sampling agencies, see our related article:

The Alcohol Supplier’s Guide to Working with Sampling Agencies

Step #3: Assign individual samplings to your team

Confirm your ambassadors’ availability as far in advance as possible. During the holiday season schedules can change quickly, and last minute replacements are often necessary. To avoid gaps, organize your roster by market and always have contingency staff available in case of callouts.

Strong communication is more important than ever in 2025. Most brands now rely on shared digital calendars or sampling management platforms to keep both internal teams and contracted ambassadors aligned. Instead of relying only on emails or text messages, consider setting up a central system where event details, changes, and confirmations can be accessed by everyone in real time.

For example, you can create a master SOND sampling calendar and send formal calendar invites for each event. This ensures your team receives reminders and that updates reach the right people without delays. Many brands also pair these calendars with messaging apps or integrated notifications to confirm attendance on the day of the event.

Step #4: Train your team

Stores are especially busy during the SOND period, and it is common for multiple brands to run sampling events in the same location at the same time. This creates a crowded and competitive environment where attention spans are short and ambassadors need to make an impression quickly.

The best way to prepare is to provide concise, easy to use training materials well in advance. Your ambassadors should have clear talking points, product facts, and tasting notes that can be delivered in less than thirty seconds. Short, practiced pitches are far more effective than long explanations in a noisy store.

In 2025, many suppliers are moving training beyond static PDFs. Video training modules, short recorded scripts, and interactive tools allow new ambassadors to practice before they step into the store. These resources also create consistency across markets, ensuring your brand story is presented the same way in every sampling event.

Finally, do not forget to equip ambassadors with practical knowledge for handling common questions: everything from pricing and availability at that specific store to how your product compares to leading competitors. A well prepared team can not only engage consumers effectively but also strengthen relationships with store managers who are watching how professional and efficient your team is.

Step #5: Create a system for reporting

In-store samplings are an investment. How are you planning to prove ROI? How are you going to quantify your results so your sales and marketing departments can get the necessary data they need from your sampling programs? What type of insights are  looking to gather from these events?

A good place to start is how many people does your brand ambassador engage with? And, how many  bottles are sold during the time of the event? This will help you determine your conversion rate and ultimately your talent’s performance. 

Additionally, who did the ambassador engage with and sample the most? Demographics are key here as this could drive your strategy for next year’s holiday programming. These metrics, along with dates, times and locations should all be put together in one place so your team can get the most information out of each activation. 

Step #6: Simplify & automate everything with tech

Because driving sales is such a high focus during the SOND period, every layer of the three-tier system — including sales and marketing, distributors, and retailers – is often stretched thin. As such, all of the important work in the field can take priority over the administrative work, and leave everyone scrambling for post-event recaps at the end of the month.

On top of that, deriving insights from all of your individual recaps to understand the bigger picture can also be a huge time investment, which is why you’ll want to automate this entire process. 

Sampling software like Tastings will allow you to create reports immediately after a sampling activation is completed. Plus, you can look at your Tastings dashboard for insights on the macro-level to see which stores, locations, talent and times are performing best overall for your brand. Understanding how your sampling program is working on a larger scale will give your brand a tactical advantage going into the new year. Also, these insights will show you where to focus your efforts for the following SOND season and maximize your sampling budget. 

EveryShelf’s Tastings app can help you execute and measure in-store sampling programs that let consumers experience your product firsthand, capturing valuable feedback and conversion data to refine your messaging. 

Sign up for 4 free Tastings per month!

SOND Sampling Wrapped Up

We all know that shelf space is precious and limited. Any point of distribution that you secure ahead of SOND means that your product can remain on that shelf for Q1 and into the following year. However, these placements do not sell themselves, especially for new brands or line extensions of current brands. Getting your brand in the minds and mouths of your potential customers is key, and there’s no better tried-and-true method than hosting in-store samplings during SOND. 

It’s important to remember that your retail partners will be booking up their sampling schedules with other brands as early as June. Additionally, some states have laws on how many bottles can be open in a retail store at one time, or how many samplings can occur in a single store per day. With hectic retail schedules, and your time and resources being pushed to maximum capacity, preparation is key. 

With the right schedule, staffing and reporting, you can set yourself up for success in the new year by having your best SOND retail sales season yet. 

SOND Sampling FAQ

When should alcohol brands start planning SOND sampling events in 2025?
Most suppliers now begin planning in early spring, around April or May. Many retail chains lock in their calendars earlier each year, so waiting until summer can result in losing prime opportunities to competitors.

Why are SOND sampling events important for alcohol brands?
SOND sampling events drive pull through at retail by getting products into the hands of consumers during the busiest shopping months. A well executed sampling can secure placements that remain in place into the first quarter of the following year and sometimes beyond. These activations also strengthen relationships with retailers who prioritize brands that deliver consistent sales performance.

How do I hire brand ambassadors for SOND events?
Brands can source ambassadors through event staffing platforms like PopBookings or recruitment platforms such as Force Brands (BevForce). In 2025, demand is high and agencies often ask brands to secure talent earlier in the year. Even if you have an existing team, it is wise to contract backup ambassadors to cover last minute callouts.

What is the best way to schedule and manage SOND samplings?
Confirm ambassador availability as early as possible and use shared calendars or sampling management platforms to coordinate. Digital tools ensure your internal team, contracted ambassadors, and agencies all have real time access to event details, reducing last minute confusion during the holiday rush.

How should I train ambassadors for SOND events?
Training should focus on short, clear talking points that can be delivered in less than thirty seconds. By 2025, many brands are using video modules and interactive tools instead of PDFs to create consistency across markets. Ambassadors should also be prepared to answer practical questions about pricing, availability, and competitor comparisons.

What data should I track to measure SOND sampling ROI?
Track the number of consumer engagements, bottles sold during events, and demographic details of participants. This allows you to calculate conversion rates, measure ambassador performance, and identify which types of accounts deliver the best results.

How can I simplify reporting for SOND events?
Using sampling software such as EveryShelf Tastings allows you to automate reporting and instantly view results. Instead of piecing together dozens of individual recaps, you can access a dashboard that shows which stores, markets, and ambassadors are performing best, saving time and ensuring better decision making.

Are there regulations that affect SOND samplings in 2025?
Yes. Some states have strict rules about how many bottles can be open in a store or how many samplings can occur in a single day. Since regulations can change from year to year, brands should confirm details with their distributor partners and review state guidelines before scheduling.