Drinks suppliers on the smoking ban

It is not an exaggeration to call the smoking ban the biggest and most significant piece of legislation to hit the pub trade since the Beer Orders.

Yet ask suppliers across the industry their views on how it has impacted on trade and the response is really quite inexact.

Undoubtedly, the impact of the smoking ban is difficult to assess as so many factors cloud the issue, particularly weather and the impact of changing social trends.

But it would be less difficult to decipher if there were more data available - have brand owners simply not been tracking performance since July 1 last year? You would think not, so little clear statistical information is available.

As one industry insider put it to me, "maybe they don't want to know". But suppliers should want to know - they are the people responsible for bringing innovation to retailers and pub companies. They are the people that can try to drive growth back into the trade. Let's hope if we ask the same people in another 12 months, responses are more revealing.

However, what we have gives a fascinating insight into drinking trends in the on-trade. Unquestionably lager has suffered - something backed by research undertaken by Pernod Ricard.

The research suggests opportunities exist in other sectors of the drinks market. But the performance of cask ale proves that all is not lost for beer.

Coca-Cola Enterprises​

Paul Grace, head of on-premise​

"There has been a general impression that since the smoking ban, there has been a change in the type of visitor coming to the on-trade, with more frequent family visits. There is a big opportunity within this for licensees, particularly in relation to soft drinks.

"Our research shows a growing number of on-trade drinkers believe people should not be allowed to smoke in pubs and bars. Growth in on-trade soft drink sales is expected to continue as a result of the smoking ban, as pubs increase their food-led offer and consequently extend soft drinks ranges."

Coors ​

Paul Hegarty, director of communications ​

"The on-trade is facing unprecedented pressure - last year's terrible weather, the credit crunch and the smoking ban. Politically, no party would want to be seen to support smoking, so it is very unlikely the ban will be reversed. The government needs to find creative ways to relieve the pressure on Britain's pubs. One suggestion is a lower rate of duty on draught beers."

Fuller's Beer Company​

John Roberts, managing director ​

"I think that it is near-impossible to isolate the smoking ban from the other factors that have affected the trade during the past year. The credit crunch, poor weather, football, off-trade prices and duty rises have all had an impact.

"Lager sales appear to have been hardest hit, and the people re-discovering pubs following the ban (who perhaps were put off previously by smoke) tend to be more discerning and more likely to drink cask beer and eat in those pubs.

"From Fuller's perspective, it's good news and cask ale grew its share of draught beer in pubs. Premium cask ale grew volume driven by well-supported, quality brands such as London Pride, which had another great year."

"I would say, subjectively, that the ban has played a big role in this success for cask. But so too has the generally improved quality of cask beer, driven by the larger regional brewers' investment in cellars, beer dispense, training, brand support and glassware."

Wells & Young's ​

Nigel McNally, managing director ​

"The smoking ban was, of course, inevitable. But what the best pubs did was plan for it with good quality smoking shelters. Charles Wells Pub Company, for example, invested over £1.25m in smoking shelters and provided marketing advice and support to make sure the transition ran as smoothly as possible for their tenants. With regards to the resurgence of cask ale, it's hard to put the reasoning down to one factor such as smoking. But with consumers wanting more from their pub experience, they are looking for something they can't get at home, and cask ale is unique to the on-trade. A cask ale drinker will continue to visit pubs because they simply can't get the real thing at home.

"Plus, cask ale plays on all the senses. With no smoke in pubs, it means that the rich, full flavours and subtleties on the nose of cask ale can be much better appreciated, which further adds to the enjoyment of the pint.

"I am absolutely confident that cask ale will continue to thrive - with or without a smoking ban."

Percy Fox ​

Jon Luke, on-trade director​

"The nationwide smoking ban has accelerated the existing trend of footfall decline in the on-trade, with the fourth-quarter decline worse than previous quarters. But while [market research programme] AlcoVision is showing a decline in visiting among non-smokers, the decline cannot be blamed solely on the ban. The key group claiming to have changed their behaviour the most since the smoking ban is the 50-plus male lager drinker. This group accounts for a huge amount of lager volume, hence the performance of beer in the on-trade. My take is therefore that beer alone is not the answer to growth.

"We see the opportunity in groups that are expanding post the smoking ban. Women aged 18 to 35 are increasingly important to the on-trade, with visiting holding up better than for older groups. Overall, female share of occasions has increased to 37.4 per cent and they are also driving growth in food occasions. We detect from our research that on-trade-specific occasions involving appropriate brands are necessary to capitalise on this opportunity."

Pernod Ricard​

Dan Reuby, customer development director ​

"Pernod Ricard UK has commissioned some bespoke, smoking-ban focused research, through AlcoVision (January - March 2008). We have identified trends that are being driven by longer-term issues facing the on-trade, rather than the smoking ban alone.

• Consumers are claiming they will continue to visit the on-trade as regularly as they did before the ban, or more.

"The analysis shows there are roughly 1.75 million fewer on-trade visits per week versus the previous quarter last year. However, according to HIM! On Track 2007 research 73 per cent of non-smokers claim they will continue to visit the on-trade as frequently as they did before the smoking ban, and 20 per cent claim they will visit more.

"This suggests that on-trade visit declines are likely being driven by economic pressures as well as home cooking, DIY, home technology/entertainment trends and poor weather, rather than simply the smoking ban in isolation. Additionally, although the research showed the average number of alcoholic beverages served per occasion is also slightly down (driven by the fall in the number of beer-drinking smokers), spirits are showing the highest number of serves per occasion among smokers."

• Traditional pubs are enjoying the largest share of on-trade visits from both smokers and non-smokers.

"The survey suggests that the number of smokers visiting traditional pubs has not declined dramatically and that these outlets have also been particularly successful at increasing the number of non-smokers who were initially attracted following the ban. To prolong this success, they should continue to focus on what they are good at; they may want to consider offering a simple selection of food versus gastro options that may not fare as well among regulars.

"Any reported trends or declines are not being driven by the smoking ban alone. Smokers typically visit the on-trade most frequently and consume the highest average number of alcoholic beverages per occasion, so remain a very important consumer group. However, pubs must not stop at simply providing comfortable smoking areas. They should also examine if they are doing enough t