Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Further growth in pub catering sales expected
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- Figure 1: Best- and worst-case forecast for pub catering market, 2010-20
- Real wage growth but not a lot of money left for dining out
- Competition in the eating out market
- Potential for encouraging more frequent pub visits
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- Figure 2: Frequency of visiting a pub/bar to eat or drink, by time of day, March 2016
- Maximising all-day food sales at pubs
- Interest in more daily specials and locally-sourced ingredients
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- Figure 3: Factors that would encourage people to choose one pub/bar over another, March 2016
- Preference for traditional British dishes
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- Figure 4: Food and menu preferences when going to a pub/bar for something to eat, March 2016
- Strong interest in personalisation and food tasting
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- Figure 5: Interest in introduction of different features at pubs/bars where people eat, March 2016
- Websites and social media influencing choice
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- Figure 6: Consumer behaviour and interaction with pubs/bars, March 2016
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Pubs must focus on an all-day food offer and celebrations to maximise revenues
- Facts
- Implications
- More build-your-own dishes and daily specials can increase the appeal of pub menus
- Facts
- Implications
- Personalised loyalty rewards offered by digital schemes will help build engagement
- Facts
- Implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Sales of food through pubs increases by 2%
- More all-day food offers should boost growth
- Real wage growth means more money for dining out
- But most people still have little spare cash
- Intense competition in eating out market
- Population growth to boost pub catering sales
- Need to encourage more visits by 25-44-year-olds
Market Size and Forecast
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- Pub catering sales grow to £7.2 billion
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- Figure 7: Pub catering market size and forecast, 2010-20
- All-day food offer will help drive growth
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- Figure 8: Best- and worst-case forecast for pub catering market, 2010-20
Market Drivers
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- A third of people spend extra money on dining out
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- Figure 9: Trends in share of consumers who choose to spend their extra* money on dining out, November 2009-April 2016
- Most people have limited budgets for eating out at pubs
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- Figure 10: Trends in how respondents would describe their financial situation, February 2009-March 2015
- Introduction of national living wage will add to pub costs
- Taxation burden of the pubs sector
- Declining alcohol consumption puts increased focus on food sales
- Competition from cafés and restaurants
- Population growth to benefit pub catering sales
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- Figure 11: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2010-20
- 2016 summer of events can help to increase pub food sales
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Spirit Pub Company boosts Greene King’s pub food share
- Pub chains increasingly catering for all-day demand
- More menu options for children and vegetarians
- Digital marketing initiatives looking to increase engagement
- Good value and service drive visits to JD Wetherspoon
- Harvester seen as a trusted, family-friendly brand
- Beefeater Grill needs to increase customer engagement
Companies and Recent Developments
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- Greene King
- Structure
- Brands
- Positioning
- Recent activity
- Financial data
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- Figure 12: Key financial data for Greene King Plc, 2011-15
- Figure 13: Greene King PLC revenue, by segment, 2012-15*
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu developments
- JD Wetherspoon
- Recent activity
- Financial data
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- Figure 14: Key financial data for JD Wetherspoon PLC, 2012-15
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu developments
- Mitchells & Butlers (M&B)
- Brands
- Strategy
- Recent activity
- Financial developments
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- Figure 15: Key financial data for Mitchells and Butlers Plc, 2012-15
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu developments
- Stonegate Pub Company
- Brands
- Recent activity
- Financial data
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- Figure 16: Key financial data for Stonegate Pub Company, 2011-14
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu developments
- Whitbread
- Brands
- Recent activity
- Financial activity
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- Figure 17: Key financial data for Whitbread Plc, 2011-15
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu development
Brand Research
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- What you need to know
- Brand map
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- Figure 18: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, March 2016
- Key brand metrics
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- Figure 19: Key metrics for selected brands, March 2016
- Brand attitudes: JD Wetherspoon deemed the best value pub brand
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- Figure 20: Attitudes, by brand, March 2016
- Brand personality: Beefeater Grill needs to engage more to boost image
