Testing the waters
With sales constantly on the rise, Lucy Britner urges licensees to take their water offering as seriously as their wine
Water sales are on the up and H20 is now the fastest-growing area of the soft drinks market. According to recent Britvic research, the water market is now worth £75m, with sales up 28% in value and 24% in volume.
With dining in pubs on the up, licensees and customers are beginning to take a pub's water offer more seriously. Some top restaurants now have their own water sommeliers, with water menus designed to match various dishes.
This is probably a bit over-the-top for most pubs - but it speaks volumes about how seriously some operators are taking the potential of water. As Brakes product marketing manager Phil Smith says: "Bottled water has become a premium product that customers have come to expect in outlets everywhere."
From stocking glass bottles of premium brands, to filtering your own water or simply serving tap water, there is an option to suit every style of pub.
When it comes to offering bottled water,
customers don't appear to be shy of paying a premium.
Caroline Valenghi from the Star Inn at Harome, North Yorkshire, says that they give away tap water and sell bottled water in more or less equal proportions.
Olivia Guez from the New Inn at Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex agrees: "We place jugs of filtered water on dining tables and find that people stick to this and buy fizzy water if they want it."
Refreshment on tap
Contrary to popular belief, it's not illegal to charge for tap water, because there is still an element of service involved. But it certainly isn't something PubChef would recommend.
We ordered tap water in three pubs around the country and weren't charged for any of them - although the standard of presentation varied massively.
At Buckminster's Tollemache in Leicestershire, we were presented with a glass of iced water and later a jug of it was left on the table.
At Gordon Ramsay's Narrow Street pub and dining room, we were handed a tall glass of iced water with fresh lime.
At the Eagle in Brighton's North Laine district, we were invited to help ourselves from the jug on the bar.
To give their pubs a sense of individual identity, some licensees offer water in custom-labelled bottles. Company Water offers a label-printing service to enable pubs to brand their own water bottles with their logo and details.
Bottled water has become a premium product that customers have come to expect
It can also be a good idea to stock water brands that aren't readily available in supermarkets. Customers resent paying £2 for water they know they can buy for 49p in a local shop.
Abbey Well's Margaret Johnson says: "An establishment would not sell wine the customer can buy for less in the supermarket, as the experience is all about enjoying good quality out of home. The establishment can make better profit margins on water that is not sold in retail outlets as the customer will not have a preconceived idea of the retail price. Abbey Well water is not available in supermarkets."
Another great way to add interest is to stock water from your region. Pubs in Wales and Scotland have a vast array of brands to chose from, but there are also many English options such as Cotswold Spring, Stretton Hills (Shropshire), Yorkshire Spring, Abbey Well (Northumberland) and Pennine Valley. Visit www.food.gov.uk/enforcement for details.
Crystal-clear offer
If you'd like to serve more tap water but want to improve your offer, try a filtration system such as that used by London's Ritz.
EcoPure Waters marketing director Roger Haywood says: "Our on-site systems take water from the mains supply and filter it in a seven-stage purifying process. It is served chilled in still or sparkling form in re-usable glass bottles." For details of the systems, call 01692 651573.
When it comes to H20, we've been presented with everything from a gleaming wine glass to a grubby pint pot. If you offer tap water, preparing jugs or carafes with ice and slices of lemon and lime costs little but means a lot.
Drinks manufacturers such as Diageo have an esp (environment, service, products) programme to ensure drinks are served correctly.
There's every reason to apply this to water, to ensure you offer same level of care and service as you would devote to any other drink.
Brand activity
l Ty Nant natural mineral water will be the exclusive mineral water supplier to Gordon Ramsay's hit TV show, The F- Word, for the third series running. The new series starts on 8 May. The brand will also be the official mineral-water supplier to the Artois tennis
championships at London's Queen's Club in June. Visit www.tynant.com for a chance to win centre-court tickets.
l 3663's water brand Springbourne has redesigned its labels and bottle shapes and added different sized bottles to cater for a wider audience. The re-jig includes 750ml and 330ml glass bottles that resemble wine-bottle shapes. The new range will be available from the middle of May.
l Malvern water is now known as spring water, after unusual patterns of rainfall led to impurities that meant filtration and treatment equipment had to be used.
l Highland Spring will also now be called spring water after the company decided to take water from more than one source in Scotland's Ochil Hills. This will mean Highland Spring will be able to bottle an extra 100 million litres a year.
Growing water sales: the figures
Leading on-trade water sales is Strathmore, with £19m worth of sales - up 17% year-on-year.
Abbey Well achieved £8m in sales and Britvic's new entrants Pennine Spring and Robinsons Fruit Shoot H2O took £7m in sales during their first year. Highland Spring accounted for £6m of sales.
Who sells what
Star Inn, Harome,
West Yorkshire
Blue Keld 1ltr £2.50
New Inn, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex
Hildon 330ml £1.50; 750ml £3
Anchor & Hope, London SE1
Still: Hildon 750ml £1.50
Sparkling: Pedras 750ml £1.50
Empress of India,
London E9
Kingsdown 750ml £3.50
George & Dragon,
Speldhurst, Kent
San Pellegrino 250ml £1.80; 750ml £3.60
Tips on maximising water sales
l Your water offering should be prominent on all food and drink menus.
l Suggest water to customers as part of the ordering process.
l Give prominence to your water offering behind the bar.
l Water is best served chilled, so keep it stored in your chillers. But make sure you keep a display bottle behind the bar too.
l How much can be charged for water depends on the type of pub: if a pub offers a premium menu, the price of the water needs to reflect the menu offering.
Source: Margaret Johnson, Abbey Well
Pub trial
A food-led pub introduced Abbey Well Plus, a recent launch from Abbey Well natural mineral water drinks. The four flavours in the range were trialled for two weeks, with the following results:
Product info:
The PR: Consisting of 65% fruit juice blended with Abbey Well natural mineral water, the range is available in four flavours: appl and orange juice; apple and raspberry juice; apple juice and elderflower extract; and a blend of tropical juices. Supplied in 250ml PET bottles, the drinks contain no artificial preservatives, flavours, colours or sweeteners and no added sugar.
Visit www.abbey-well.co.uk for details.
Case price: £9.98 for a case of 24 x 250ml bottles
RRP: £1.40 to £1.80 per bottle
Contact: enquiries@abbey-well.co.uk or 01670 513113
Pub: Canal Inn, Wrantage, Taunton, Somerset
Website: www.thecanalinn.com
Pub background: Food-led pub. Location close to major routes to West Country means it benefits from both local
