Category: Marketing

The power of manifestation through positive affirmation

By Raj Tulshan, Founder & Managing Partner, Loan Mantra

New year, new you! A new year brings the opportunity for a business refresh and positive change. Many Americans turn the calendar and plan New Year’s resolutions as rite of passage each year.  But planning and keeping these resolutions is often easier said than done. However, a Quickbooks survey indicates that business owners may carry higher levels of ambition than those with no entrepreneurial interest. Business owners are more likely to make (and stick to) financial goals than the average consumer—65% say they tend to keep their financial resolutions.1 

  Interestingly, new data also shows that what’s on the mind of business owners in 2026 is different than in year’s past. New Year’s Resolutions made for 2026 reveal notable shifts in how business owners view the current business climate and what priorities matter when compared to resolutions that were made in previous years.

  Prior to 2026, we see resolutions centered on increasing sales, improving marketing efforts, cutting costs and boosting efficiency. In contrast, 2026 New Year’s Resolutions are more future focused with long-term thinking in mind. Goals for 2026 focus on building financial resilience, accelerating adoption of smart tools and technology, strengthening digital presence, sustainability and investing in workplace culture and people says findings from a Bank of America Study. The research further reveals that 74% of small and midsize business owners anticipate revenue growth in 2026 with over half, (60%) planning to expand their operations.2 

  So, what is the key takeaway? A renewed focus on the positive in the business landscape.

A Positive Focus

  Focusing on the positive, re-enforcing and repeating positive statements, or affirmations can have a powerful effect. Studies indicate that affirmative self-talk can re-wire critical neurotransmitters that fuse connections together in the brain. Writing down these affirmations further engages the reward and self-processing areas of the mind, enhancing concentration, improving performance under stress. Positive affirmations don’t just feel good—there’s research to back up their many benefits. Whether it’s improving mental well-being, shaping attention toward success-oriented actions, or aligning with a deeper purpose, the benefits are real and the impact is measurable.

A Mindful Purpose

  Developing a mantra is one way to use positively focused affirmations with intention. The word mantra originated in India and was derived from combining the Sanskrit, root word man- “to think” and -tra meaning, “tool”, together to mean “instrument of thought” or tool for the mind. Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism use mantras as part of sacred ancient practices to harness spiritual power and alter consciousness. Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Islam and Christianity also use a similar idea of repeating words, either a prayer or phrase to bring enlightenment or as way to worship.

  In the secular space, mantras serve a variety of functions and are especially popular as aids to help mindfulness, deepen concentration and increase awareness. In business, a mantra is a future-focused statement that defines your business as you want it to be. Clarity of your business purpose is not only important to business owners, employees, and shareholders, but clients and potential customers too. Research by McKinsey shows that 82% of respondents say purpose statements are important in business, and 72% believe purpose should outweigh profit.3

  Mantras help shape what we notice and focus on collectively in a positive direction. Psychologists call this confirmation bias. This means your brain starts noticing and signaling opportunities that align with your desired outcome. Practicing and repeating mantras helps replace negative thoughts with positive ones, encouraging optimism, resilience, and growth. In a study done with U.S. Veterans, mantra repetition was associated with greater reductions in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and anger and helped improve mental health.

Team Alignment for Successful Outcomes

  Mantras are part of our company culture and belief systems – so much so, that we use this practice daily. We are convinced of the power of positive suggestion and manifestation, which have made a big impact on our growth. When creating our mantra, we wanted to convey how our human expertise, secure technology, and painless platform allow borrowers, lenders, and partners to fund loans easily and efficiently anytime and anywhere. With this in mind, we created the mantra: Democratized lending for all.

  Business owners and leaders are discovering the performance secrets that elite athletes already know.5 Intentional thoughts or minding your mantra, repetition, and focusing on the desired outcome can help manifest your dreams in personal and professional life, leading you on the road to victory and long-term value.

