Restaurants making the most of coffee
Pubs continue to lag behind restaurants in terms of their coffee offer, with ten times as many people preferring to drink coffee in a restaurant rather than a pub.
New research from specialist guest experience firm Hospitality GEM claims consumers also prefer the coffee service in restaurants to the service in dedicated coffee shops such as Starbucks and Costa.
A significant majority of respondents, 86%, said service was important when buying coffee, as well as the desire to spend time in the venue.
Restaurants were rated as the venues consumers preferred to spend time drinking coffee in, with only 1% saying they received the best service in a pub when they bought coffee, and only 2% saying they purchase their coffee most often in pubs.
However, two thirds of respondents said they expected good quality coffee to be available in a pub.
Price was also an important consideration, with 61% of respondents saying they were only prepared to pay between £1 and £2 for a regular Americano coffee.
Hospitality GEM managing director, Steven Pike, said the research showed there is “a real opportunity” for pubs to grow their share of the UK’s coffee market, provided they can create a more relaxed experience than is available in coffee shops.
Marketing the coffee offer available was also crucial, he said.
“It’s well worth landlords and other operators evaluating their offering (by which we mean the whole experience rather than just the product) to check it’s the best it can be, and considering their audience,” said Pike.
“Our research showed that a personal and welcoming service has a greater influence over women than men, and they’re more likely to drink in too; so when designing a coffee-drinking environment, seeing it through their eyes might give you a clearer picture.”
