Pub 2610 p49 focus main 20/10/09 12:16 Page 49
www.thepublican.com thePublican Monday 26/10/09 49
Driving Food Business Focus
Get into food and
keep it going
Daniel Pearce
Managing Editor
Email danielp@thepublican.com
While not the panacea, food has never been more We make no apologies for going ‘back
important to a pub business, says Carl May
to basics’ with this feature. Improving
your food business should be a
constant focus in anyone’s mind in the
pub trade at the moment, particularly
with the higher profits that can come
from the category.
And for the number of wet-led pubs
which don’t yet offer food – still over
15 per cent according to The Publican’s
last Market Report – there has never
been a more diverse range of suppliers,
national and local, out there itching to
deliver to you and help you give it a go.
Here we offer three very different
perspectives on driving food in pubs –
from a pub company, a food supplier
and a brewer – as well as some general
advice from pub business consultant
Carl May on this page.
But let’s not forget perhaps the most
Gear your offer to the local customer base
important way you can drive food
business – by ensuring that your
TO SURVIVE and thrive in pubs now means you daily specials. Fewer and fewer people now go out
customer service, from welcoming
must embrace all avenues – and none more so than to pubs for a drink alone so it is crucial that you
people into the pub, to taking their
the food market. It can be a daunting prospect to gear your product offer to your customer base. This
consider organising menus, staff and equipment. applies to portion size as well as the content of the
order, to keeping them informed of the
But don’t fall into the trap of trying to become a menu itself. If your market is predominantly the
time it will take before it is served, to
restaurant overnight. grey pound then don’t put on 36oz T-bone steaks.
Be proud of being a pub and embrace all that is
serving it up and then clearing the
great about British pub food. Major suppliers like Making marketing work
plates with a good old-fashioned smile
Unilever can give you great support on writing a Before you spend a fortune on marketing, consider
menu and help you match your products to your seriously the training of your staff. People are what
– is second to none.
available skills. make great pubs and failing to train your staff is a
Look at the classic dishes and try to put your false economy. Make them aware of the menu, get
own spin on them. Ham, egg and chips is a great them involved in food tastings and communicate customer leaves happy and wanting to return they
example: use free range eggs from a local farm, with them on a regular basis to ensure that you will help with real credible advertising for you.
make your own chips and use a locally sourced have happy customers. When advertising try not to do too much. You can
ham – what could be better? You must also keep a keen eye on the costings of really confuse your customers if you are offering a
your menu. There is very little point in having different theme every night. It also gives off signals
Value for money a pub full of people eating if you are not of desperation and can be offputting to some
The key to keeping people making a satisfactory gross profit. people.
coming back again and again is Marketing is yet another hat that In essence, offer a great value-for-money product,
and always will be value for the busy publican has to served by staff who are happy and care, and make
money, consistent standards and a wear, but I believe that sure you are consistent with what you offer. ■
frequently changing menu. Keep the ‘internal marketing’ should
menu small and introduce new dishes come first. By that I mean if Carl May runs Catered4, offering specialist advice.
regularly and keep them interested with you make sure that every See www.catered4.co.uk
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