BENEFITS OF MATCHING FOOD WITH DRINKS

When dining out, food is usually the main attraction, but giving your drinks equal importance by carefully matching them to your food can help you increase sales while also distinguishing your establishment from others. You can give your staff the tools to form the best upselling opportunities by expanding your drinks menu and investing in some staff training. We’ve done some research into what guests want in terms of food and drink pairings. Are you willing to reconsider your product?

Upselling
Upselling should not be a difficult sale. Guests will almost always order a drink with their meal, so suggesting a drink to go with their dish of choice will feel natural to them. Don’t forget desserts. When it involves quantity, 56% of guests consume just 2 drinks throughout their meal when eating at an off-the-cuff dining restaurant – perhaps because the same old tea and occasional offering don’t entice today’s guests? Today’s consumers, searching for unique experiences, can obtain a matcha tea leaf frappuccino in their local cafe, so are they really visiting to spend on a filter coffee? Possibly not.

Team training
84% of guests think it’s important or vital that staff have good knowledge of their drinks menu. Your team is the face of your business, so if they don’t know your food and drinks menu inside out, this will be an ungainly experience for both the guest and also the team member. 96% of guests say that effectively trained staff can even have an effect on what they spend when eating out, and knowledge of the menu is one of the clearest indicators that staff are well-trained. Pairing food with drinks may be a good way to showcase this, so it’s essential to take a position within the training of your team.

Premium Drinks
71% of guests are very likely or quite likely to buy a premium drug of abuse, and 47% are very likely or quite likely to get a premium non-alcoholic beverage, so going premium could be a no-brainer. But the way to promote premium? Guests are far more likely to get a high-end drink if it’s been carefully paired with their food, instead of selecting it from the bar.

Promoting soft drinks
According to the Office for National Statistics, last year, only 57.8% of adults had consumed alcohol the week before questioning. As a result, the nation’s thirst for soft drinks continues to grow, so it might be wise for operators to expand their selection. Our research shows that 59% of guests would actually have an interest in trying a restaurant’s homemade portable – providing venues with a chance to square out from the gang.

When it involves pubs, 80% of guests feel that low sugar/sugar-free drinks are poorly promoted. With sugar consumption becoming an increasing concern, 78% of guests think it’s important or vital that sugar and calorie information is displayed on soft drinks – something in-tuned in mind when it involves promotion.

Handcrafted drinks
Our research shows that 68% of guests prefer to try new drink options, and profitable thanks to up your offering is by creating your own handcrafted drinks. We already know that 59% of our guests would have an interest in trying a restaurant’s own drinkable, and in step with Datassential, ‘homemade’ beverages have increased by 46% since 2012. A good thanks to launching new beverages that guests might not think to undertake is by promoting them with food pairing offers, this really is a wonderful thanks to provide a private and unique guest experience.