How do I measure tasting ROI?
The short answer: Record what the tasting cost and what it was for, then compare the account's orders in equal periods before and after. That gives you the observed change. True ROI needs the gross profit from the extra sales, minus the cost, divided by the cost. Be honest about what else could have caused the bump.
Decide what the tasting is for
Selling bottles that night, landing a new placement, getting a reorder, or getting your name in front of people are four different goals. Pick one before the event, because each one is measured differently.
Record the cost
Staff time, travel, samples, fees and anything else you spent. Note any promotion running at the same time and whether the product was in stock.
Compare equal periods
For example, four weeks before and four weeks after. Think about the account's normal order cycle: a reorder might land six weeks later, and an order right before the event might just be the account stocking up for it.
Say an account bought 4 cases in the four weeks before and 6 in the four weeks after. That's an observed increase of 2 cases, or 50%. It doesn't prove the tasting caused all of it. Holidays, pricing and distributor programs move orders too.
Calculating ROI
ROI = (extra gross profit − cost) ÷ cost.
A tasting that cost $150 and produced an estimated $210 in extra gross profit is a 40% ROI: ($210 − $150) ÷ $150. Use gross profit, not revenue, and remember distributor cases aren't bottles sold to consumers.
If you can't estimate the profit honestly, report the cost and the change in orders separately. That's still useful.
Make the comparison stronger
Look at a few similar accounts that didn't get a tasting over the same weeks. If they stayed flat and yours went up, that's a much better read.