Inventive Leisure, the Revolution bar operator, says it has grown its bottled and draught beer sales since overhauling the offer.
Bottled beer and cider sales have grown 12% since the introduction of a new range that combines “the best of the high street with the best of the independents”.
The bottled range has been increased from 12 to 30 with brands including Duval, Chimay and Quilmes.
Inventive said: “Having reviewed its original offering of 12 bottled beers and ciders, the business found that just one was in growth. Research was then conducted amongst Revolution customers and the independent market. The result was the introduction of a new bottled drinks range which is a mix of the best of the high street with the best of the independents.”
Sales of its draught beers have grown 3% after “more dramatic” change.
“All the beers were changed, with a move away from standard lagers into the world of craft beers, world beers and Pilsners. Customers have a choice of seven draught beers and three draught ciders across such iconic brands as Peroni, Estrella, Blue Moon and Staropramen.
“The service style has also changed with the bottled and draught range now served in branded glassware.”
Meanwhile, the wine list has doubled in size “whilst substantially increasing the quality of both entry level bottles and the premium range”.
“The objective was to create a product and pricing ladder which is accessible throughout the whole menu. Where traditionally in the industry customers have been used to having a restricted range by the glass with more expensive wines only available by the bottle, Revolution has completely changed this way of thinking by ensuring customers can enjoy the majority of the wine list by the glass.”
Online training modules have been introduced for all managers and team members to help improve their knowledge of the new range.
The changes follow Inventive’s £7m Evolution programme.
Myles Doran, director of drinks trading, said: “We reviewed what we were selling and then what we were doing under the Evolution programme and realised that our product offering simply didn’t suit the high-end environment we’d created under the programme - or indeed the target audience. Through research, we found that the range of drinks offered was not conducive to the consumer group we were targeting, so we set about creating a ‘best in class’ drinks proposition across all drinks categories.
“Our objective with the evolution of our bottled, draught and wine ranges was to spread and widen the appeal of our offering away from vodka cocktails which was historically our dominant wet product. It was also important for us to connect our drinks offering with food to create a complete occasion for our customers, which from early customer feedback we’ve achieved.”
