If there wasn’t already enough reason for pub owners to add food to their offerings, new research into the pub industry has shown that there has been a higher growth in sales of food between 2012 and 2016 than in drink.
The research by Mintel shows that food sales in pubs demonstrated a 14 per cent growth in the four years, reaching £7.4 billion. Other areas such as alcoholic drink sales and soft drinks also showed growth of six per cent and seven per cent respectively, but the dominance of food’s growth shows the importance of it in the industry.
The research also shows that food is, for most, the reasoning behind visiting a pub. 89 per cent of Brits say that they typically visit a pub or bar to eat, whilst 79 per cent visit to go for a drink.
Is your pub losing out?
Operators are missing out on a large market by not offering food and its importance is continuing to grow. Overall, in an industry that saw turnover grow to £23.8 billion in 2016, alcoholic drinks make up 50 per cent of sales and catering brings in 31 per cent.
Whilst having the option of food is arguably the most important thing for pubs, ensuring that is high quality is what will truly attract customers. In 2017, nearly one-third of consumers said they had visited a pub in the past month because of the high quality, a rise from 23 per cent just the year before.
69 per cent of pub goers claim that one of the most important factors when choosing which pub to go to is high quality food. If you are going to commit to cooking food in your pub, it must be done to a high standard to appease customers.
Adding food to a pub
If you’re looking to introduce food to your pub’s offering, you may need to invest in more seating and tables to cater for the guests. Whilst with drinking, visitors can get by with standing and perching on a stool. The same cannot be said for eating.
At Trent Furniture we have a section of our website dedicated to furniture for pubs. Browse our pub furniture and pick out a selection of seating and tables that match the décor that you are aiming for.