Licensed to sell

From the At the Races TV channel to the Wye Valley Brewery, a broad line-up of key suppliers to the licensed trade was on parade at the National Licensed Business Show (NLBS).

Thousands of licensees flocked to the show, hosted by The Publican's owner United Business Media alongside Leisure Industry Week at the Birmingham NEC. As well as the exhibitors, highlights included the Wine Tasting Theatre, hosted by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, a SIBA Real Ale Pavilion, and live food demonstrations in 'ELL's Kitchen' - the Equip Line Live Kitchen.

A series of seminars also took place around the show, including the Sell More, Save More sessions featuring licensees Graham Bulpett and Mark White, project champions 3663 and ViVAS and project manager Carl May.

Mark White of the Cross Keys in Henley, Suffolk, described how sales at his pub had leapt ahead since he joined the project, which sees a string of 'category champions' sent into pubs and their story told in The Publican.

A new wine list, developed with ViVAS - a joint venture between 3663 and Bibendum - had helped sales of the category jump by more than 20 per cent since August.

Offering a balanced list with printed descriptions on all the tables, and suggestions for food and wine matching, the new range had created more opportunities to upsell to more premium and profitable lines.

Speaking at the show on Tuesday, Graham Bulpett of the Priory Arms in Stockwell, South London, described the journey the pub had gone through since joining Sell More, Save More.

Graham said he was constantly looking to create interest at the pub - whether that was through offering a different cocktail every week or by introducing sweets.

"Change is the most wonderful thing you can bring into a pub," he said.

Henry John from ViVAS said both the Cross Keys and the Priory Arms were reaping the benefits of an integrated approach between wine and food, which had a new focus at both pubs following input from 3663.

"Complementing your food and wine offering, taking into account your customer base, and considering how to make the operational side work with real efficiency in the kitchen, can really help pubs to sell more and save more," he said.

He urged pubs to take note of their cash margin when setting the price of wine, and recognise that they didn't always need to maintain a set GP to make a healthy profit.

Looking to compete​

Taking on the big boys was the hot topic for licensees attending the pub food debate at NLBS.

With managed operators such as Mitchells & Butlers and Spirit keeping prices low as they fight for business share from credit-crunched consumers, delegates said they were looking for ways to compete.

Carl May of Catered4 advised: "Focusing on offering fewer dishes well is better than trying to compete with the big players on all fronts."

The cost of 'going green' in terms of reducing food miles and investing in low-energy equipment was also raised.

The Publican's Pub Food editor John Porter suggested that money spent now could pay dividends if legislation is tightened down the line. "The political reality is that the burden of 'green' taxes is likely to be placed on businesses, not the voters," he said.

Introducing the drinks debate, The Publican's head of features Adam Withrington said licensees needed to focus on creating a premium experience for their customers.

One way to do this was by focusing on the huge profit opportunity offered by serving long mixed spirits, said Diageo's Andrew Leat - with quality of serve at the forefront of every licensee's offer.

Hinting at new research unveiled this week in the Intelligent Choice report, beer expert Pete Brown told publicans there were now many reasons for them to take cask ale seriously - and said it was clear that young, affluent drinkers were now beginning to take note of the category.