Tag Archives: Restaurant
25 Aug |
Business of Catering News |
Peak holiday season means that our inspiration for August articles usually comes from the wider news. And over the past weekend there has been a mass of mainstream news affecting catering in printed and on-line media. While most of it appears bad news, the volume suggests that interest in the business of catering may be trending.
This is good news if we’re able to prolong it to address some of the core problems of UK catering business. The more we share the stories, the higher the future beneficial impact.
Business Rates Review
The BBC reports that Jerry Schurder, formerly Business Rates Policy Lead at Newmark UK, has been appointed by the government to lead a review into pub and hotel business rates. This is in addition to the previously announced discounts for pubs this year and next.
He is due to report back to the government in March 2027 for his review to be included in the March 2029 business rates revaluation. Keep your eyes peeled for requests to contribute to his review in the next few months for a better long-term solution.
Runny Eggs Alert
On Friday, the FSA declared a salmonella alert for vulnerable people from runny eggs and products such as mayonnaise made from eggs. It was also very clear that the source was not British hens but imported eggs. Buying locally sourced produce does therefore carry additional benefits and reassurance for customers.
Heat and Food Shortages
The UK has had 5 heatwaves this year. This affects all food production. There will be significantly fewer parsnips, carrots and potatoes from the lack of rain. Higher heat increases stress in cows, pigs and sheep; while dry pastures make grazing less productive. For barn-raised chickens, mortality rates increase dramatically. The 3 heatwaves of 2022 reduced UK chicken meat production by almost 10%.
Cereal crop yields like wheat and oats, are significantly down. These can be mitigated in part by international markets. But what is certain is prices will increase and availability will decrease.
Fish and Chips Economics
The Office for National Statistics reports that the average price for fish and chips has risen from £6.95 in July 2021 to £11.43 for this July. This is an increase of 64% and a rise in 1 year of a pound. In part this is fuelled by increased scarcity and costs of cod; but also reflects fuel costs and public lack of acceptance of alternative fish species.
Conversely, last month Marks and Spencer switched from 55p tins of beans to glass jars. Jars are significantly more expensive to produce and transport. Somebody might understand the business maths in this change but it’s unclear to us.
Chinese News
It may surprise some that MacDonalds is not the world’s largest fast-food chain. The Economist reports it’s a Chinese company called Mixue Bingcheng with some 60,000 outlets worldwide for tea and cold drinks. Last year it acquired Fulujia, which is a micro-pub franchisor with 3,200 premises in China. In each the cost of a pint is the same, 5.9 yuan or 67p. Each has 20 beers on draft and offers cooked bar snacks.
Key to success is logistics and control of the supply chain combined with a long-term business view such as no royalties in first 3 years of an outlet. International expansion is not yet on the cards. But it does show a completely different business of catering model to the running of pubs, when starting from fresh.
Published Date: 25th August 2026
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News
Tags: Attractions, Catering business, farm shop, Hotel, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant
29 Jul |
Headlines and Details |
July brought interesting headlines for the hospitality sector, but the devil lies in the detail. A new Prime Minister brings welcome relief to the pub and events sector. One of Andy Burnham’s first actions was the announcement of an additional business rates cut. This makes a great headline.
Previous Tax Headlines
That proposed business rates cut comes on top of the previous 15% reduction in April 2026 as part of a three-year package, announced by Keir Starmer’s government.
In addition, from June 25th, VAT was cut to 5% on entry to attractions, where VAT was charged at the full rate and on children’s meals selected from the children’s menu eaten in venue. This potentially had wider impact on the hospitality sector enabling more to benefit.
It was also something that could be acted upon now. Especially so as it comes to an end on 1st September and the return to school. Given that few businesses have a quarterly VAT return to the end of August, hopefully MTD will be able to seamlessly cope with the details of timing and eligibility!
A Couple of Thoughts on Detail
The additional detail of who will actually benefit from the 20% business rates cut from April 2027 has to wait until the Autumn Budget. It is unlikely to be the whole of the hospitality sector unless the Chancellor is able to find more money for this.
The government calculates that this cut will save pubs on average £1,100 each year. While this is an average and some will see greater reductions, this is not a substantial sum. Or is it?