How to Create Your Own business Mantra

  Ready to develop a business mantra that reflects your company? The first step is to write a few short powerful phrases that capture the essence of your business. Ask yourself (and maybe grab partners, customers or associates to help) — why does your business exist, who do you serve, what sets you apart and what feeling you deliver. Think beyond the obvious answers. To create a compelling business mantra, follow these steps:

1.  Craft Short, Powerful Phrases:  Begin by capturing the essence of your business in just 2-5 words. Reflect on your core purpose, the audience you serve, and the impact you wish to make. Keep in mind that a mantra is more than a tagline—it’s an expression of your business’s truth.

2.  Clarify Your Why: Articulate the true impact of your business in 1-2 concise sentences. For instance, you might say, “We help small businesses feel confident managing their finances.” This step requires you to dig deep into the real reason your business exists and the difference it makes.

3.  Define Your Audience and Impact: Specify who your audience is and what you offer them. Consider the transformation or change your brand brings to your customers. An example statement could be, “We turn confusion into clarity.” This ensures that your mantra is aligned with the needs and experiences of your audience.

4. Describe Your Actions:

     Use strong, active language to describe what your business does. Choose words that are bold and human. Examples of action-oriented phrases include Inspire Confidence, Simplify Growth, or Empower Every Client. These should reflect the dynamic actions your business takes to achieve its goals.

5.  Choose the True Mantra: Gather feedback from your team or customers to ensure your chosen mantra resonates well with them and aligns with your brand values. This collaborative step helps in fine-tuning your mantra to reflect the collective vision of your business.

6. Test, Trial and Use Your Mantra: Say your mantra aloud to confirm it energizes and motivates you. Integrate it into your internal materials and use it as a guide in decision-making processes. Consistently reinforce it within your company culture and marketing efforts to ensure it becomes an integral part of your business identity.

  For more information contact Raj Tulshan the author, visit loanmantra.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/tulshan/.

Sources:

1.    QuickBooks. “Entrepreneurship in 2025: The Trends and Insights You Need to Know | QuickBooks.” Intuit.com, 17 Dec. 2024, quickbooks.intuit.com/r/small-business-data/entrepreneurship-in-2025/#resolutions. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

2.   “BofA Report: 74% of Small and Mid-Sized Business Owners Expect Revenue to Increase in the next Year.” Bank of America, 2025, newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2025/11/bofa-report–74–of-small-and-mid-sized-business-owners-expect-r.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

3.   Mckinsey. “Corporate Purpose: Shifting from Why to How | McKinsey.” Www.mckinsey.com, 22 Apr. 2020, www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/purpose-shifting-from-why-to-how.

4.   Malaktaris A, McLean CL, Mallavarapu S, Herbert MS, Kelsven S, Bormann JE, Lang AJ. Higher frequency of mantram repetition practice is associated with enhanced clinical benefits among United States Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2022 Jun 10;13(1):2078564. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2022.2078564. PMID: 35713599; PMCID: PMC9196752.

5.         Hatzigeorgiadis, A., Zourbanos, N., Galanis, E., & Theodorakis, Y. (2011). Self-Talk and Sports Performance: A Meta-Analysis. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(4), 348-356. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691611413136 (Original work published 2011)

What a frozen herb brand can teach beverage makers about standing out

By Jake Ahles, Morel Creative

Too often, beverage brands play it safe. Scroll through social feeds or flip through trade publications and you will see the same creative patterns on repeat: a glistening bottle, a slow pour, a moody cocktail in soft window light. It’s beautiful, but predictable.

  And predictability rarely builds momentum.

  That’s why one of the most inspiring campaigns I have seen recently didn’t come from a distillery or brewery — it came from a frozen herb brand.

The Safe Trap

  In the craft beverage world, “good creative” often means “safe creative.” Founders and marketers play by invisible rules meant to fit the category:

•     Use lifestyle photography, not humor.

•     Talk about the process, not the people.

•     Highlight the ingredients, not the impact.

  But safe creative doesn’t drive sales. It preserves comfort.

  When everyone’s following the same playbook, the brands that win are the ones bold enough to break patterns – not by being loud, but by being real.

That’s what Dorot Gardens did. And it is exactly what beverage makers can learn from.

