Premiumisation and value key to pubs that serve food

This is the advice from foodservice supplier to the on-trade Bidfood, which has released its latest Pub Kitchen Club guide called Unleashing Your Menu’s Potential​.

Bidfood, which offers a range of more than 250 wines, beers, ciders and spirits, claimed over 600 pubs permanently shut their doors in 2023, resulting in a 10.4% drop in sites since March 2020, meaning as well as having to operate in a tricky market, still recovering from the pandemic, pubs must adapt constantly to meet the ever-changing demands they face from consumers.

Competitive socialising​

Additionally, as competitive socialising becomes more prevalent in the UK on-trade landscape, the guide has new content on using the gaming concept to your advantage and expert advice from Publican Awards 2023 category winner Brewhouse & Kitchen​.

It also features detailed insight and advice from Bidfood’s Culinary Development Chefs and provides tips on how to leverage the premiumisation trend plus the small tweaks and special touches that can make your pub stand out from the crowd. 

Tapping into the latest food and drink trends, the guide shares ideas on engineering a more profitable menu, product recommendations and a bank of recipes. It also features the latest insight and research, revealing how operators can develop and adapt their offering in line with the evolving industry. 

Something new to the table​

Joe Angliss, head of customer marketing at Bidfood, which also sells catering equipment for pubs, said: “Entering into the new year, we know pubs will be thinking about how they can bring something new to the table for their customers. It’s one of the reasons why the Pub Kitchen Club has been revamped in line with this launch, to inspire our customers.

“We’ve seen a big growth in competitive socialising over the past year and that’s why we have put together insight and advice on how to take advantage of what is a great opportunity. The fantastic input from Brewhouse & Kitchen provides an additional layer of support and insight for our customers. So whether you're a pub manager, owner or chef, you have access to support from people working in the same sector.

“It’s devastating to see how many pubs are closing every year. We hope the launch of Unleashing Your Menu’s Potential​​ will inspire pub operators and arm them with the tools they need to increase footfall and ultimately, margin, to help better secure their future.”