Beverage Commercial & Operational Due Diligence

What the review covers

The review connects the product to the operation and the economics. A strong sales story needs a product that can be made consistently, suppliers that can support it, and a margin that survives the costs of getting it to the customer.

• Product line: SKU-level viability, format fit and the assumptions behind the portfolio.
• Co-packers: capability, commercial terms, concentration and documented responsibilities.
• Supply chain: single-source exposure, minimum-order mismatches and lead-time risk.
• Margin stack: freight, slotting, spoilage and distributor cuts alongside product cost.
• Operations: the team, documented procedures and dependencies behind the numbers.

The Beverage Diligence File

The full engagement is a fixed-fee operational and commercial diligence sprint, scoped to the transaction and its exclusivity window. Typical delivery is two to three weeks. The fee is quoted before you commit.

• A written findings memo.
• A ranked risk register.
• A 100-day priority sketch for the post-close team.
• Work signed by the principals who performed the review.

Earlier in the deal: the Red-Flag Review

The Red-Flag Review is a three-to-five-business-day data-room screen of the product line, co-packer, supply chain and margin story. It produces a flag memo to help determine whether the beverage thesis warrants further work. The fee credits toward the full Diligence File if you proceed.

Conflicts are checked before engagement. NDAs are signed within one business day. The scope and access requirements are agreed before work begins.

How this fits alongside financial diligence

Financial diligence and beverage operating diligence answer related questions. A quality-of-earnings review examines the reported earnings. BDH examines the product, production and operating assumptions behind the beverage business. We work alongside the deal team’s financial and legal advisers.

A supplier dependency, an undocumented formula arrangement or an unrealistic production assumption can matter even when historical earnings have been reconciled. The purpose of the review is to make those operating dependencies visible in the deal file.

After the transaction

The risk register is designed to become a practical post-close plan. BDH can stay involved to work through the identified priorities. The review’s value continues when each finding has a clear next action and someone responsible for closing it.