Menus grow and prices climb by 3.1%
On average, the price of a dish on operator menus is £6.97 plus 2.5% since February 2022. Prices at pubs and bars rose by 3.1%, while chain restaurants climbed by 2.2%.
Mains and sides are seeing the largest amount of inflation at 7.1% and 7.7% respectively. The average cost of a chain restaurant main has increased by £1.34 (12.10%) from February to April 2022 as operators focus increases on the most commonly purchased courses.
Lumina Intelligence senior insight manager Katherine Prowse said: “Price increases are being driven by food menus overall. Operators are passing price rises on as a result of the inflation surrounding food costs from the war in Ukraine, spike in cost of fuel and supply shortages.
Rising drink prices
Furthermore, the price of alcoholic drinks in pubs and bars rose by 2.4% from February to April 2022, with drinks prices across the board rising by 1.9%.
Increases are currently focused on the non-alcoholic drinks category, with operators making the most of seasonal events like Easter by launching more expensive drink ranges.
Prowse added: “With inflation expected to continue to rise, operators face a significant challenge around managing costs and attracting footfall, as consumers monitor their expenses as the cost of living continues to increase. Using our data, we will keeping a very close eye on this trend.”
More on your plate
What’s more, menus across pubs and bars, restaurants, quick service restaurants and sandwich & coffee shops have an average of 132 food and drink items, up 1.8% from February to April 2022.
Pubs and bars have the largest offering across both food and drink menus (219 items on average), with large offerings of spirits, wines and burgers, up 1.4% versus February 2022.
Growth is being driven by drinks, as operators expand ranges to tempt consumers into purchasing drinks to boost average spend. Pubs and bars have on average 127 drink items on menus, up 0.8% from February to April 2022.