In the South West, the average cost of a pub pint is £4.90-4.95. For simplicity call it a fiver and the business rates saving £100 per month. For those with a glass half empty viewpoint, this is the equivalent of 20 pints per month, if this was pure profit. If a standard barrel holds 288 pints, this might lead some to say the help is barely scraping that barrel for a longer-term turnaround!
For those with a glass half full viewpoint, given the average net profit on a pint is 10p, this is the equivalent sales of 1,000 pints per month to the bottom line of the business. It also underlines why food is more important than drink to overall profitability of hospitality.
Both headlines are a start to buy a little time for meaningful change for the sector. But only if acted upon now to take advantage and face that longer term detailed change.
Published Date: 29th July 2026
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News
Tags: Attractions, Catering business, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant
26 Mar |
2026 Drink Trends |
If last month was all about food, then this month, it’s 2026 drink trends. Here there has been some good research done by Bid Food. It throws up some interesting challenges for traditional pubs as well as those, who might function as rooms for tea in their mass catering or restaurant establishment. So basically, anyone in catering!
Zebra Striping
The way we drink has changed considerably over the last 50 years. Drink-drive laws impacted on what could be consumed. While drinking at home became more common as a cheaper less risky option. Younger consumers are driving this further with a no/low alcohol trend. This is a long-term trend that caterers must not ignore. Research like CGA by Nielsen IQ noted that even more consumers chose these options last year.
It is not simply a case though of no alcohol at all. Rather it’s the increase of so-called zebra striping. This where customers alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Consumers say this keeps them in control of their alcohol consumption (55%) and helps them avoid getting drunk (44%). 41% are drawn to low and no alcohol options for their health benefits, 38% for their refreshing qualities, and 34% because they still feel like a treat.
Is this completely new? No, most of wine-growing Europe traditionally puts a water glass on the table alongside the wine glasses. What is novel is the deliberate choice is not simply water.
Simple Fruit Alternatives?
The challenge for all caterers is to find flavoursome alternatives that fit the zebra model easily. It needs to appeal immediately to being non-alcoholic, functional and hydrational.
While the offer of slice of lemon in your water is unlikely to suffice, it does point the way to sun-kissed fruit flavours that refresh the palate and implicitly feel to rehydrate. The immediate thought is tropical and global. Hence the growth of the likes of mangosteen, passion fruit and yuzu. Growing in 2026 are:
- Korean pear for strong hydration and wellness;
- pink guava for its simple colour, good for socials and sweetness;
- while Calamansi gives an alternative sharp citrus.
But perhaps there is another trend about to break? Hidden in the last few years by the increasing numbers of craft brewers and gin distilleries has been the growth of local producers of fruit-flavoured drinks. National names include Bradley’s Juice, Barn Farm Drinks, James White and the Berry Company. But have a look locally for the likes of Cotswold Juice Company or Day’s Cottage. Why? Because that also ticks the local feelgood box for the consumer.
Time for Tea
There are increasingly few homes that only have traditional brown tea in their cupboard. Partly as a result of picky guests, but also because the world of infusions has rapidly expanded beyond the traditional. Now there are a host of cold refreshing brews, exotic flavours and functional tonics. And that’s before we consider bubble tea that has seen a 20%+ increase each year in product launches in the last 4 years.
As with food, it’s a case of tradition meets global adventure with tea flavours. The familiar combines the adventurous and then adds to it with either indulgence or a nod to functional trends. The four flavours touted for 2026 are:
- Thai Tea – fusion of wellness and indulgence;
- Rooibos – caffeine-free and natural positioning;
- Oolong – premium heritage cues of vague recollection;
- Passion Flower – emerging, floral and globally inspired.
Now it’s probably time for a cuppa to mull over how to combine these 2026 drink trends with your business model for a profitable future.
Published Date: 26th March 2026
Category: Blog, Catering Business, Food Sourcing, Local food, News
Tags: Catering business, farm shop, Food producers, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant
26 Feb |
2026 Food Trends to Consider |
As winter officially moves into spring and seasonal renewal comes to the fore, we usually look at the food and drink trends for the year ahead. This year, we’re going to take three bites at the subject. In this blog we’ll look at trends around food flavours; and next time drink. Lastly we’ll look at the trends for the wider industry in two months’ time.