The Dorot Story: From Freezer Aisle to Brand Momentum

  Dorot Gardens makes pre-portioned frozen herbs and vegetables. A category that’s functional, not sexy. A product people love when they try it but often forget exists.

  When our team collaborated on their new campaign, the goal wasn’t to invent a new story — it was to reignite an old one with clarity and energy.

  The concept was simple: “Make a Note to Grab Dorot.”

  Instead of over-romanticizing fresh herbs or focusing on ingredients, we leaned into honesty and self-awareness. The campaign admitted exactly what it was — a reminder. A wink to the shopper who forgets until they’re already in the store.

  The tone was fresh, fun, and confident. The visuals were bright and intentional. Every shot, every tagline, every frame was designed to make you smile and remember.

  The result wasn’t just a clever ad — it became an organizing idea that unified the brand’s story across packaging, digital, retail, and trade.

Why It Worked (and Why Beverage Brands Should Take Note))

  Dorot’s success came down to three core principles that apply just as much to spirits, beer, and RTDs as they do to frozen garlic cubes.

1.    Energy is Contagious:

      When a brand expresses joy and confidence, it changes how people engage with it.

      Too many beverage campaigns feel restrained — technically beautiful, but emotionally flat. Dorot took the opposite route: every frame buzzed with energy.

      That vibrancy doesn’t just appeal to consumers; it gives your sales team and distributor reps something to rally around. It makes people proud to represent the brand.

      Because internal energy translates to external momentum.

2.   Clarity Wins Over Cleverness:

      Dorot’s story was clear enough for anyone — a retail buyer, a merchandiser, a busy parent — to get instantly.

      No over-explaining. No long ingredient lists. Just: Here’s what we do. Here’s why it matters.

      In the beverage world, clarity can be the difference between staying regional and scaling nationally. If your buyer deck or sales call requires explanation after explanation, the story’s not clear enough yet.

      A great brand story can be told in one breath — by anyone, anywhere.

3.   Consistency Builds Belief:

      Every element of Dorot’s campaign worked together: social clips, POS, packaging, and internal sales tools all spoke the same visual and verbal language.

      That consistency built trust – not just with consumers, but with retailers and investors too.

  In the craft beverage world, fragmentation kills belief. When your Instagram looks one way, your sell sheet another, and your distributors are saying something completely different, buyers lose confidence.

  The strongest brands build creative systems, not just campaigns.

Lessons for Craft Beverage Makers

  So, what can beverage brands actually do with this?

Here’s how to translate Dorot’s principles into your own storytelling system:

1.   Audit Your Content for

     Clarity:  Gather your sales materials, brand deck, web copy, and social posts. If someone new to your brand can’t tell what you do, who it’s for, and why it matters within 10 seconds — simplify.

2.   Build a Repeatable Story System:  Create assets that work across sales, trade, and consumer touchpoints. Your content should help distributors pitch you as confidently as your founders do.

3.   Embrace Personality: Humor, wit, and authenticity don’t make you less premium. They make you more human. Dorot leaned into personality — and that made their utility product memorable.

4.  Stop Hiding Behind “Craft”:  Craft isn’t a differentiator anymore. Clarity is. The more your brand story focuses on how you help the buyer or bartender win, the more doors you will open.

What Happens When You Stop Playing It Safe

  After Dorot’s campaign launched, something interesting happened. The creative didn’t just perform well externally — it energized the brand internally.

  Sales teams started using the new content in presentations and follow-ups. Retail partners requested assets for digital displays. Even long-time employees said they finally felt the brand had a clear, confident voice.

  That’s the ripple effect of aligned storytelling: it creates pride, momentum, and market presence.

  And that’s exactly what every craft beverage brand needs right now — in a category that’s more competitive than ever.

From Frozen Herbs to Craft Spirits: The Shared Truth

  At the end of the day, what Dorot proved is the same truth that drives every successful brand:

  Clarity and consistency are not creative constraints. They’re competitive advantages.

  Whether you’re selling gin, hard kombucha, or frozen herbs, the brands that grow are the ones that know who they are, what they stand for, and how to say it — repeatedly.

