Greene King introduces first foodservice arm for tenants

The brewer and operator of 3,100 sites will give tenants access to its food-buying scale with a ready-to-go food offer through the Pub Partners Supplies initiative.

Many pubs in Greene King's estate have the potential to offer food, but not necessarily the equipment, said managing director of Greene King Pub Partners Clive Chesser.

Maximise potential​

"We regularly review our estate and found many of our pubs had the potential to offer food, but did not necessarily have the right tools to do it.

"This new service gives our tenants, who are new to food and without necessarily the support of an experienced chef, everything they need to launch a profitable menu and maximise the potential from their business."

Supplies in the new range have been developed with the logistics company Kuehne + Nagel.

Tenants will be able to opt for a 'value' or a 'quality' package depending on the pubs' demographics.

Each of the menus will be refreshed twice a year and licensees will be invited to attend training courses before each new menu is introduced.

‘Easy to deliver food’​

Chesser added: "Using the skills from our retail development kitchen, we have specifically designed the products and menu to be quick and easy to deliver. Many of our licensees using the scheme have already seen a significant margin increase."

However, he noted the approach would not be suitable for all Greene King sites and highlighted other available options, including the ability for pubs to select certain dishes to create their own menus or giving pubs a wholesale supply option.

Pete Mann, who runs the Beehive in St Albans, Hertfordshire, already takes part in the scheme and said: "When you are running a busy pub kitchen, it can be difficult to maintain consistency but, by using this service, I know that every dish comes with all the right tools, including a picture so my team can get it right."