The pleasure of snacking

The following article is brought to you by Walkers Snack Foods.

How to cash in on the crisps & snacks opportunity by occasion.​

• Quiet drink / Socialising / Meeting friends​

The key to increasing the sales of crisps and snacks in your outlet across all occasions is visibility - "eye level is buy level". It is a widely recognised problem that back of bar space is limited, but it is vital that a proportion of this space is allocated to crisps and snacks in order to cash in on the incremental sales opportunity. There are a number of ways of increasing visibility of crisps and snacks in what is a very busy environment.

Clipstrips are a good way of displaying product without taking up too much space and point-of-sale around the pub will prompt customers to ask for crisps and snacks.

Research shows that consumers look for well-known brands that they can trust. Walkers is the number one food brand in the UK and eighty per cent of consumers would buy Walkers in pubs - that's four times as many consumers who would commit to buying other brands.+

Lunchtime​

This opportunity is all about offering customers a quick service. The average lunch break in the UK is only 27 minutes and is decreasing every year. It is predicted that by 2008 the average worker will have only five minutes to spare for lunch!++

People who go to the pub for lunch are going for pleasure, but it is not a very enjoyable experience if they are worried about when their food will turn up and having to rush to eat it. Licensees will soon lose trade to the local sandwich shop or convenience store if they aren't providing a speedy service.

How do crisps and snacks fit into the lunchtime occasion? Well, when it comes to lunchtime we are a nation of sandwich eaters - 65 per cent of workers choose sandwiches at lunchtime.++ Offering a meal deal which includes a sandwich, packet of crisps and a drink will make the lunchtime decision quick and easy for customers. It will also generate incremental sales of crisps and sandwiches for the licensee. Convenience stores running meal deals have experienced on average a 40 per cent increase in crisps and snacks sales, and a 10 per cent increase in sandwich sales.+++

Big night out​

This is all about enhancing the experience of customers by adding crisps and snacks to their evening. Making crisps visible is key, and offering a promotion that allows customers to buy a "round' of crisps with their drinks will also make this purchase easy. A good example of such a promotion would be to offer four pints and four packets of crisps for a price. Customers are then prompted to buy crisps with their drinks and the licensee enjoy the incremental profit that these additional sales bring.

Activity - watching football, playing pool...​

The key here is very similar to the big night out - making crisps and snacks visible and making it easy for customers to buy a "round". The big difference is that pubs are often very busy when sporting fixtures are being screened, and getting to the bar can be a difficult and unpleasant experience.

Anything which makes this easier for customers can have a positive impact on sales. For example, on big sporting occasions, it may be more appropriate to offer four bottles of beer and four packets of crisps for a price, as this is far easier to carry through a crowded bar back to your mates.

To make this even easier licensees could introduce bottle carriers to load the beer and crisps for customers to carry. It is even worth considering a table service during big sporting events. Not only will customers feel looked after, but the barstaff would be able to increase sales by asking "would you like crisps with that?".

*TNSFFP 1995-2002​** IRI 52 w/e 29.02.03​*** TNS Winter/Spring 02 ​+ Walkers consumer research ? March 2003​++ Eurest lunchtime report 2001​+++ Retailer EPoS data​

Why do people visit the pub?​

The reason people go to the pub is purely and simply for pleasure. They are looking to relax, enjoy themselves and have a good time. It is important that licensees are doing everything they can to ensure that the experience their customers have in an outlet is as pleasurable as possible. This is all about offering the right products but it is much more than that too. Good service, a clean and pleasant environment and creating the right atmosphere all play a large part in ensuring that pleasant experience.

The UK - a nation of snackers​

As a nation we love eating crisps and snacks. In fact we consume 30 million packs of crisps and snacks a day in the UK.* It is a £2.3bn market,* which has grown by five per cent over the last year.** All this means that by offering crisps and snacks to customers, licensees will be enhancing the enjoyment of their customers.

What's in it for the licensee?​

Over the past 12 months there has been a decline in the volume of alcohol sold in pubs. One way for licensees to increase revenue is to drive incremental purchases such as crisps and snacks. In order to do this it is vital to stock the correct range and ensure the product is visible to the customer. Regulars will come back time and time again if an environment is created where customers have a pleasurable experience.

But my pub focuses on selling food​

Sixty-three per cent of visits to the pub are for a drink so there is a huge opportunity to drive incremental sales of crisps and snacks to these customers. In actual fact pubs that focus on their food offering sell just as many salty snacks as drinks focused pubs.

For more advice on increasing visibility of crisps and snacks and to download point-of-sale material, please visit the new Walkers website www.walkers.co.uk/trade​