Think like a true retailer

Fact: soft drinks actually outsell other drinks at mealtimes in pubs. Surely not? How can that be right? How can a drinks category so unsuited to food (surely soft drinks are all about refreshment?) be such an integral part of the pub food experience?

But, according to a study carried out by market researcher Crest and drinks giant Coca-Cola, soft drinks do account for more sales than any other drinks category at lunchtimes (11am to 2pm) in pubs, with more than 31 per cent of sales.

Perhaps this statistic is understandable given working habits and drink driving issues. But more surprisingly it is also true for drinks sales during dinner hours (5pm to 8pm), with soft drinks accounting for 35.5 per cent of sales. This outstrips beer and cider at 28.4 per cent and wine at 18.9 per cent.

In overall terms pub food occasions contribute 46 per cent of the soft drinks category's overall value and this is a figure that has grown by 10 per cent over the last two years.

So as pub retailers, matching your soft drinks offer with mealtimes is an obvious route to pursue. But as always in the world of retail things are evolving. There are also other opportunities and times of the day available for you to take advantage of with soft drinks.

What about new opportunities?

Healthier options

If there is a buzz phrase in soft drinks right now it is "healthy options". There is a real sign of a move towards healthier drinks you can see in the number of new players entering the juice market in the on-trade, such as PepsiCo-owned Tropicana, a big player in the grocery market.

Another big name gunning for the pub market is the man from Del Monte. And he's saying "yes" when it comes to pubs and healthier soft drinks. "The total soft drinks market shows a decline in fruit and non-fruit carbonates as well as lemonade. Consumers are stepping away from carbonates and demanding healthier drinks to quench their thirst, which is driving the popularity of the chilled juice and drinks category," says James Mills, Del Monte foodservice director.

"Operators wanting to fully maximise their offering and increase sales should respond to these trends to keep them one step ahead of their competitors."

Smaller players are also looking at the market now. For example, the top-selling freshly-squeezed brand Johnson's Juice has launched into the on-trade where brand manager Daniel Gough says the current choice of healthy juices is far too limited.

"Retail and leisure outlets have been quick to respond to rapidly growing consumer demand for healthier, better quality drinks, leading to incremental sales.

"In contrast, many licensees are losing out on a significant profit opportunity by not making healthier soft drinks readily available to their customers," he says. "Johnson's is a superior quality juice that's full of natural goodness and tastes every bit as good as home-squeezed juice."

New times of day

Mid-morning

The Licensing Act is hardly a topic that has been ignored or under-analysed. And yet while many commentators and industry experts have talked about the opportunities surrounding longer opening hours for alcohol and food sales, few have mentioned the new potential for soft drinks.

When longer opening hours were first mentioned no doubt the first thing that occurred to most people was how much more booze they could drink. However, despite the Daily Mail's pathetic attempts to make people believe otherwise, longer hours have simply not resulted in a large increase in alcohol drinking. In fact, what extended hours have done and will continue to do is open up other opportunities. But are pubs taking advantage of this?

For example, why are more pubs not trying to exploit the early to mid-morning opportunity? If you are based in town and city centres there are plenty of people in business looking to have meetings. How many will choose a Costa or Starbucks over a pub? A large majority, simply because they associate the pub with alcohol and smoke.

"You need to try and create an environment where you don't have to drink alcohol. This is so important because there are pubs out there that can make people uncomfortable if they don't drink alcohol," says Andrew Marsden, category director at Britvic soft drinks. "You have to create the right atmosphere and ambience."

The coffee and soft drinks offer in the high street coffee chains is always assumed to be better, so licensees have to go out of their way to prove otherwise to customers, making their pubs welcoming to shoppers going out for coffee or people looking to have business meetings.

James Mills at Del Monte says: "With earlier opening times, publicans can encourage their daytime trade by offering a range of hot and cold beverages and a choice of quality brands that consumers recognise and trust. Fruit juice is an ideal accompaniment to tea or coffee as part of any breakfast or mid-morning offering."The hour before closing

The most common change in licensing hours for pubs at the end of last year was moving closing time on by one or two hours, to midnight or 1am. This has meant that customers in many pubs are no longer pressured into lining up alcoholic drinks before the 11pm cut-off point and allows them to drift off in smaller groups, thus lessening the pressure on taxi ranks and takeaways.

Britvic suggests licensees capitalise further on this opportunity by promoting soft drinks, juices, colas, teas and coffees during a "cooling down hour" at the end of the session. "One of the initiatives we are trying to support is the idea of introducing a 'cooling down hour'," confirms Andrew Marsden.

"This will mean more women and couples come to the pub and this will increase sales, footfall and will increase empathy from the police and local councillors. A lot of people are looking at this and, to be honest, it's a no-brainer."

Think beyond the pub down the road

The key is to think like a retailer. Look at your competitors - they are not the pub down the road. You are up against the Starbucks or Costa opposite your pub, or the local cafés. They are the people stealing your customers and your revenue. Everyone is out to get consumers' money and only the smartest survive.

As Andrew Marsden puts it: "All a pub is really is a space, and the mindset you have to get into is how best do you fill that space? A licensee shouldn't mind what he or she sells, just so long as it sells.

"Look at supermarkets and high street retailers. People need to be much more open in their attitudes. Pubs are spaces that attract lots of costs. Therefore you need to increase throughputs to meet these costs."