The survey, undertaken by Freedrinks with HIM! and seen exclusively by The Publican’s Morning Advertiser, questioned 100 licensees last month.
“It concerns me the number of pub and restaurants I go into and how easily I can just get a tap water without anyone recommending anything else to me. That is a lost sale,” said Freedrinks MD, Martin Hall.
Just over 250 consumers were also questioned as part of the research, and half of them said they “would never” pay for water in a pub, while 68% said they felt bottled water was too expensive.
Of those questioned, 59% said cheaper prices would encourage them to switch from tap water to soft drinks in pubs and 51% said free refills would.
Lower calorie, less sweet and more natural soft drinks also scored well.
Alternatives
“Given that one in four drinks sold in the on-trade are soft drinks and more people are reducing their alcohol consumption, licensees can increase revenues and increase dwell time by promoting natural low sugar alternatives to tap water,” said Hall.
“When I say promote, I mean train staff to offer alternatives, to proactively suggest them when drinkers are looking at the bar or wondering what to have at the table and not just put it in the fridge and hope the consumer will eventually ask for it,” he added.
The survey results suggested that consumers wanted more adult style soft drinks; a wider choice of brands, more natural drinks and more low sugar options in pubs.
Freedrinks launched Zeo, a new soft drink earlier this year and a £4.2m ad campaign in June.