Most people have heard of Polar Beverages one way or another. It's a soft drink and beverage company based in the northeast area of the United States. While it's not bigger than Coke or Pepsi, it does control the majority of seltzer sales and distributes other drinks for a few companies. The point of this is not to educate about Polar, but more to let people know a few things about the beverage industry that they probably never thought about.

First of all, when you go into a convenient store and you grab an Arizona iced tea if you have any urge to put it back try to put it back in the same spot. This goes for everything in that cooler. Because just beyond those walls of cold drinks is complete mayhem. I spend most of my time in that freezer breaking down cases on cases of those drinks and putting them in the correct spots.

This leads me into the next topic. Everyone knows what the word "reset" means. Starting over from scratch. Well, this also applies to how a cooler is set up in convenient stores. People may assume that there isn't much to it but there is a really weird science to deciding how to set things up. Companies do so much research on consumer habits, like if people buy things that are placed closer to the handle or the hinge. They also use statistics on sales to determine how many "facings" each product should get. The more something sells the more space it gets. Companies even change what shelf each product is on based on what type of consumer group they are trying to sell to. You ever wonder why all those Starbuck's coffees and frappuccinos are on the top shelf in the coolers while juices are on the bottom? Because more adults will want the coffee while younger people who are more than likely shorter will want the juice. There also needs to be a correct type of flow from door to door. Generally, it starts with all the sodas and carbonated beverages. Then energy drinks like Monster and Red Bull. Then sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade. After that usually comes water, followed by tea and then juices with coffee drinks either with the energy drinks or at the very end. However, there are always exceptions based on how tall the coolers are and how many doors each store has. Something so simple like going in and buying a drink had so much more thought go into it than someone might think.

On a more personal level, working for this company, going around store to store putting away our deliveries and filling all the shelves has taught me so much patience. Nothing is more aggravating than being in a freezing cold cooler that is not organized at all and dropping an Arizona Green Tea and having it explode and spray all over you. Yeah, I know from experience. Not to mention it's awful when store managers blame you for every problem they've ever had with the company as if you were the owner. It takes a lot not to yell back at them that you're just a part-time merchandiser and none of what they're complaining about is your fault. To name one more, when you somehow show up to a store before the truck that is bringing the delivery, you really want to rip your hair out. Instead, you have to just wait it out until the truck gets there.

There's a lot more that most people do not know about the beverage industry but these are just a few firsthand things I experience regularly that I sort of take for granted, but most people do not even realize the small things that go into it.