Children's menus

With the forthcoming reform of licensing laws aimed at making it easier for families to use pubs, licensees need to seriously consider this market as an opportunity for business growth.

It's now official. As expected, a major element of the Government's plans for licensing reform will be to "increase access for children to licensed premises, in order to promote more child-friendly and family-friendly pubs," according to the official Home Office statement at the beginning of May.

The news will be greeted with dread by some publicans, and welcomed by others. Customers will probably be similarly divided. There will certainly be those who complain that their favourite watering hole is about to be turned into a kindergarten. On the other hand, there will be plenty of parents overjoyed at the prospect of taking their children somewhere to eat where the grown-ups have the choice of red or white, rather than strawberry, vanilla or chocolate.

In the middle ground, on both the trade and customers' side of the bar, the majority will simply recognise that in an increasingly diverse and sophisticated pub market, there's plenty of room for venues catering to every type of customer.

The aim of the legislation is certainly not to force all pubs to cater for families. In fact, the Home Office has also made it clear that the "licensing authorities will be able to restrict or deny access for children to unsuitable premises".

The intention is to counter widespread criticism from the industry of children's certificates, introduced in the mid 1990s. Aimed at making it easier for pubs to admit children, the restrictions imposed by some licensing magistrates had the opposite effect, deterring many publicans from going down the family route.

So, the first question you have to address is whether or not you are going to cater for children at all. In a traditional pub, most of your customers may feel it should remain an adult preserve. If you are looking to build your food business, there may be a time of day when offering family meals will significantly boost trade. If you have a large garden, adding a play area and a children's menu to your offer can turn you into a destination pub.

The most successful approach is usually to recognise that the pattern of demand will change throughout the day, and develop a "chameleon" offer accordingly. The Captain Digby in Broadstairs, Kent, winner of The Publican Newspaper Family Pub of the Year 2001 Award, certainly takes this approach.

Licensee Tony Pearson said: "Our marketing strategy has always been focused on the complete family unit, not just isolated family groups. We are, therefore, able to adopt a flexible marketing approach that appeals to a complete cross-section of families. This has allowed our business to grow at a much quicker rate than if we had concentrated mainly on families with very young children." So, a food-focused family offer during the day shifts to more adult promotions in the evening, such as Latin dance nights and murder mystery evenings.

Alec Howard, director of pub menu development specialists Food Solutions, said: "The importance of the children's offer in your business will depend, to a certain extent on the style of pub that you operate and the market opportunity."

Broadly speaking, there are two main aims to bear in mind when providing a kids' offer. Firstly, it needs to be something that will bring parents and families into the pub in the first place. Secondly, it needs to keep the kids themselves happy.

Mr Howard added: "The easiest way to achieve this is to ensure that you have dishes on your children's menu that will please the parents and the kids. A point worth noting is the fact that kids, like their parents, are becoming more adventurous in their food tastes. While there is definitely still demand for predictable kids' fare, increasingly there is also a need to offer lighter and more complex dishes. It may be possible to offer some of the dishes from your existing menus as children's portions at a reduced price, a strategy that has been successfully exploited by some well-known retail operators."

"Over-loading children's plates in an attempt to create the impression of value for money is a very common mistake," said Mr Howard. "A five-year-old child will eat less than half the adult portion, sometimes much less, and will also get bored more quickly. Parents like to see a clean plate, and will be annoyed if they feel they have a paid for a meal which has been mostly wasted. Try to combine two or three products together that are easy to eat and retain the interest of the child. Also ensure that crockery is not too hot and an appropriate size to the dish."

Keeping children interested is the key to success, and involves a lot more than simply making the food offer exciting.

Tammy Mariaux created the Spaggos pizza and pasta bar brand, which included a children's offering as one element of a wider party-offering catering for office parties, hen nights, and similar gatherings.

"For the younger children, we had two clowns who ran the parties and kept things moving along," said Mrs Mariaux, who now works as a menu consultant. "All Spaggos staff were trained to don the clown make-up and costumes when required. With a group of small children the important thing is to keep them entertained and interested all the time. We had a make-your-own-pizza party which was very popular."

For older girls, aged around 12, Spaggos organised cocktail parties - featuring non-alcoholic ingredients, naturally. "The girls would dress up and felt very sophisticated being served at the table and choosing their drinks.

It's vital to have different offers matched to the age group involved. Older children and teenagers don't want to feel that they're being treated like kids."

Creating a children's menu​

Paul Nolan, group marketing director of McNally Design Group, which has worked on developing brands for pub operators including Chorion and Yates Group, looks at the way successful operators incorporate a childrens offer into their brand:

Before delving into kid's menus, we first need to ask a couple of questions:

• What's your objective in trying to attract kids to your venue?
• Is it to build a family-oriented part of your day's trading?
• How do you manage and balance the needs of family against adult customers?

It is very important to think deeply about these questions and find well thought-out answers, as they will dictate how you approach and manage family-oriented business.

In creating a kids' food and beverage menu, you will need to consider the needs of the children and adults alike, remembering that these will not necessarily be the same.

Children are sophisticated customers. They make disparate and diverse demands as they move into different age categories. A four-year-old will be more concerned with the packaging and frills, while a 10-year-old will want to be seen to be treated as a young adult.

Children play a key role in determining where the family eats out - you just have to look at the pulling power of fast food kids' offers, such as free toys with a meal, to see how little loyalty exists.

From a parent's perspective, your children's menu needs to take into account a number of issues:

• You need to counteract and manage the stress associated with family dining.
• You will need to create a menu and package that engages the kids and provides an entertainment value in the venue. Bored kids are disruptive kids.
• The menu needs to be delivered quickly, with the parents' starters, because a hungry kid is an angry kid.
• You should endeavour to provide a "junior" and "intermediate" menu for different age groups. Older kids tend to have more adult tastes, which some