Rather than applying one offer across an entire estate, pub groups are increasingly using food to differentiate sites, broaden trading occasions and give customers another reason to visit.
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The trend forms part of a wider shift identified by Lumina Intelligence, which found pubcos were segmenting estates around clearer food, sport, community, accommodation and experience led roles.
For Ardent, winner of Best Premium Food Operator at this year’s Publican Awards, a strong food offer is designed to work alongside rather than replace the traditional pub occasion.
Managing director Dom Jacobs told The Morning Advertiser (MA): “We aim to provide a holistic, gold standard pub experience where all elements of a visit are covered.
“We don’t believe that because you want to watch your team play in the Champions League on a Monday night you should have to sacrifice great food. Equally, sometimes food should be the reason you come to the pub.”
Food sales are growing faster than other categories across Ardent’s estate, despite the business remaining wet led.
Jacobs pointed to fish and chips at the George, which generated more than 5m views across social content in a matter of weeks, as an example of food becoming a draw in its own right.
The group also uses limited time dishes and events to create additional occasions, from Thanksgiving and Burns Night to Christmas toasties and feasting menus.
“Food is one of the clearest ways to distinguish yourself in a crowded market. Ultimately, pub food should be relatively simple. Do it really well, use great produce and give each pub enough freedom to have its own identity.”
Different occasions
Marston’s has taken that principle further by segmenting its food offer around distinct customer groups.
Adult dining pubs, representing around 22% of the estate, target affluent 35- to 64-year-olds with a “good food, good times” proposition focused on food quality, leading drinks brands and relaxed service.
Family pubs account for a further 18%, combining food and drink for all ages with dedicated children’s areas, family events and separate spaces designed to retain a more adult pub environment.
The strategy has also led to dedicated concepts including Woodie’s, which launched in 2025 following research into why parents cut restaurant visits short.
The format combines a full food offer with games, activities and family focused spaces, while Marston’s has continued to develop food across its broader estate.
Earlier this month, the group launched a Hawkstone IPA and beef pie across 498 pubs, building on its existing partnership with Jeremy Clarkson’s beer brand and using a familiar pub classic to create another reason to visit.
Greene King has similarly been adapting menus around changing dining occasions, including a more premium offer across more than 70 heritage pubs.
The rollout, launched in June, took learnings from the group’s premium investment programme and introduced seasonal dishes, sharing and grazing options, premium wines and cocktails, alongside changes to service, crockery and other parts of the customer experience.
Food trading director Michael Weightman told the MA: “While pub classics such as fish and chips, burgers and Sunday roasts remain popular choices, we also cater to a wider range of diets, appetites and dining occasions.”
The operator has also introduced more small plates and sharing dishes, higher protein and health conscious options and greater scope for customers to personalise meals.
At its heritage sites, Greene King said bar snacks and sharing dishes were also designed to support social drinking occasions, upsell and extend dwell time.
Weightman added: “By continually reviewing customer feedback and insight, we can ensure our menus remain relevant, appealing and inclusive, all while delivering fantastic experiences, quality, choice and value our customers expect when they visit our venues.”
Site-led approach
Urban Pubs & Bars, named Best Food Operator at this year’s Publican Awards, has taken a more site led approach.
Head of food Pete Harbrecht-Parker told the MA that chefs and general managers were given freedom to shape menus around local customers and seasonal produce rather than following an identical offer across the group.
“Our focus across the business is always on freshness, quality and consistency. We empower our chefs and general managers to build menus based on the best seasonal produce and provenance, taking the approach that no two menus are the same.”
Pub and restaurant classics remain at the heart of the offer but the aim is to produce what Harbrecht-Parker described as “best in class” versions.
That includes triple cooked chips prepared from a specific potato variety and peeled, blanched and twice fried on site, served with fresh North Sea haddock and homemade tartare sauce.
“Without our continued focus and drive on food quality, consistency and relevance, it’s hard to stand out in our market,” he added.
Elsewhere, Mitchells & Butlers is using its established brands to segment sites around distinct food occasions.
The group agreed in June to acquire seven former Whitbread sites for conversion to either Miller & Carter or Toby Carvery, while its wider portfolio spans concepts including Harvester, Browns and Premium Country Pubs.
JDW (JD Wetherspoon) has continued to sharpen its value led food proposition through dedicated weekly occasions, including small plates, gourmet burgers, pizza and its established Curry Club.
Its March results said the group was seeking to extend the appeal of its menu, with 45% of dishes vegetarian, 13% vegan and almost a quarter below 500 calories.
Fuller’s has also continued investing behind food quality, reporting 3.5% like for like food growth during its latest financial year.
The group has also segmented its food offer across eight menu concepts, spanning Ale & Pie, Country Premium, Classic and Destination pubs, with menu development shaped around the customer demographics of each group.
The operator has backed the strategy with a dedicated £550,000 Kitchen Academy in Reading, bringing menu development and chef training together for its 160 managed pubs serving food.
Fuller’s said the approach was designed to improve quality and consistency while allowing some formats, particularly its Destination pubs, greater menu flexibility.
Across the sector, the approaches vary from premium dining and chef-led menus to family formats, branded concepts and value offers.
But the direction is increasingly similar...food is being treated as a clearer reason to choose one pub over another, with operators tailoring the proposition around the customers and occasions each site is best placed to serve.
This article forms part of a five part MA series exploring how pub operators are segmenting their estates around accommodation, community, food, sport and experience.
You can read the accommodation, community, experience and sport features here.