  Because when you stop playing it safe and start showing up with clarity and confidence, you stop asking for space. You start earning it!

  Jake Ahles is the founder of Morel Creative, a visual strategy studio helping purpose-driven beverage brands build storytelling systems that scale. Feel free to contact Jake: jake@wearemorel.com

People are ready to celebrate but also take a moment to relax, reflect, and reset.

By Hanifa Sekandi

It’s time to get cozy again. Warm blankets, knit sweaters, flannel pyjamas, and a beverage to complement the mood. Luckily, there are boundless occasions to get people into the winter cheer spirit, from Thanksgiving and Christmas to Valentine’s Day and all the other memorable holidays in between.

  This time of requires a dynamic marketing strategy. It also demands creativity and stamina due to the continuous festivities. Christmas is just on the heels of Thanksgiving, and before you know it, it’s time to paint that town red and pink for a month dedicated to love. One thing is certain: people desire to be inspired. A brand that hits this mark will see the benefits not just during the winter months but as we segue into the spring and summer months.

  The main goal for every beverage brand should be to build a community, an ethos that magnifies togetherness. What does this really mean? It means that a brand aims to meet desires; nothing less and nothing more. Stay in your domain and refrain from interjecting personal conjectures into your marketing campaigns.

  It is not about what you think or what you believe, but rather about what truly exists—the authentic qualities, unique experiences, and genuine moments that your beverage brings to the table. This “what IS” refers to the essence of your product, whether it is the comforting warmth of a seasonal whiskey or brew, the nostalgia evoked by a festive mulled wine, or the sense of togetherness fostered by sharing a winter-themed cocktail. These real and tangible attributes are what your audience will connect to, inspiring them to seek out your beverage.

  There is no better time to redeem yourself than the array of festivities that happen during the winter months. People are mostly in a festive and forgiving mood. Summer campaigns often struggle to make a significant impact, largely because there are fewer major holidays to serve as focal points for promotional activity. With limited occasions such as the likes of 4th of July or Labor Day, marketers have fewer opportunities to create themed promotions that resonate with audiences. As a result, these campaigns can sometimes lack the festive energy found in winter, making it more challenging to engage consumers and boost sales.

Marketing strategies during this time require innovative thinking and strategic planning. Luckily, in winter, brands get a break as marketing becomes easier for marketers.

Holiday Marketing – The Hero

  Seasoned brands understand this quite well. You’ll see them put more resources into winter marketing campaigns, with an emphasis on cheer and festivity. Starbucks’ recent Bearista Cup is an example of what a marketing campaign can do for a brand that may have lost favor or experienced a lull. Let’s be honest, the once gold-star beverage chain is no longer in its golden era. There are a multitude of reasons for this. As you can see, the Bearista Cup frenzy has breathed new life back into this brand. A campaign that had patrons line up before store opening hours just to purchase a winter-exclusive product.

  What is your winter exclusive product or beverage? What will have your customers lining up, wanting to get just a little bit of your company’s winter cheer? Is it winter magic or simply great marketing minds understanding the behaviour of buyers during this season? McDonald’s has another great winter campaign, the Grinch-themed meals. This may represent one of several winter campaign launches; nonetheless, it constitutes a strong initial effort. What is The Grinch synonymous with? Christmas. The grumpy, green-furred hero of the holiday season, who people both love and hate, but seems to put a touch of cheer in everyone.

  What is your marketing hero? You can either reference pop culture or other traditional themes that symbolize the season. Doing so allows you to draw upon familiarity and emotion. It is easy to sell something people already love. A moment, a film, a core event, anything that represents what they seek when entertaining during the winter months. As you know, home decor is the pinnacle of winter moments. The moment begins at home, influencing buying decisions as shoppers browse the aisles at their local store. How can you add to the moment?

