Pub food: business boosters
Ideas for driving food and drink sales at your pub including a cider and sausage festival, beer gift sets and a Twitter menu.
Cider & sausage festival
Where: Clovelly Bay Inn, Turnchapel, Plymouth www.clovellybayinn.co.uk
The idea: Two-day West Country cider and sausage festival. Spanning a Friday and Saturday, the waterfront pub offered West Country ciders, locally-made sausages and local cask ales on its menu, together with a programme of live musical entertainment. Owner Dino Riccobono says: "We wanted to give people a taste of the many varieties of cider that are on offer in our area — everything from brandy and rum-conditioned to strawberry, vintage and all the standard styles too."
What we needed: "The sausages were supplied by Moonstone Meats Farm, based in nearby Wembury. Its butcher made a selection including South African boerewors, spicy Spanish, honey roast pork & ale and pork & cider, which we served in fresh rolls or with our home-made mashed potatoes and gravies. We advertised via a press release, and posters in the pub, local off-licences, supermarkets and customers' places of work; also flyers in the immediate vicinity and in the pub, on our bill pads and via our Facebook page. We hired four extra staff to cope with the increased trade and used local musicians to entertain customers, including 30 young acoustic guitar players who we paid in hot dogs!"
Business benefits: "More than a thousand people attended the event and although we didn't charge for admission or the entertainment we made five times our normal take over the two days. The great response to our festivals encourages repeat business from visitors, as well as new business from people who have since heard about the event. It's great for our reputation and brings us lots of free advertising."
Top tip: "Plan meticulously: set up food/alcohol to avoid congestion, assess your stock accurately and pay attention to retaining interest throughout the day."
Why do it: The festival environment showcases local produce and boosts trade.
Beer gift sets
Where: The Grouse Inn, Harehills Lane, Oldfield, Keighley, West Yorkshire www.grouse-inn.co.uk
The idea: Landlord ale presentation set (£8.95)
How it works: Presentation boxes with two bottles of Landlord and branded pint glass. Advertised in-house and supported by the brewery, this product is displayed prominently around the pub, which is a Timothy Taylor leasehold. The gift set idea started as a one-off for a regular customer; others saw the product and wanted it themselves.
What we needed: Chef/director Karl Rowlett says: "The boxes were designed by the brewery, which still supports us in selling its product: glasses are obtained at a special price and the bottled beer at normal brewery rate. Timothy Taylor often has special-occasion bottles such as Havercake and Celebration Ale, which we stock. The brewery came up with Celebration for its 150th anniversary — apparently it's how beer tasted in 1858. These also prove popular for gift sets as they're limited brews that you can't buy in the shops or supermarkets."
Business benefits: The pub sells upwards of 25 sets per month, rising to 40-plus for Father's Day and Christmas. Many customers are from abroad — the States, Australia or relatives sending gifts to ex-pats. The Grouse Inn also now stocks novelty wooden wine boxes that have a secret way of opening — a quirky Christmas gift.
Top tip: Never stand still. Stay customer-focused in quiet times.
Why do it: Gift sets increase wet sales, which make good margins.
Twitter menu
Where: The Ship, Wandsworth, London
The idea: Marketing manager Emma Dickinson says: "We had the idea for a Twitter menu as we have nearly 1,000 followers now. The menu costs £15 per person for a starter, main and dessert."
How it works: "People ring, email or tweet us to book and we always check out their Twitter name before allowing the booking. They get two choices for each course. Usually a three-course meal costs £25, so they make a good saving and we still make a good profit."
What we needed: "We mention the offer on our Facebook page, website blog and in our newsletter, but the biggest way we boost trade is through Twitter. People retweet what we write to their friends and we reply to get conversations going. Word spreads very quickly and it's all free."
Business benefits: "We've run the Twitter menu three times: before and after Christmas, and once in May/June; the next one starts soon. The first attracted about 30 extra people in two weeks and that increases each time. We're definitely getting new repeat customers and people who have never been here before."
