Back bar focus: Behind every great barperson...

Jelly Beans, Liquorice Allsorts, cashew nuts, Bombay mix and pistachios might not be regular features on the back-bar.

But at the Jolly Cricketers in Buckinghamshire, this mix of goods is positioned prominently and helps boost the pub's weekly revenues.

Driving extra sales from an area of the pub that is all too frequently overlooked helped it win The Publican's Newcomer of the Year 2010 award. Amanda Baker, co-owner of the Jolly Cricketers, says: "Many pubs have lots of clutter behind the bar like the donkey from their Spanish holiday or gifts that customers have brought in. But it should be more like a supermarket, packed full of as much as possible, but still clutter-free."

This approach has helped the pub sell around £130 of goods per week from the various jars that sit on its compartmentalised back-bar, which Baker says was built for only £150. The jars originally numbered only six, but this has trebled due to customer demand. "They've become more popular and now we even have requests to stock things like rhubarb and custard boiled sweets," says Amanda.

Balancing the back-bar

The inspiration for this money-making approach to the back-bar came from a course run for Punch Taverns involving Kevin Hosking, partner at training company Inndispensable.

He argues that licensees do not clearly display many of the products they sell. "I stress to licensees that they need to put their products where they are 'in danger of being sold'," he says. "It's not revolutionary, but wherever you are in a pub the customer should be being sold to."

He recommends a balance of 'speciality', 'impulse' and 'demand' drinks on the back-bar, whereby there are products customers expect, some they don't which will be bought on impulse, and those that sell big-time during peak demand.

The mix of products should be constantly changed and moved around to keep it fresh. "What was initially interesting will, after five or six days, become part of the furnishings," he says.

Part of the difficulty, according to Hosking, is that many pubs are reluctant to embrace change, so while spirits sales have declined over the years, with wine making big inroads, licensees have continued to give them lots of space on the back-bar. Rotary Optics holding six to eight bottles might free up some space, he says, but such devices can be limiting during demand peaks.

Andrew Leat, category development manager for the on-trade at Diageo, advises caution. He says 75 per cent of customers prefer to see brands they know and 21 per cent are unwilling to return to a pub that doesn't sell the most popular brands (TNS Onlinebus Survey Jan 2009) - hence his recommendation that best-sellers such as Gordon's and Smirnoff should sit prominently on the back-bar.

There is no doubt achieving a good balance on the back-bar is especially hard for pubs because of the space limitations. This is why, he argues, non-essential items such as clocks, bells and holiday photos should be jettisoned and tills could be placed on the bar counter.

Using the bar counter to drive extra sales has been a big success at the Charles Lamb in North London, where there are always freshly made scotch eggs, pasties and sausage rolls sitting atop the bar. Toby Frere, the pub's general manager, says: "Not having the food on show would reduce sales. It's just like in a good baker's where you want to buy everything you see." The bar is also proving a good platform for another revenue-generator - hot drinks. Twinings has colourful point-of-sale materials for its range of teas, which it says convey the value of the brand and can help command a 15 per cent price premium over standard tea.

Energy efficiency behind the bar

Gerry O'Boyle, owner of the Boogaloo pub in Highgate, London, and of Telegreen - which sells the only under-counter bottle crusher - says: "Publicans have not been that green but when there is a cash incentive it will be different."

The bottle-crusher (pictured) from manufacturer Pel offers just such incentives, according to O'Boyle, as it reducea skip use for empty bottles by as much as 80 per cent, thereby saving licensees money.

The bottle-crusher is the same size as a standard glasswasher. O'Boyle says it fits easily behind the bar and there has been a lot of interest in the product during early demonstrations, with St Austell Brewery an early buyer.

The machines also stop operating if they have not been used for 10 seconds, which reduces their electricity consumption. Cutting energy bills is "a key focus for licensees as they have recognised there is money to be saved", according to Lynne Hall, sales manager at Emperor Leisure, which sells the InnEnergy Energy Monitor for £40. She says the monitor can save licensees hundreds of pounds a year.

Any equipment behind the bar can be connected to these devices, which are then plugged into the mains. "Ice machines are on constantly but the pub shuts at midnight until the next morning. These devices monitor and control the machine based on peaks and troughs of usage," explains Hall.

The latest bottle-coolers from Lec Commercial, efficienC, are also designed to reduce energy consumption, with savings of 35 per cent on the standard Lec coolers. There are two sizes of unit and they are now available in black as well stainless steel.

Brewing on the bar

Coffee machines are also proving increasingly popular, says Damien Watson, managing director of Espressione, which supplys machines mainly to independent pubs. Half of these pubs place the machines on the bar counter rather than the back-bar, as the footprint is smaller than that of a standard till.

More pubs are investing in such machines - including the Jolly Cricketers, which rents a unit for £50 per week and has seen coffee sales increase by more than 70 per cent. The net profit can be £1.50 per cup, compared with 80p to £1 for a regular filter coffee.

And Watson points out that if the nominated driver of a party is enjoying their cappuccino or latte then they are likely to stay longer, which keeps the rest of the group spending.

It is not only through customer-facing initiatives such as installing coffee machines that pubs can derive financial benefits. By investing in equipment and accessories that are not visible to the customer they can drive greater operational efficiencies, which can ultimately save money.

But, just as with the back-bar area, pubs typically have limited space available. One of the essentials, however, is the glasswashing machine that is now a feature in even the smallest of pubs.

Manufacturer Hobart has launched two under-counter ranges specifically for the smaller operator - its Italian-designed Ecomax range, aimed at the more cost-conscious buyer, and its Bar Aid range pitched at a higher price-point.

Tim Bender, UK product development manager for warewashers, says: "Ecomax provides an excellent price-point for cost-conscious operators, who can now benefit from good-quality warewashers."

John Nelson, managing director of Nelson Glasswashers & Icemakers, says that while there is a need for price-led products (which are chiefly purchased over the internet), there has also been a move by some manufacturers towards high-end products that pubs should view as "good investments". He believes the driver of this flight to quality is the "huge shift towards greater efficiency formed around the quality of the wash and the move to more environmentally friendly equipment". The investment can certainly pay off - Nelson says his machines are 30 per cent less expensive to run than cheaper alternatives because of their energy-efficient characteristics.

Cool as ice

The same factors are affecting ice-making machines, which Nelson says are proving increasingly popular as pubs expand their product offer. "Ice used to be just for drinks that supported the beer drinkers, but now it is an essential part