All About Moments

  Help your audience capture moments. Every marketer is scouring the internet looking for what’s trendy. Why don’t you create the trend? By now, your brand should have in-house content creators, individuals who create content exclusively for your brand. For example, Advent calendars are quite popular. Have you considered doing an Advent daily reveal with mini versions of your beverage to your audience? A nice touch would be to add a familiar Christmas theme song that plays through the campaign. The 12 Days of Christmas is an excellent song. It is classic, familiar, and much-loved. Do you have an extensive product line of beverages? Better yet, what’s your holiday exclusive beverage?

  Ideally, conceptualize your winter campaigns in the summer. Right after Thanksgiving, you should debut your winter launches. Of course, you can get a head start in mid-November. Understandability influencers make influencing easy, so brands think they can just wing it and do something ad hoc. Anyone in influencer marketing will tell you that they also must plan accordingly for each season. As a brand with multiple parts to move, you need to ensure the strategy execution phase runs seamlessly. The marketing world has changed significantly. Viral moments and trends have brands scrambling at times. Did you know that many viral or trendy marketing moments didn’t just happen, they were meticulously planned, sometimes for days or other times over weeks and months?

  The most essential elements are execution and consistency. Beverages do not necessarily grab the viewers’ attention immediately. But the more they see it, with a great visual story behind it, they will not forget about it.

Mini Commercial Cheer

  Spend a little. Yes, you. Your commercial may not make it to the big screen or a Super Bowl slot, but you have other vertical options to place it in. Social media is a mini commercial friend, let’s call it the mini-commercial – it’s small but mighty. If you don’t have the paid version of YouTube or Amazon Prime, for example, you may have noticed not just ads but mini commercials.

  This could be your beverage brand showing its beverage cheer all winter. The beauty of a mini-commercial campaign is that it can be a series of videos that tell a story. It is also a fantastic way to spend your budget. If your videos are timeless and perform well, you can reuse them the following year in addition to new mini commercials, as many legacy brands often use for traditional advertising.

  When creating your mini-commercial, avoid making it look like an outright advertisement. Think about your favorite holiday ads or ads in general that are memorable. Coca-Cola has great classic holiday ads to reference that tell a story with product placement. The idea is that your product is there, but it is just part of life, part of the scene you are capturing. It is subliminal marketing at its finest. After seeing your campaign, people should feel compelled to look up your brand and product. From here, they are more likely to purchase your product when they see it, recommend it, and, in turn, become loyal customers.

Storytelling Is Timeless

  As you transition into January, this will help you stay relevant. Perhaps parody commercials that highlight New Year’s resolutions, where people reach for your non-alcoholic or low-sugar RTD beverage after imbibing on other beverages from your product line all December. A time to give that pumpkin-spiced calorie-packed ale a rest! Be creative, look at your beverage from a storytelling perspective. Just two or three useful product images aren’t enough; consider how far your brand can go with visual storytelling.

  A touch of beverage cheer may open doors to a spring campaign that is in full bloom, allowing you to dive into your marketing. Your audience will begin to anticipate what is next. And you show that you care about the product that you have invested a significant amount of time to tell a story worth listening to. You value them and their decision to join you on a beverage journey, with cheers to go around!

Close out 2025 & hot sip tips for 2026!

By Christiaan Röllich

The December holidays are here, and that means everyone is in the festive spirit. As the year closes out and a bright new one begins, craft breweries and distilleries have the unique opportunity to tailor their beverage menus to the holidays and to get a jump start on new 2026 trends.

  Christiaan Röllich, aka “The Bar Chef,” is particularly experienced in creating cocktails that bridge the gap — or perhaps blur the line — between the kitchen and the bar. Doing so during the holidays, or any time of year, allows guests to enjoy a taste of the season — whether in the glass or on the plate.

  “For me, it’s more than just making something that feels like a holiday cocktail,” said Röllich, who serves up incredible cocktails for Hush Public House, a neighborhood hidden gem in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Usually, I start with what’s in season — fruits, herbs and veggies that naturally fit the time of year. I also think about what people are eating and drinking around the holidays and how I can reimagine that in a cocktail.”

