Punch Taverns has embarked on a five-year plan to raise its food mix to 35% of total sales, writes Lesley Foottit.
It aims to achieve this by working with its tenants who either have yet to implement a food offer or who need help evolving an existing one.
Between 15% and 20% of the estate has yet to start a food offer and of those some will be unable to for reasons including an unwilling tenant or lack of space.
However, food accounted for 21.6% at the beginning of this year and is now at 23.8%, representing a growth of 3% a year. That equates to a growth of £30m a year to Punch’s partners.
The Goldsmiths Arms in Penge, south-east London, added food two years ago and currently takes £500 on food a week with drinks sales having been pushed up by 30% as a result of serving food. Following work to the front of the pub to make it more inviting Punch head of catering development Alan Todd expects it to “easily” make £1,000 a week.
“The exterior of a pub is so important,” he said. “It has got to look good and also look like they sell food. If I go into a pub and I have to ask whether they sell food — they’ve failed. It is all about signalling.”
The team has done more than 170 catering investments this year with 90% seeing an uplift in food sales — much more than the predicted 41%.
