Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
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- Figure 1: Pub catering market size and forecast, 2009-19
- Forecast
- Market factors
- Increase in real income should benefit pub catering
- Threat from casual dining and coffee chains
- Pubs face rising and declining costs
- Companies, brands and innovation
- Greene King swoops to buy Spirit Pub Company
- There’s a Beer for That campaign focuses on food
- Operators continue to push into reward and loyalty cards
- Whitbread strikes a number of character licensing deals
- Operators explore seafood and rotisserie for points of difference
- The consumer
- Pubs are used for drinking in more frequently than for eating in
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- Figure 2: Frequency of visiting a pub/bar for a drink or to eat in, March 2015
- The proportion of those eating in pubs once a fortnight or more falls
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- Figure 3: Frequency of visiting a pub/bar for a meal, 2010 and 2012-15
- Just one in four pub/bar users order hot drinks
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- Figure 4: What consumers do at pubs, March 2015
- Just 37% see pubs as good for a special meal
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- Figure 5: Attitudes towards pub catering, March 2015
- Strong interest in homemade dishes
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- Figure 6: Pub menu enticements, March 2015
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- More work required by pubs to woo hot drinks users
- The facts
- The implications
- Operators must make pubs feel more special to benefit from rising real incomes
- The facts
- The implications
- Food festivals/themed evenings offer a way to boost frequency
- The facts
- The implications
Trend Application
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- Locavore
- Let’s Make a Deal
- Minimize Me
Market Drivers
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- Key points
- Fewer consumers spending extra money on dining out
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- Figure 7: Trends in share of consumers who choose to spend their extra* money on dining out, November 2009-March 2015
- The rising minimum wage
- New allergen regulations introduced
- Campaign for reduction in VAT on pub food
- Falling price of crude oil should take pressure off margins
- Declining alcohol consumption means food must work harder for operators
- Government changes to business rates administration are looming
- Expansion of casual dining concepts and coffee shops increases the competition for pubs
Strengths and Weaknesses
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- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Who’s Innovating?
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- Key points
- Whitbread gets behind character licensing
- Pubs champion rotisserie
- Selected operators forge associations with seafood
- Pubs offer ‘food-on-the-go’ food to commuters
- KP Snacks pushes O’Donnells hand-cooked crisps to UK pubs
- Jimmy’s Products launches bar-top Tabasco-branded popcorn warmer
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- Food’s share of total pub sales is expected to continue growing
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- Figure 8: Pub catering market size and forecast, 2009-19
- Pubs face a threat from the expansion of ethnic restaurants and casual dining venues
- Pubs face a new threat from coffee shops
- Value growth likely to be tempered by slower inflation going forward
- Forecast
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- Figure 9: Pub catering market size and forecast, 2009-19
- Forecast methodology
Market Share
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- Key points
- Enterprise Inns dominates the market
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- Figure 10: Selected leading pub operators, by outlet numbers, 2012-15
- Greene King swoops for Spirit Pub Company
- Enterprise decelerates rate of property disposals
- Mitchells & Butlers makes outlet gains through Orchid acquisition
- JD Wetherspoon seeks market share in the Republic of Ireland
- And also gives a push to breakfasts…
- Smaller operators boost size
Companies and Products
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- Greene King
- Recent activity
- Financial data
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- Figure 11: Key financial data for Greene King Plc, 2010-14
- Figure 12: Revenue, by segment, for Greene King Plc, 2012-14
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu developments
- JD Wetherspoon
- Recent activity
- Financial data
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- Figure 13: Key financial data for JD Wetherspoon PLC, 2010-14
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu developments
- Mitchells & Butlers (M&B)
- Recent activity
- Financial developments
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- Figure 14: Key financial data for Mitchells and Butlers Plc, 2010-14
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu developments
- Spirit Pub Company
- Recent activity
- Financial data
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- Figure 15: Key financial data for Spirit Pub Company, 2010-14
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- Figure 16: Spirit Pub Company revenue, by segment, 2012-14
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu developments
- Stonegate Pub Company
- Recent activity
- Financial data
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- Figure 17: Key financial data for Stonegate Pub Company, 2011-13
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu developments