We’ll share some experts’ views and projections. Some may be right, some will be wrong; and some seem to be stating what is obvious and/or contradictory. All are based upon research with chefs and consumers. Our aim is to allow colleagues to reflect on what they might offer to stay ahead in these difficult times.
Flavours for 2026
The global flavours trend continues to combine authenticity with boldness. It reminds diners of their travel adventures abroad to more exotic lands or their dreams. On trend, this year are the flavours from Malaysia, Korea, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela. Aside from the last, this reads much like the gap year destinations of the 2010’s! But it reflects the need for distinctiveness and difference.
The other continuing trend is the combining of spice with fruit and sweetness, the so-called “fricy” & “swicy” flavours. But flavour is no longer just about taste. It’s about experience, storytelling, and shareability such as:
- Crossbreed Fruits, hybrid flavours with built-in buzz. Half of global consumers say they seek out innovative flavours, while 64% are interested in trying flavour fusions and combinations. Crossbreed fruits answer that need. They blend familiarity with novelty and capitalise on built-in intrigue. Consider the likes of Pineberry, Tangelo, Melon Berry and the older blackberry/raspberry cross of the Boysenberry.
- Taste the Colour. This appetite for visual impact that look as good as it tastes, is being fuelled by social media and younger consumers. 47% of Gen Z saying they follow viral food and beverage trends. Pistachio perfectly captures this shift. Its vibrant green colour and indulgent profile have driven an almost 40% increase in UK product launches since 2021. Trending taste the colour flavours include ube, charcoal, black cherry and dragon fruit.
- Hedgerow Flavours tap into nostalgia, provenance and a growing desire for natural, authentic flavour stories. Again, significant growth in products and social media mentions since 2021. It goes against those who are tasting the colour but may fit more naturally for your style. These include flavours like damson; sea buckthorn; wild strawberry (nostalgia) and elderberry (health).
- Sophisticated Indulgence that provides affordable luxury and grown-up flavours. This is about quality ingredients, depth of flavour and treating oneself, not about showing off. Consider brown butter (rich bakery); dark chocolate (versatile); marcona almond (premium nut profile); and cardamom (sweet and savoury dishes)
2026 Food Types?
Not only are flavours coming to the fore, but also some specific ingredients have been identified as on trend for 2026.
- Cauliflower. Why, because of its versatility and fibre-richness. It is a main which works as a meat alternative or for vegetarian, plant-based and vegan diners or as sides like cauliflower cheese. Or it’s a carb-free alternative to rice, mashed potato or even pizza crust, especially useful for the gluten-free.
- Wild mushroom. Versatile, flavoursome and natural, wild mushrooms are on the trend towards plant-based and vegan foods, and foraged ingredients. They offer a variety of textures, umami flavours, and can carry a range of nutritional benefits. Again, a main or a side dish combining the known and the unknown.
- Miso caramel and salted caramel. These sweet and savoury flavour contrasts elevate dishes by adding depth, richness and complexity. Miso works well as a marinade or dressing. Whereas salted caramel tends to feature more on sweet treats or desserts and just keeps growing. Simple elevation.
- Hot honey. This scores on both chef surveys (46%) and consumers (30%) who both want to try in the next 18 months as a drizzle, topping, glaze, dressing or dip on all sorts of savoury dishes like pizza. Is this the new caramel?
- Pistachio. We can’t not mention pistachio, which grew from Middle East and Mediterranean cuisines and then was further boosted by Dubai chocolate. Where it will go this year? Who knows, but it’s not too late to join the crowd offering this.
Flavour goes to the core of all catering businesses. Considering the fit of catering trends with some perhaps minor additions, might be just what’s needed to increase the success of 2026.
Published Date: 26th February 2026
Category: Blog, Catering Business, Food Sourcing, News
Tags: Catering business, Hotel, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant
05 Feb |
Number Challenges to Catering Business |
Challenges to catering businesses are this week’s news headlines for all the wrong reasons. The media have realised that the combination of the national insurance increases and business rates changes have created the perfect storm. The Chancellor’s announcements and exemptions have created further fuel for the media. This makes it appear worse than the physical effects of last week’s Storm Chandra on the West Country. Both storms require a practical response to go forward.
