£8.1m snacking opportunity for pubs
Following research into the category, Brew City, which sits under the McCain Foodservice Solutions umbrella, found there is a customer appetite for snacking while at the pub.
According to research from the NPD Group, out-of-home snacking has risen by 11% in the past year, of which, pubs saw the strongest growth with snacking spend increasing by more than a quarter (28%).
Out-of-home occasion
There has also been a rise in people drinking craft ale in the on-trade with 24% of consumers being more likely to visit a pub or restaurant if it had a good selection of craft beer.
The new snack range has eight options to pair with beer, which are: IPA Fries; Mac ’n’ Jack Bites; Salt & Pepper Potato Pops; Onion Straws; Herby Tomato Mozzarella Arancini Bites; Fiery Jalapeno Slices; Gouda & Mozzarella Bites; and Frickles.
Brew City also conducted a Twitter poll to discover how important hot bar snacks are to consumers and three quarters (76%) of those surveyed preferred hot snacks to cold with 73% saying their local pub doesn’t have a wide enough selection of hot bar snacks (out of 8,145 votes).
Great experience
McCain Foodservice Solutions category controller Robin Norton said: “Pub operators want to be able to give their customers a great experience and drive loyalty but, ultimately, they also want to be able to increase their spend.
“Brew City has been designed to do just that. The food with drink moment exists in pubs, however, it is not being maximised by current hot food offerings.”
Brew City was originally launched in the US as part of a food and drink offer 20 years ago. In the UK, the range can be found in wholesalers including Brakes, Booker, Bidfood, Hopwells and Sterling.