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- Figure 21: Brand personality – Macro image, March 2016
- Toby Carvery and Harvester have strong family associations
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- Figure 22: Brand personality – Micro image, March 2016
- Brand analysis
- JD Wetherspoon the most visited pub chain
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- Figure 23: User profile of JD Wetherspoon, March 2016
- Toby Carvery has reputation for consistent quality
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- Figure 24: User profile of Toby Carvery, March 2016
- Hungry Horse has strong association with being a fun brand
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- Figure 25: User profile of Hungry Horse, March 2016
- Harvester seen as a trusted and friendly family brand
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- Figure 26: User profile of Harvester, March 2016
- Slug & Lettuce less accessible than other brands
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- Figure 27: User profile of Slug and Lettuce, March 2016
- Beefeater Grill has lowest levels of satisfaction
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- Figure 28: User profile of Beefeater Grill, March 2016
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Room to increase frequency of eating out at pubs
- Pubs looking to maximise all-day food sales
- Strong demand for more daily specials and local produce
- Loyalty scheme rewards can help drive repeat visits
- Stronger preference for traditional British dishes at pubs
- Offering a mix of healthy and more indulgent dishes
- Table service preferred but also role for technology
- Personalisation of dishes and food tasting popular
- Online menus and reviews a big influence on choice
Frequency of Visiting Pubs/Bars
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- More people visit pubs to eat in than drink in
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- Figure 29: Visiting a pub/bar to eat or drink, by time of day, March 2016
- Room to encourage more frequent eating in pubs
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- Figure 30: Frequency of visiting a pub/bar to eat or drink, by time of day, March 2016
- Town/city pub menus need to appeal to younger population
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- Figure 31: Visiting a pub/bar to eat at least once a week, by age and type of location where person lives, March 2016
Mealtimes and Occasions for Eating in Pubs/Bars
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- Evening trade most important to pub catering sales
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- Figure 32: Mealtimes at which people visit a pub/bar for something to eat, March 2016
- Pubs look to gain share of breakfast trade
- Afternoon tea can also boost sales outside main meal times
- Six in ten visit pubs for special occasions
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- Figure 33: Occasions people typically visit a pub/bar for something to eat, March 2016
- Themed nights and food festivals can give reasons to visit
Factors Influencing Choice of Pub for Eating
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- Strong demand for more daily specials and locally-sourced ingredients
- Daily specials can imply freshness
- Tapping the Locavore trend
- Meat-free meals appeal beyond vegetarians
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- Figure 34: Factors that would encourage people to choose one pub/bar over another when eating, March 2016
- Themed events can add something different to pub catering
- Themed nights appeal to one in five
- Time-limited nature of special event menus offers a prompt
- Men want festivals, women go for special menus
- Customer loyalty schemes offer ways to engage
- Only one in four people has healthy finances
- Loyalty schemes enable targeted promotions
- Children’s menus make a difference to family dining
Pub Eating Preferences
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- Traditional British dishes preferred to modern fare
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- Figure 35: Food and menu preferences when going to a pub/bar for something to eat, March 2016
- Seasonal menus add variety to the pub food offer
- Menu needs to feature both healthy and more indulgent dishes
- More prefer table service than ordering and paying at the bar
- Set-price menus appeal to over-65s
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- Figure 36: Type of menu and service preferences when going to a pub/bar for something to eat, March 2016
Interest in Features of Pub Catering
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- Customisation proves popular
- Trying new dishes would appeal to one in three
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- Figure 37: Diners’ interest in new features at pubs/bars, March 2016
- Loyalty schemes can build relevance by tracking orders
- Technology can help to improve customer service
- A quarter of diners are interested in pre-ordering
- Electronic ordering welcomed by many
Consumer Behaviour and Interaction with Pubs/Bars
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- Menus on websites and good online reviews important
- E-mail promotions enjoy widespread use
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- Figure 38: Consumer behaviour and interaction with pubs/bars, March 2016
- Building pub catering sales using social media
- Good customer service essential to pub food trade
- Pubs competing with coffee shops for hot drink sales
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Fan chart forecast
Appendix – The Market
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- Figure 39: Best- and worst-case forecast of total UK pub catering sales, 2010-20
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