A regulated pour,
turned into trial.

Compliant in-store tastings for wine, beer, spirits, and RTD brands — run by trained ambassadors who know California ABC rules cold.

Book a consult See how a program runs

Expertise that drives results — not just samples handed out.

200–500%

Typical sales lift on demo days vs. non-demo days

25–45%

Trial-to-purchase conversion for well-run beverage sampling

Retail partners across California — and growing

100%

Programs run inside California ABC rules

Industry benchmarks shown for context. Actual results vary by brand, product, and retailer.

Built for California — not bolted on.

Seven ways our program is built for this state's rules, retail network, and market.

Type 86, by the section

Instructional tastings under Business & Professions Code §§ 23396.6 and 25503.56 — exact pour limits, 10 a.m.–9 p.m. windows, and the one-tasting-per-retailer-per-day rule.

RBS-certified, kept current

California's mandatory RBS program (AB 1221) covers Type 86 tastings. Our ambassadors stay certified through the state's three-year renewal cycle.

California retail fluency

We navigate the state's off-sale landscape — from Total Wine to Ralphs, Vons, Safeway, Gelson's, Smart & Final, and independents — and know each store's approval path.

Statewide ambassador network

Trained field teams across California's six regional markets, matched to the stores where your brand needs to show up.

Documentation that protects

Event records and certification proof retained and available on request — covering every party in an ABC inquiry.

Insured & covered

Fully insured, workers'-comp-covered field staff built for California's liability environment. No exposure passed to your brand.

California market intelligence

Strategy grounded in what's actually happening here — legal cannabis competing for the same occasion, a health-forward coastal consumer, and surging RTD demand.

Shoppers buy less — and explore more.

California's market rewards discovery. Between a health-forward coastal culture, legal cannabis competing for the same relaxation occasion, and RTDs reshaping the shelf, the brand that gets tasted is the brand that stays in the consideration set.

A health-forward market

California's coastal, wellness-driven consumer drinks less but more deliberately. A sampled, well-explained product earns the deliberate choice.

Cannabis competes for the occasion

In a legal-cannabis state, alcohol competes for the same social and relaxation moment. Winning the trial at the shelf keeps your brand in the mix.

RTDs & no/low surge

Ready-to-drink and non-alcoholic launches are crowded and unfamiliar — exactly the products that live or die on first taste.

From first call to final report.

One accountable partner for the whole program — planning, compliant execution, and the reporting that proves it worked.

Consult

We learn your brand, products, target retailers, and goals — trial, awareness, or velocity.

Plan & schedule

Confirm retailer overlap and approval path, then build the compliant program calendar.

Compliant setup

Area separation, signage, pour limits, ID protocol, trained ambassadors.

Execute

Ambassadors run the instructional tasting and engage shoppers on-brand.

Report

Results delivered in clear engagement tiers, tied to outcomes.

Already in the stores that matter.

We know California's off-sale retail landscape — the national chains, the regional players, and the independents — and the approval path inside each. Active tasting programs run across these partners:

Total Wine & More Ralphs Save Mart Whole Foods Bristol Farms Smart & Final dry only Albertsons Vons Pavilions

Alcohol sampling in California, explained.

Do we need a license to sample alcohol in a store?

The off-sale retailer holds the instructional tasting (Type 86) license at its premises. Social Sampling runs the tasting as the supplier's designated representative, within that framework — so your brand gets the activation without navigating the licensing yourself.

What can be sampled, and how much?

Wine, beer, and spirits authorized for off-sale at the partner store. California sets the limits: up to 1 oz per wine taste and ¼ oz per spirits taste (max three tastes each, per person, per day), and up to 8 oz of beer per person per day.

Which products are a good fit?

Wine, beer, spirits, and RTDs distributed at our California retail partners. New launches, RTDs, and no/low products tend to benefit most, since they win on first taste.

How is success measured?

Programs are reported in clear engagement tiers — Brand Awareness, Impressions, Intercepts, and Consumers Reached — so you can tie the activation to outcomes that matter to your buyer.

Who actually pours the samples?

RBS-certified ambassadors — acting as the supplier's designated representative under the retailer's Type 86 license. Because instructional tastings fall under California's Responsible Beverage Service requirements, every ambassador on an alcohol program holds current RBS certification.

Where do you operate?

Across California, at off-sale retail partners that can host compliant instructional tastings. Coverage spans Southern California, the Bay Area, the Central Valley, and beyond.