  He reminds cocktail creators that just because it’s cold out, it doesn’t mean the beverage menu has to be focused on aged spirits. He suggests looking for something a bit unexpected that still fits the time of year. He also finds inspiration in the kitchen and tries to incorporate the same or similar ingredients into his beverage menus, which could be done at a craft brewery or distillery as well. This not only makes for great pairings, but it also supports the use of peak produce and seasonal ingredients.

  While he enjoys using such flavors as saffron and truffles, for example, Röllich said that when working with big, rich flavors, “You don’t want one note to take over the whole drink.”

  He joked that truffles in particular “don’t play nice with everything, so you really have to think about it and how much you use them.”

  Beyond flavor, cocktails should entice the other senses as well, beginning with the eyes. Röllich enjoys the beauty, realness and vibrancy of natural colors sourced from carrots, beets and parsley that scream “please drink me.”

  “You won’t need a fancy glass, because the ingredients are talking for you,” he said, but he advised: “The tricky part is that the colors and flavor fade over time.”

  Look at ways to keep the natural beauty alive without compromising the flavor or the integrity of the ingredients to ensure the last sip is as eye-catching and fresh as the first.

  Cocktail pairing menus are a popular draw for restaurants, distilleries and craft breweries, particularly during the holiday season. For Röllich, a successful pairing begins by breaking down the food menu completely… right down to basic salt and pepper.

  “Every herb, spice and ingredient that goes into the dishes matters. From there, I work backward to build the cocktails and see what bridge I can build,” he said. “When you look at pairings, there are two ways you can go. You can match the flavors that are already in the dish and go with that, or you can look at the ingredients and think about what complements it rather than repeating it.”

  Finding a balance in texture, mouthfeel and how the drink moves with the food is key to perfect pairings.

With 2026 on the horizon, many establishments in the hospitality industry, from craft breweries to distilleries, turn to the trends to entice current customers, bring in new clientele, and capitalize on what’s hot. One way to do this at the top of the year, particularly with Dry January in mind, is to offer mocktails.

  “More guests are taking breaks from alcohol or just quitting drinking altogether,” he said. “What I like about that is it pushes you to be more creative within the limits given to you.”

  Röllich believes that beyond specific ingredients and liquors, the biggest trend for 2026 will be a focus on the hospitality experience overall, with budget as a major contributing factor.

  “I think the focus will keep shifting more and more towards details and giving guests the full hospitality experience, from the moment they walk in until the moment they leave,” he said. “Trends come and go, but what really matters is how the experience you offer your guests makes them feel. Guests are also becoming more price-conscious. It’s essential to make sure what’s in the glass is thoughtful and worth it for the guest to return and feel good about our transaction.”

  Genuine hospitality, the reason many craft brewers, distilleries and restaurateurs get into the industry in the first place, never goes out of style. With more and more options out there, it’s crucial to give guests a reason to come back and to tell their friends about a specific establishment.

  This comes down to offering something they can’t get anywhere else, according to Röllich. This can be evident in the details, for example, serving Triple Sec or Cointreau…or making in-house scratch-made orange liqueur.

  “That uniqueness, the commitment to doing something extra, is what sets a bar program apart,” he said. “It sounds so much easier than it is. Commitment and execution are everything.”

  Whether serving up a festive holiday spirit this season or concocting a one-of-a-kind mocktail for Dry January to help guests maintain their New Year’s resolutions, the core of this business remains rooted in providing something special, something unique that builds a memory and creates a connection. Serving that mentality will always be met with cheers — regardless of what is in the glass.

  Christiaan Röllich began his career in the hospitality industry at the age of 15. As his passion took shape, he found himself working for Suzanne Goin at Lucques, considered the No. 1 restaurant in Los Angeles at the time. His interest in building a bridge between the kitchen and the bar grew as he spoke with farmers at local markets about fresh produce, hung out in the kitchens where he worked to engage with chefs, and reinvented cookbook recipes to make syrups and liqueurs. He is the author of “Bar Chef: Hand Crafted Cocktails,” which features 100 original recipes. His passion continues to inspire his endeavors, and he attributes his success to surrounding himself with like-minded people.