A Reeling Sector
Following Covid, inflation leapt in 2022 and 2023. This created the cost-of-living crisis and a reduction in demand in the catering sector. Food and drink business closures continued to increase.
Announced in the Autumn 2024 Budget, Employer Class 1 National Insurance increased from 13.8% to 15% from April 2025. By itself not devastating. That was the decrease in the threshold for payment from £9,100 pa to £5,000. This brought in significant numbers of part-time workers in lower paid sectors to Employer NI.
It was said that claiming the Employment Allowance increasing from £5,000 to £10,500 would mitigate this. While the numbers themselves look similar the effect is anything but, as most catering businesspeople could tell you.
Catering is a business based on planning. Every service for every hotel, pub, restaurant or mass caterer is planned to make it run smoothly and be flexible enough to cope with the demand. With the notice, a good number of catering businesses survived through 2025 by adapting or making fundamental change.
The Third Calamity
UK Hospitality estimates that the rateable value of catering properties will surge by over 50% from April 2026. This means that a caterer with a current business rates bill of £48K will need to find another £15K next year. In current profit terms an extra £40 per day, if open every single day of the year.
Simple maths equates this to a 2¾-hour shift for a 21-year-old on minimum wage. But most establishments can’t simply cut staff and maintain service. They already did that to survive the National Insurance challenge.
Currently restaurants employ 1.3M workers and pubs another 0.5M. But the number of closures is rising for pubs to one a day. The government was correct to respond earlier this week to mitigate the immediate effect on pubs and music venues with a support package of £80M pa for the next 3 years.
Short-term Support for Radical Change
That £240M of support however pales when compared to the £900M for just Heathrow. While the threat of increasing air fares to recoup, does not compare to the high street and social fabric loss of the local pub or restaurant across the whole country.
More positively, the support does buy time. Our sector must use that time to prepare and not lose sight of the fact that it will end in 2029. This will mean more radical adaption for whatever works in your area.
For some it will be opening more days perhaps for shorter time, but well-communicated to manage client expectations. For others, it will be the reverse of opening fewer days, when there is custom- no point in paying staff and food wastage for an empty room. It could be about creating more certainty with a weekly/monthly event to draw consistent clients and certainty of income.
For all, it will be about flexibility on ingredient availability. Perhaps working with more local suppliers able to predict more closely the shelf-life of crops, as both rely on profitable sales. It means then taking the dish off the menu mid-service to minimise waste. And countering this with customer preferences for local sourcing.
Focused Communication
Above all it’s about communicating effectively locally with your fellow caterers to the key audiences, like the Forest of Dean’s HOOP campaign
After all the only numbers that really matter are the satisfied repeat customers that enable us all to pay the bills and make a sensible profit. And plan effectively for next year.
Published Date: 5th February 2026
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News
Tags: Catering business, farm shop, Hotel, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant
01 Nov |
Your Pub Is The Hub |
Many of AC Services clients are at the heart of their communities whether they are cafes, restaurants or hotels. They are the place to go for a treat or a simple meal.
Pubs are known for fulfilling that function. They grew from places to drink and socialise when beer was safer to drink than water and more nutritious than the regular loaf. Every village had pubs. Yes, often the plural because one was never enough. Each was known for a different group of locals who would pop in for a pint after work or at the weekend.
The Changing Role of Pubs
Pubs have changed dramatically over the last fifty years. Not only in what they serve but who they serve it to. Drink driving laws reduced the ability to stop in on the way home to catch up with local and national news. While new drinks came into fashion and out again.
The pub lunch became the pub feast and the meal more important than the drink as a way to survive and create the profit margins. With continuing pub closures, the sense of community was ripped out of many villages, towns and even cities. But there is now some opportunity to protect some pubs by putting them back at the heart of communities.
Pub is the Hub
The Department for Business and Trade has recently committed £440,000 to help Pub is The Hub deliver over 40 projects including village stores, community cafes, allotments and play areas in pubs across the country. This funding is aimed to help support local jobs and opportunities whilst increasing community cohesion.
What’s on offer is access to a small cash grant from a simple expression of interest form. Your starting point could be what you have already or how you might repurpose or expand. It’s also worthwhile talking to your local council to see what additional support they may be able to provide. This might include warm spaces funding as we enter the winter months.
