Quality is the future of food pubs, says marketing expert
Offering fussy customers a top-quality dining experience is the future for food-led pubs, according to a marketing expert.
Consultant Ann Elliott, who runs Elliott Independent, believes the current trend for gastro pubs and destination dining pubs will continue - meaning pub brands such as Chef & Brewer will enjoy success for several years to come.
But she said it was equally important not to neglect the value end of the pub food market.
Ms Elliott (pictured), who has worked on brands including Yates's and Frankie & Benny, was speaking at the Catering Forum, a three-day networking event and conference for the trade.
"It's my personal opinion that the demand for premium dining will continue," she said. "But at the same time and at the other end of the market, budget brands such as Spirit Group's Two For One are doing very well and I can't see that changing."
She said food-led pubs had to consider groups other than the those thought of as traditional pub-goers, in order to be successful.
"Although pubs have been adapting to suit women's needs for some time, there's still a long way to go," she said. "I don't think they've grasped just how much influence a woman has when it comes to deciding where to go."
She said older people, not necessarily the grey pound but those in their 40s and 50s were currently very much neglected by pub brands and pointed out that Mitchells and Butlers brand Ember Inns has been enormously successful by focusing on that market.
"Singles are also big business," she said. "I'm not sure how, but the growth of one-person households will have an effect on the trade."
Ms Elliott's seminar, called Delivering the Next Big Thing was part of a series of seminars, speeches and discussion groups that took place at the Catering Forum.
Other speakers included British Hospitality Association chairman Bob Cotton, who spoke on tourism and former chief executive of the Restaurant Association Ian McKerracher, who held a seminar on the hype of Michelin Stars.
Pat Perry, from environmental health consultancy Perry Scott Nash, shared her expertise and The Publican's city and business editor Mark Stretton and legal expert David Clifton spoke about the effects of licensing reform.
