Powered by e-commerce business StarStock, mypubshop.com is offering food shop start-up kits equipping pubs to trade as food shops and provide access to essential items such as breach, milk and eggs via a click-and-collect service.
The platform – launched in partnership with Brakes, Coca-Cola European Partners and Use Your Local – will enable publicans to host a tailored-made online shop, provide an online payment service, and operate a collection service from their site.
Open to pubs across the UK, mypubshop has already won the support of Cornish pub operator and brewer St Austell, which is making the service available across its 170-site stable; community pub operartor Admiral Taverns, which will make mypubshop available to around 1,000 sites; as well as Greene King Pub Partners, which operates a tenanted and leased estate of more than 1,000 pubs.
What’s more, more than 15,000 pubs, regularly supplied by scheme partner Brakes, will have access to the nascent scheme.
Pubs going above and beyond
“We are doing everything we can to support our pub operators through this extremely challenging period, and partnering with StarStock to give our licensees the opportunity to introduce the mypubshop concept was a no-brainer,” Admiral’s CEO Chris Jowsey said.
“Our pubs sit at the heart of their communities, so we’re expecting a good take-up of this service so that many of them can act as essential goods stations and support people as best they can.”
As reported by The Morning Advertiser, Bury St Edmonds-based brewer and pub operator Greene King launched a takeaway service on 20 March, initially across 50 venues from its core estate and Hungry Horse brand but with the intention to increase to 500 during the coming weeks.
“Publicans care deeply about their communities and, in this current crisis, it has been uplifting to hear time and time again about pubs going above and beyond to give so much back to their neighbours and friends,” Greene King Pub Partners managing director Wayne Shurvinton added.
“We have been working around the clock to offer support to our partners, and now teaming up with StarStock to introduce mypubshop gives our publicans who had maybe wanted to help – but weren’t sure how – the tools to step forward to help their communities.
“We couldn’t be more proud to support this excellent initiative.”
Vital way for pubs to stay connected
While each transaction made through a participating pub will accrue a 2% fee to cover operational costs, mypubshop is being run as a non-profit business with any surplus revenue to be donated to the NHS.
“We are all aware of what is happening around us and, in these exceptional times, this is a vital way for pubs to stay connected, offer an essential service and to secure an income stream during a period when they are unable to trade in their normal way. It will also help to alleviate the pressure on other grocery shops and the supermarkets,” StarStock’s founder and CEO explained.
“This initiative is much more than an online pub service. It’s entirely focused on helping communities and we hope that it will drive positivity for pubs and champion the people that run them as the local heroes they are.”