Are you a pub that wants to diversify your activities to become again the centre of your community? Then have a look at their website and fill out this Expression of Interest Form.
Published Date: 1st November 2025
Category: Blog, Catering Business, Local food, News
Tags: Catering business, Pubs, Restaurant
27 Aug |
Who Doesn’t Love Blueberries? |
The UK eats 53 tonnes of blueberries annually. M&S makes more money from blueberries than from apples and pears combined. While Aldi sells 3 times as many punnets as bags of oranges. Yet blueberries were not sold in UK supermarkets until the 1990s, nor at all commercially until 1916! And with the UK crop surging to over 5,000 tonnes from below a 1,000 on 2009, they can be sourced locally.
What’s not to like?
Is it a coincidence that blueberries were one of the original superfoods in the 1990’s? They certainly went from being only included in muffins and other baked goods, to a fruit in their own right. Consider the options if you want to get the beneficial effects of the antioxidant anthocyanin. Would you prefer beetroot, red cabbage or blueberries? This might explain why the over 55’s particularly pick them.
Given they’re small and don’t need peeling nor leave fingers sticky, they’re also a hit with parents with young children. A great way to get some of their five a day without too many tantrums. Ideal in smoothies or the finishing touches as a topping, they’re in favour with young adults as well. This is why blueberries are in 58% of all UK fridges.
The UK Future
A quarter of blueberries eaten in the UK come from Peru, while 10% now come from the UK. Back in 2009 we struggled to supply 5% of a much smaller market. Driving this growth is the demand for premiumisation. Tesco value range is £9 per kilo, it’s finest over £13. The difference is size; 14mm diameter is the smallest allowed, while 18-22mm is where the premium sits.
The good news is British farming is responding with new growers and programmes to produce better more consistent growth at the times when there is a market lull in early summer. A downside is the need for pickers as mechanical picking can’t currently sort between ripe and unripe fruit leading to a loss of up to 20% of the crop. Yet getting pickers is difficult as it’s not a highly paid role. Given time there will be more premium British blueberries with better picking machines to meet the demand.
Opportunities
Both farming and catering are sectors under threat from rising costs and difficult conditions. Both need to adapt to feed the nation. Innovation and giving consumers more of what they want is key.
It’s also about exploring the different. After all the blueberry was ignored as a fruit until Elizabeth White noticed them growing well in the boggy acidic soil of her family New England cranberry farm and decided to cultivate them. Are blueberries on your menu and are they sourced locally from the UK? Why not seize the opportunity?
Published Date: 27th August 2025
Category: Blog, Food Sourcing, Local food, News
Tags: Food producers, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant, schools
03 Sep |
Hospitality’s Smoking Gun? |
Is the potential smoking ban the final bullet for many pubs? This is a question that reared its head this week with the news that the government is looking to ban smoking in outdoor areas of pubs and restaurants.
Why is it being considered?
A stated reason is that smoking causes around 80,000 preventable deaths in the UK amongst smokers and non-smokers. This puts a significant burden on the NHS at all levels. In addition to the preventable deaths, there are the additional treatments required by those, who are fortunate not to die this year from smoking-related ailments
Quickly cutting the opportunities to smoke therefore makes sense. This may be why 58% of the population in a YouGov poll supported this proposed ban. So, everyone wins, right?
Balanced Consequences
Smoking is currently a legal choice for UK adults. The proposed legislation to gradually increase the legal age to purchase cigarettes is likely to be enacted by the new government. This perhaps has more sense to it. Why- because it gives time for evolution. And evolution is good for businesses like hospitality that has faced recent shocks from covid and cost of living crisis.
In 2007, the indoor smoking ban came into force. Critically hospitality had sufficient notice to invest in and devise workarounds. This allowed smokers to still enjoy their habit in outside spaces. If they could brave the colder areas of marquees, umbrellas and designated smoking areas often in the previously overlooked beer garden; then there was no issue.
This adaption also coincided with the increase in gastro pubs and more family-friendly facilities to attract new markets. The combination of the outdoor areas and this pivot meant that for some pubs and restaurants trade actually increased. But there is no doubt, it also fuelled the massive reduction in UK pub numbers over the last 20 years.