- Whitbread
- Recent activity
- Financial activity
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- Figure 18: Key financial data for Whitbread Plc, 2010-15
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
- Menu developments
- Geronimo Inns
- Financial activity
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- Figure 19: Key financial data for Geronimo Inns, 2010-14
- Recent activity
- Recent marketing, promotions and media
Brand Communication and Promotion
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- Key points
- Above-the-line advertising spend falls across selected biggest operators
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- Figure 20: Above-the-line expenditure of selected operators in the pub market, by 2014 expenditure, 2011-15*
- Generic industry campaign promotes beer and food pairing
- Mitchells & Butlers pulls back from short-term promotions
- Harvester emphasises communal nature of sharing a meal
- Toby Carvery goes for old-fashioned approach with Father’s Day offer
- Pub operators look to woo diners with reward/loyalty and gift cards
- Mitchells & Butlers hugely extends availability of its Dining Out gift card
- Fayre & Square launches digi-reward card
- Stonegate launches a loyalty card
Brand Research
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- What you need to know
- Brand map
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- Figure 21: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, February 2015
- Key brand metrics-
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- Figure 22: Key metrics for selected brands, February 2015
- Brand attitudes
- JD Wetherspoon has strong value image
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- Figure 23: Attitudes, by brand, February 2015
- Brand personality
- Brewers Fayre could benefit from some refreshment
- All Bar One has a particularly trendy image
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- Figure 25: Brand personality – Micro image, February 2015
- Brand analysis
- Vintage Inns benefits from attributes that denote quality
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- Figure 26: User profile of Vintage Inns, February 2015
- JD Wetherspoon’s value and wide availability fosters familiarity and usage
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- Figure 27: User profile of JD Wetherspoon, February 2015
- All Bar One enjoys a cool and trendy image
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- Figure 28: User profile of All Bar One, February 2015
- Brewers Fayre focuses on value and families
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- Figure 29: User profile of Brewers Fayre, February 2015
- Hungry Horse has similar overall image to Brewers Fayre
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- Figure 30: User profile of Hungry Horse, February 2015
- Chef & Brewer struggles to define itself
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- Figure 31: User profile of Chef & Brewer, February 2015
The Consumer – Frequency of Visiting a Pub/Bar to Drink or to Eat in
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- Key points
- Pubs are used for drinking in more frequently than for eating in
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- Figure 32: Frequency of visiting a pub/bar for a drink or to eat in, March 2015
- Pub food is becoming an increasingly important part of the sales mix
- The proportion of those eating in pubs once a fortnight or more falls
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- Figure 33: Frequency of visiting a pub/bar for a meal, 2010 and 2012-15
- Being more child-friendly should encourage food sales
- Men are the heaviest users of pubs to eat in
- Encouraging more frequent usage by women
The Consumer – What Consumers Do at Pubs
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- Key points
- Improving the hot drink offer should encourage greater uptake
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- Figure 34: What consumers do at pubs, March 2015
- Only one in four users sees the quality of hot drinks in pubs as poor
- New hot drinks concepts offer better quality with minimal cost/hassle for operators
- Operators seek to grow weekend eating through brunch/breakfast
- …whilst also encouraging mid-week dining occasions
- Just 5% use pubs/bars as a place to work/study
- Fewer than one in ten users asks staff for food/drink recommendations
The Consumer – Attitudes towards Pubs/Bars
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- Key points
- Just 37% see pubs as good for a special meal
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- Figure 35: Attitudes towards pub catering, March 2015
- Special occasions can help to build frequency amongst families
- Pub/coffee shop hybrids interest a third of pub/bar users
- A trio of small dishes would interest one in four as a main course
- One in five interested in eating game in a pub
- One in five pub/bar users think unusual serving vessels make meals feel more special
The Consumer – Menu Enticements
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- Key points
- Strong interest in homemade dishes
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- Figure 36: Pub menu enticements, March 2015
- Locally sourced ingredients garner higher interest than seasonal or organic
- Seasonal produce
- Riverford Organic establishes residence in UK’s only certified organic pub
- ‘Chef’s Signature’ dishes allow the chef to connect with the diner
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 37: Best and worst-case forecasts for the UK pub catering market, by value, 2014-19
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