Soft Drinks - How to maximise sales

Licensees have realised that it is no longer enough to offer a "me-too" menu and that extra effort is needed to make their food stand apart from competitor's.

Apply the same theory to your non-alcoholic drinks menu.

Freshly made, eye-catching drinks can be used to add a unique touch to the overall dining experience, so ensure that the soft drinks you serve look the part. Customers are prepared to pay a premium for quality.

Britvic has set up a Perfect Serve training programme to help publicans understand soft drinks better and serve them

correctly to maximise consumer satisfaction.

Publicans can call their Britvic representative or customer services on 08457 581 781 for further information. Here are some tips to help you out:

Train your staff to sell soft drinks alongside food and offer refills during the meal. Most customers will not go back to the bar once their meal has been served, so offer a table service

Display premium soft drinks to raise awareness. Many customers do not vary their drink because they are not aware of the alternatives

Use point of sale, particularly at lunchtimes when customers are less likely to want alcohol

Offer jugs of premium soft drinks or soft-drink cocktails

Use hot spots and blackboards away from the bar to make customers aware of what is on offer

Stock the full range of variants. Product ranges are developed to complement each other, so by stocking the entire range, drinkers are encouraged to trial more flavours, keeping them in the pub longer and driving sales.