Hot beverages: Boosting your profits

While it is hard to compete with established high-street coffee- shop chains, pubs still have a chance. As well as ensuring the coffee served is good quality, try some tricks to increase hot drinks sales.

Nestlé Professional research found that when confectionery is placed next to a hot beverage offering, beverage sales will increase by 12% — in addition to food sales made alongside. Pubs must also consider key targets,such as breakfasters, mums with kids visiting mid-morning or afternoon shoppers needing a break.

How cakes can help​

“UK café culture has spread much further than coffee shops, with many pubs and bars doing a roaring trade in hot beverages to meet demand,” says Veronica Gartland, confectionery business unit lead at Nestlé Professional. “This presents publicans with an ideal opportunity to cross-sell by stocking impulse confectionery designed to catch the customer’s eye.

“When confectionery is placed next to a hot beverage offering, not only are confectionery sales realised but hot beverage sales increase by 12%. So when you consider that Kit Kat Four Finger is the out-of-home market’s top-selling confectionery line, there is a real business case to be made for those publicans looking for fresh revenue streams — and moreover, a unique proposition that beats the competition.”

Thirteen Mitchells & Butlers’ Ember Inns sites have introduced a cake-and-coffee offer in the past few weeks. Chocolate cake and Victoria sponges topped with strawberries are available and the offer is advertised internally on chalk boards with a cake stand on the bar.

Guests are free to order cake on its own (£1.50) or with a hot drink of their choice (£3.50).

What’s new in hot beverages​

Christmas coffee​

Specialist coffee supplier Cherizena has launched a coffee flavour with the aroma of Christmas pudding for the festive season. The limited-edition Colombian Excelsior medium bean combines rum, hazelnut, cinnamon, vanilla, orange and pecan flavours.

The blend is similar to the one released for Christmas last year, due to its success. It can be branded for trade customers and is

available in packs of up to 1kg. “Snip and pour” packs for filter machines are supplied in boxes of 50, including filter papers.

Orders are being taken now for trade customers. The company offers around 30 single-origin coffees and blends.
For more information visit www.cherizena.co.uk​

Flavoured tea​

The first packs of Tetley Redbush to be sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms will be distributed in the UK from the end of October. All Tetley branded black, green and red tea, including flavoured and decaffeinated varieties, are part of its certification programme with the Rainforest Alliance and is due to be completed by 2016.

Facebook page Tetley’s Farmers First Hand has more than 12,000 fans. The page allows consumers to communicate with tea-producing communities who are working towards gaining Rainforest Alliance Certified status for their farms.

The number of cups of tea from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms will increase to circa 100 million in the UK per day.
For more information visit www.facebook.com/Tetley’s Farmers First Hand​

Hare at Roxwell, Essex​

The Punch-owned Pie & Pint Inns pub has become known for its coffee-and-cake offer in the short time it has been open.
Leaseholder Gary Downham has spent much time in America and has put the pub together using influences from across the pond. Inspired by the USA’s Cheesecake Factory concept, the Hare has a large cake servery built into the bar in the area that also houses the coffee machine.

As well as cheesecakes, there is always a large selection of cakes that changes regularly, such as a Victoria sponge, carrot cake or gateaux. Prices vary depending on what is ordered, but a typical price for a slice of cake and a cup of coffee or pot of tea is £4, offering a saving of around 70p when both items are purchased. Other cakes available include individual lemon meringues and cup cakes.

“We are doing something quite different from other pubs,” says manager Will Creighton. “We find that the clientele going for coffee

and cakes tend to be women or women and children meeting up after the school run in the mornings and early afternoon.

The pub is much busier for coffee and cakes during the week. We haven’t advertised as such but the coffee-and-cake offer is mentioned on our regular menu and flyers and is printed permanently on a board outside.

“I’d say 85% of people visiting for coffee and a cake are those on a school run.

“We do hot breakfasts as well so it is great that the cake servery takes the pressure off the kitchen, as it is all front-of- house, although that does mean we have to do rigorous training for all front-of-house staff.”

The Hare’s cheesecakes are its biggest-selling dessert option with 30 varieties on rotation and around 15 offered at any one time. Each is cut into 14 slices, each of which is sold at £5.50, and 25 whole cheesecakes are sold each week. They are all hand-made and are available to take away. The most popular flavours are Toblerone & milk chocolate, and peanut butter with chocolate.
“We are becoming known for our cakes,” adds Creighton. “The cakes make people come here over other places and stick in customers’ minds.”

Masons Arms, Cumbria​

“We serve a lot of coffee and tea after meals,” says deputy manager Adam Thorpe. “The pub has a great outside terrace and many walkers and cyclists drop in to enjoy a morning coffee out there.”

The pub sells 30 to 50 cups of coffee daily, of which a small majority are sold in the morning. Every hot drink is served with Grasmere gingerbread, made by a local firm: “It’s different from the biscuits, chocolate or mints often served with hot drinks, and customers like it.”

The pub also sells pastries and cakes, with croissants as its best-selling pastry.

The Kings Arms, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire​

This Oakman Inns site opened last December and found itself fighting for hot drinks trade with a high-street chain coffee-shop across the road. Two months ago it introduced coffee for £1 until 6.30pm when the price goes up to £2 plus. There is a cake

servery in the coffee area to tempt customers with carrot cake and fresh pastries, all made in-house.

“The £1 coffee offer is going really well,” says waitress Elise Joselyn. “We are selling a lot of coffee — about 100 cups in the mornings alone — and afternoon trade is good too. Most of our morning coffee trade consists of mums coming in to meet their friends or after the school run. We have lots of repeat customers. All the cakes and pastries we offer are freshly made. We do table service and are trained to upsell.”

Joselyn says around a third of coffee customers will order a cake or pastry too, but most stick to one to three cups of coffee.
The pub ran a big promotion on launching the offer two months ago, including giving away freebies.

The company’s sister site the Akeman in Tring also does the offer with great success. As it has been open for four years and is better established, the Akeman sells slightly more coffees than the Hare.