Survey: Food-led pubs set for growth

Pub food is going from strength to strength, with people eating out more often and companies investing heavily in food-led brands.​ According to a new survey into pub catering by market research company Mintel, the market will continue to grow as demand for good quality food increases.

But the survey warned that operators must not take pub food's success for granted.

The survey questioned 2,000 people about their view of pub food, as well as examining market trends and outside influences. Its findings mirrored those in The Publican's Market Report 2002, a survey among licensees which discovered that food is increasingly important to pubs.

Mintel found that customers have more disposable income and are willing to spend it on eating out. As many as a third of people eat in pubs at least once a month.

Despite the pressure of increased regulations, pubs have embraced catering - and are making a success of it. Food accounted for 22 per cent of turnover on average in 2001.

But although the report concluded the future looks bright for pub catering it also warned that pubs could become complacent.

Homogeneity is the "biggest risk" pub food faces, the report said. "Operators face a very real danger of alienating consumers by serving dishes which are little different to those which can be bought from the shelves of Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's or Tesco."

It added that pub customers want food different from that they can eat at home and said "those operators who can position themselves as offering something different are likely to benefit the most from present consumer lifestyles".

It noted that pubs now offer menus including "traditional English dishes and roast dinners, contemporary Mediterranean dishes and pizzas, as well as ethnic foods such as Chinese and Indian dishes".

But the report warned: "The danger of pursuing such a strategy is that pubs will end up 'Jack of all trades, master of none'."

It suggested that operators consider whether it may not be better to do a smaller number of dishes really well instead of many, less well. It suggested pubs would do better by focusing on a particular type of food, which reflects the style of the outlet and its target market.

However, despite these concerns the report concluded that pub food is on the up.

It said it expected to see "dynamic growth" in the sector in the next five years.