Rufus Hall, the chief executive of the 299-strong Orchid Pub Company, told the UK Pub Retail Summit that its food offer inspired by “peasant food” - pizza and Asian food - has the highest GPs in the company.
Orchid has 20 or so Bar Room Bar sites focused on pizza and a host of Dragons pubs that combine the traditional Briish pub with Thai and Asian food offering.
Hall said: “The highest GPs in the estate are inspired by peasant food. Food turnover as a percentage of total turnover has risen to 43% compared from 28% when the company was founded in 2006.
“It’s got great feedback from consumers, and we call it peasant food because a Thai curry will contain a small amount of meat with lots of vegetables served with rice, it doesn’t cost a lot.
“Food inflation is here to stay, the price of serving steak and chips or fish and chips is rising, so peasant food works well for us.”
He claimed Vietnamese street food restaurant Pho as a key example because it generates an 80% GP out of peasant food and fresh produce.
Hall also noted the importance of provenance and healthy eating. “People are eating better and there’s a trend towards fresh and healthy food,” he said.
He encouraged delegates to take a look outside of the sector to supermarket Morrisons as inspiration because it focuses on selling good quality British food and has fully-trained butchers and fish mongers.