Pulling the Trigger
The key is timing. No one is arguing that passive smoking is desirable. Or that the best long- term outcome isn’t fewer or no smokers for the health and economic benefits that it brings for all. What needs to be fully considered is the long-term detriment it may have on the UK’s hospitality industry if brought in too quickly. Many establishments don’t have the financial resources to sustain a downturn in trade, while they adjust. They will go bust.
In round terms, UK pubs and bars employ 0.5M people. And when combined with all staff in restaurants and hotels c2.5M. Even if only small percentage of additional businesses fail, that has a significant economic impact not only on the individuals involved; but in the commercial transactions of those businesses and supplier organisations. Pull the trigger quickly and we kill an important economic sector, which ironically is just recovering from the catastrophes of the early 2020’s. Provide a sensible timetable and lead time; the industry will adapt again.
Published Date: 3rd September 2024
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News
Tags: Catering business, Pubs, Restaurant
03 Apr |
Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Show 2024 |
Last week saw the Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Show 2024. This is a must-go to show for anyone in UK hospitality and catering businesses. It’s held every year as part of the Food, Drink and Hospitality Week. It’s 5 linked shows attract over 1,500 exhibitors and 27,000 visitors.
The timing this year in the week before Easter was not ideal for some. Particularly if you’re in an area like Gloucestershire, where that was the first week of the school holidays. If the clash prevented you from going here are some highlights.
Sampling the Rational Experience
As usual Rational had a large stand. Here visitors could explore and engage with Rational experts on innovative, intelligent cooking systems, such as the iVario advanced bratt pan and the iCombi Pro combi-steamer. Or they could take part in the Arena Show. This is an exclusive 12-seater arena for an intimate experience, where members of the trade can witness the artistry of Rational cooking, showcasing the powerful performance of Rational cooking systems, and to sample the plated dishes.
Throughout the show there was a fantastic line-up of Rational chefs and special guests including:
- Simon Rogan MBE, Rational Ambassador and Chef/Owner L’Enclume
- Tom Barnes, Rational Ambassador and Executive Chef of Umbel Restaurant Group
- Keziah Whittaker, Young MasterChef Winner 2023
- Rehan Uddin, Rational Ambassador and Head Chef Owner of Indi Yang
- Holly Charnock, Rational Ambassador and Head Chef at Woodlands Primary School
The Pub Show
Our focus this year was the Pub Show. Here the British Institute of Inn-Keeping launched its brand-new free-to-use membership platform called Workforce. This is a great source of information on professional development, apprenticeships and training information for anyone in the pub trade. It’s particularly useful for the independent pub owners, who make up the majority of its 13,000 members.
To be honest we were drawn there by the first launch of a new drinks category for training by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust in 10 years. It launched its Level 1 and 2 Awards in Beer. Here the focus is on training through tasting to become beer confident through product knowledge and developed tasting skills. The beer market is changing surprisingly quickly especially amongst microbrewers. Pre-covid the focus was on heavy alcoholic stouts and sour beers; now the trends are towards simplified pale lagers and pale ales as the experience, not the drink, becomes the focus of the night out.
Among the product highlights was Clear Brew, a beer-line cleaning using water-fed mixing unit requiring no electricity or propellant gas; and Love Corn whose corn kernels are bang on trend being vegan, gluten-free, low sugar and high fibre!
Work-Life Balance
The main show hosted Planday whose report The Shift Towards Retention was created in collaboration with the Burnt Chef Project. This urges a move away from last minute rotas and towards conscious scheduling, even shift plans 22 days ahead. The main driver is improved mental health for the sector.
Almost two thirds of hospitality businesses suffer from staff shortages currently. 40% as result have had to reduce opening hours. The main new workforce is Gen Z. Gen Z focuses on well-being as a main career goal. This conflicts with the traditional view of the sector as being low pay, unstable and unsure hours and unclear career progression. The industry has no option but to change.
Catering Industry Talking and Knowledge
As ever there was a packed three-day programme of talks around anything to do with the business including:
- Future of Foodservice, a 2030 vision
- Making Sense of the National Living Wage Rise
- Future of African and Caribbean Cuisine and Culture
- Looking after Our Teams: the Importance of Physical Health
- Hospitality Marketing Trends to Watch; and
- Kan UK’s largest Hospitality Salary Survey results
While the talks have gone, some essential knowledge is still available by going to the IGD reports page. Here you can download a whole series of reports and forecasts on UK markets and sectors from the five 2024 eating out market trends, through retail technology trends to food & drink and food to go market forecasts. The latter demonstrate the difficult markets we all face currently. Food-to-go will grow by 6.2% in the current year, but this is only inflation with real growth in 2025; food and drink is more steady and overall by 2028 will grow by a fifth in value.
Visit in 2025
At this point, we realise we’ve not yet talked about all the product launches at the various shows and the other innovations. But that is the beauty of this event pulling all the different sectors of our business together to share.
You may have missed the Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Show 2024 but next year’s shows are 17-19th March. So put them in your diary now to gain inspiration for many different aspects of your business
Published Date: 3rd April 2024
Category: Blog, Catering Business, Events, News, Rational
Tags: Catering business, Pubs, Restaurant, Show report
30 Aug |
Getting Catering Business Ready for the New ‘Old Normal’ |
The news for catering business is not great. Even the county daily e-newsletter is regularly reporting restaurant closures of established and new venues. Locally a celebrity chef forged ahead with the building changes for a new pub-restaurant; only to cancel the project on the point of opening. It’s now time for everyone to recognise that the last 10 years have been an aberration of low interest rates and high expectations. For the foreseeable future the old normal is back.
Bleak Catering News
Creed Food Services have produced an excellent report based on a survey of 150 UK Directors, General Managers, Assistant Manager and Chefs of hotels, restaurants and pubs. It’s called Plates to Profits.
The findings are stark:
- 86% of catering business surveyed said they’d close in next 3 years, if business costs did not reduce and they didn’t increase prices. Half said in a year!
- 23% did not consult their own wholesalers for cost saving advice. An own goal given the mutual benefits this brings.
- 43% are operating with fewer staff. Half have changed the menu to simpler dishes to respond to this.
- 39% are buying more pre/semi-prepared dishes while a similar percentage have reduced opening times or food availability on certain days
Customer behaviour has changed
Consumers face a long-term reduction in disposable income. Two thirds of customers have reduced the amount that they spend to eat out. But they will pay for good quality (86%) and pay more for such (75%) according to a Lumina study.
Plates to Profits respondents reported customers:
- Visit less regularly – 45%
- Reduce the number of courses they order – 43%
- Choose more affordable dishes and reduce the number of sides – 40%
- Not order tea/coffee at the meal end – 29%
- Not order alcohol, but chose soft drinks or water – 19%
- Book earlier timeslots or take advantage of early bird offers – 33%
- Choose food share options – 45%
The Economist, in July, published an interesting report through a collaboration with Visa internationally comparing catering customer habits pre and post pandemic in cities. While weekday lunches have held up, weekday evening events have dropped by almost 3%. Conversely Saturday and Sunday lunches have increased in popularity. Saturday afternoon is now the spending peak not Friday night.
Catering Business Action
Now is the time to take positive action to ensure survival and future growth in your catering business. Consider what your answers would be to the Creed questions or Economist/Lumina studies.
This will help your responses to the new old normal based on your data. Those insights will help you respond to the menu selection, staffing and cost challenges. Also consider what menu choices offer the biggest margins; and how you could do more on food waste by rethinking could happen such as vegetable peelings/trimmings and fruit as toppings or side dishes.
Plates to Profits offered 5 suggestions to consider:
- Maximise covers to streamline operations for peak time. Relook at your space inside and out and how it could be used.
- Charge for quality bread and butter. Consumers will pay for the quality and the unsold is easily turned into alternatives.
- Offer 2 or 3 course set menus. This reduces ingredients, streamlines mains and gives perceived value for money.
- Offer sharing experiences through encouraging sharing options. The faff of the second plate is offset by the responsiveness to customer cost saving need.
- Offer higher priced specials of mains, sides and desserts. Change frequently to reflect seasonality to manage costs, streamline menus and meet the proven desire for sustainability.
Like all catering businesses, A C Services is reviewing its operations to ensure it can flexibly meet the needs of its current and prospective clients in this changed economy. After all, following our success this year, we’re aiming to be crowned the best Service Partner for Rational in the UK again next year. This will only come by working sensibly together.
Published Date: 30th August 2023
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News
Tags: Catering business, Hotel, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant