Greene King Magazine Issue 4 - May-Jun 2023

BEERS, LAGERS & CIDERS

Deal 1 Greene King & Belhaven 3+1 Packaged Deal p5

Buy any 3 cases from our bottled range and get 1 case FREE.

Deal 2 Rekorderlig 5+1 Deal p6

Buy 5 cases of 15 x 500 ml Rekorderlig and get 1 case free.

Deal 3 Kopparberg Strawberry & Lime Install Deal p8

Install Kopparberg Strawberry & Lime and get a free 30L keg.

Deal 4 Kopparberg Packaged POS Deal p8

Buy any 4 cases of Kopparberg 15x500ml and receive a free ice bucket POS pack.

Deal 5 Wolfpack Install Deal p10

Free 50L keg and POS kit worth £150 with every install of Wolfpack Sesh IPA, Pilsner or Lager.

Deal 6 Estrella Galicia Install Deal p12

Free 50L keg and branded glassware when you install Estrella Galicia.

Deal 7 Estrella Galicia Packaged Deal p12

Buy 2 cases of Estrella Galicia 4.7% or Gluten Free 5.5% 330ml and get a free case of 24 x Estrella Galicia 0.0% 330ml.

Deal 8 Belhaven Black / 80 Shilling Install Deal p14

Install Belhaven Black or Belhaven 80 Shilling and get a free keg and POS kit.

Deal 10 Aspall Weekend Away Competition Deal p18

Order 3 x 11G kegs of Aspall 4.5% Draught for a chance to win a £500 voucher for a weekend away.

Deal 13 Level Head / Flint Eye Install Deal p22

Install Level Head or Flint Eye and get 2 free kegs and a premium POS kit.

Deal 14 Ice Breaker POS Deal p26

Buy 3 x 30L or 2 x 50L kegs and get 12 x 4-Pint Pitchers and 2 x Mini Chalkboards free.

Deal 15 Ice Breaker / East Coast IPA Install Deal p30

Install a Greene King craft keg ale and get a free keg and POS kit.

Deal 20 Belhaven Best Install Deal p46

Install Belhaven Best and get 2 free kegs, glassware and a POS kit.

Deal 24 Greene King IPA / Old Speckled Hen / Abbot 2 Parasols Deal p52

Buy any 2 x 9G kegs and get 2 free branded parasols.

Deal 25 Greene King IPA / Old Speckled Hen / Abbot 5 Parasols Deal p52

Buy any 4 x 9G kegs and get 5 free branded parasols.

Deal 29 Fosters Install Support Kit Deal p62

Free POS kits with every install and purchase of 2 kegsworth £400.

Deal 31 Thatchers Fusion Install POS p64

Install Thatchers Fusion and get free POS kit and geotargeted social media support to drive footfall.

Deal 32 Guinness Free 0.0% Deal p66

Buy 4 x 50L Guinness and get a case of Guinness 0.0% free.

Deal 39 Greene King 5+1 Cask Deal p74

Buy any 5x 9G casks from Greene King’s own Permanent or Seasonal ranges and get a 6th cask free.

Deal 40 Greene King 5+1 Keg Deal p76

Buy any 5 x kegs from Greene King’s own range and get a 6th keg free.

FOR ALL ORDERS PLEASE CONTACT OUR CUSTOMER SALES ON: 0345 600 1799

SPIRITS

Deal 11 Jack Daniel’s & Coke Zero POS Deal p20

Buy any 3 of the Jack Daniel’s range (Tennessee Whiskey, Apple, Fire, Honey - one must be a flavour) and 1 case of 24 x 330ml Coca-Cola Zero Bottles and get a free POS kit.

Deal 12 Slane Irish Whiskey POS Deal p20

Buy 2 x Slane Irish Whiskey 70CL and get free glassware.

Deal 16 Bacardi x Funkin Rum & Pina Colada Deal p34

Buy 1 bottle of Bacardi Spiced and 1 bottle of Bacardi Coconut and get 2 Funkin Pina Colada Premix free.

Deal 18 Havana Coke Zero Deal p40

Get a free case of Coke Zero when you buy any 2 bottles from the 70cl range.

Deal 21 Chase / Tanqueray Basket Deal p48

Buy any 4x 70cl from the Chase & Tanqueray Range and get a free 70cl bottle of Chase Pink Grapefruit & Pomelo and a case of 200ml Schweppes Slimline Tonic.

Deal 22 Johnnie Walker & Schweppes POS Deal p48

Buy any 3x 70cl from the range (Johnnie Walker Red Label, Johnnie Walker Black Label) and get a case of Schweppes Lemonade and a POS kit free.

Deal 25 Loch Lomond POS Deal p54

Buy any 3 x 70cls from the Loch Lomond Whisky Range and get free POS for the Open Golf - worth £50.

Deal 36 William Grant Spirits Basket Deal p70

Buy any 3 x 70cl from the range and get a free case of FeverTree mixers.

Deal 37 Hi-Spirits Sheep Dog Deal p72

Buy a mix of 4 from the Hi-Spirits 70cl range and get a bottle of Sheep Dog Peanut Butter 70cl for free.

Deal 38 Aperol 6 + 1 Deal p72

Buy 6 x Aperol 70 cl and get 1 bottle free.

COCKTAILS

Deal 33 Diageo Cocktail POS Deal p66

Buy any 2 x 10L BIBs of draught cocktails and get a free POS kit.

Deal 35 Funkin POS Deal p68

Buy any case of Funkin 6 x 1L cocktail mixers and get a free cocktail starter kit.

SOFT DRINKS

Deal 9 Monster Energy 2+1 Deal p16

Buy any 2 cases of 12 x 500ml Monster flavours and a 3rd free.

Deal 17 J20 4+1 Deal p36

Buy any 4 cases from the J2O range and get a free case of J20 Orange and Passionfruit.

Deal 19 Red Bull 3 + 1 Deal p40

Buy and 3 cases from the Red Bull Energy and Red Bull Sugarfree range and get a case of Red Bull Tropical free.

Deal 26 Fever-Tree 5+1 Deal p58

Buy any 5 cases of Fever-Tree 24 x 200ml mixers and get a free case of new 12 x 275ml soft drinks.

Deal 27 Orangina Packaged POS Deal p60

Buy 2 cases and get a free bar kit.

Deal 28 Lucozade 5 + 1 (+ ROS Kit) Deal p60

Buy any 5 cases and get 1 case free plus a free ROS kit (first 100 orders only for ROS kit)

Deal 34 Cracker Drinks 4+1 Deal p68

Buy any 4 cases of 12 and get one case free.

WINE

Deal 30 Boutinot Wines 12+1 Deal p62

Buy any 12 bottles and get 1 free.

FOR ALL ORDERS PLEASE CONTACT OUR CUSTOMER SALES ON: 0345 600 1799

You’re talking, we’re listening

Since we first launched Value for Venues we have continued to survey our customers, hear their feedback and evolve our offer to ensure that Value for Venues really does provide you with everything your venue needs in one place.

A very warm welcome to your latest issue of Value of Venues magazine as we look forward to what the next couple of months holds in store for us all. As always, there are plenty of great opportunities on the horizon and we at Greene King will be there for you every step of the way, helping you to maximise your footfall, sales and profits.

Value for Venues exists to provide you with everything your venue needs in one place – so it’s vital that we maintain a dialogue with our Free Trade customers to hear first-hand what we can do to help you run brilliant businesses.

Value for Venues magazine is a fantastic tool for sharing our advice, news, insight and more with you – but it’s just as important that the communication flow is two-way. That’s why we work so hard at listening to our customers, hearing and understanding their input, then turning that into action.

You’ll see evidence of that in this issue of the magazine. In direct response to feedback from customers we have made some changes to the magazine to help make it easier to navigate and more directly related to the three key pillars that underpin our Value for Venues vision: range freedom, best-in-class customer service, and financial support and advice.

That’s why you’ll now see identifying key pillar logos in many of the articles inside, flagging up the subject matter and making it quick and easy for you to identify the content of most interest to your business.

Additionally, we have moved the list of promotions contained in this issue to the front of the magazine to make them easier to find, so that you can quickly locate the promotions of most interest to you.

We will continue to seek your feedback and listen to your input in a range of different ways – and this is a journey that never ends. We are committed to providing you with the most beneficial, interesting and inspiring content to help you continue to develop, grow and evolve your venue.

Hopefully, you’ll see that reflected in the varied content in the current issue: business insight into the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, customer profiles, the exciting relaunch of Belhaven Best, a deep dive into the growth of craft beer and much, much more.

Please believe me when I say that we want to hear from you so if you have anything at all to share with us or have some thoughts on how we can continue to tailor Value for Venues for your needs and the needs of your industry colleagues, please email us at v4vmagazine@greeneking.co.uk.

I wish you all fantastic trading over the next couple of months and never forget that we are here for you whenever you need us.

Paul Downing

On Trade Sales Director, Greene King

Contents

P9 Value for Venues We listened to your feedback and updated your magazine in response.

P11 Premium beer wins Level Head and Flint Eye claim their first awards.

P13 Branded trucks Belhaven unveils new branded trucks and trailers.

P15 Brand Genius Greene King unveils new cash incentive scheme for venue staff.

P24 Lead feature Cash in on the growth of the craft beer category with our range.

P28 Consumer insight How the cost-ofliving crisis is affecting consumers.

P32 Customer profile The National Ice Centre and Motorpoint Arena serves over three quarters of a million guests a year.

P38 Customer profile Haddington operator adds Spanish flair to historic venue.

P44 Bring out the Best Belhaven Best, Scotland’s bestselling ale, gets a full makeover.

P50 Seasonal opportunity Top tips on making the most of the summer months.

P56 Meet The Team Andrew Miller – Business Development Manager

P61 Money Maker Norfolk pub and restaurant halves gaming bill.

P67 Charity Greene King commits £1m to Macmillan Emergency Grants Appeal.

P69 Guest Column Eddie Wilkinson –leveraging the power of insight.

You talked, we listened!

Value For Venues provides everything you need in once place to run a more profitable venue – and that also applies to this, your Value for Venues magazine.

The magazine is one of the principal ways in which Greene King and Belhaven can regularly share insight, advice, news and more with you, our free trade customers, to help you run your business as effectively and efficiently as possible.

But communication is a two-way street, which is why the Greene King and Belhaven support centre team has been reaching out to our customers to hear what they think about the magazine and to find out what we can do to make it even more useful and informative for them.

KEY FINDING

One of the key findings from that research has been that readers are keen to see clear alignment between the content in the magazine and the three pillars that underpin the Value for Venues vision:

Range Freedom

Best In Class Customer Service

Financial Support & Business Advice

In other words, you told us that you wanted the content in Value for Venues magazine to reflect the three pillars and provide you with the support you need, all in one place.

As a direct response to that feedback, we have now tailored the content of the magazine to neatly align with the pillars – and we’ll flag each article up with a special logo which lets you instantly identify which pillar each article relates to. Additionally, we’ve moved the list of promotions to the front of the magazine to make them easier to find.

As you’ll discover in this issue some articles relate to one specific pillar while others may relate to two or even all three pillars. The new logos, however, will let you instantly see the nature of the content and will allow you to quickly and easily navigate the magazine and discover the content you are most interested in.

You talked, we listened.

In direct response to feedback from readers, we have made some immediate changes to your Value For Venues magazine to make it even easier and more intuitive to find your way around and get the advice and information you told us you need.

24 GLASSES

TAP BADGE 100DRIPMATS

3 X T-SHIRTS (MIXED SIZES)

2 X TRUCKER CAPS

Flint Eye and Level Head scoop first awards

Greene King’s new premium craft beers – Flint Eye and Level Head – have already secured their first industry awards despite having been on the market for less than a year.

Flint Eye and Level Head – Greene King’s new premium craft beers – have already been awarded their first medals, at the recent Bartenders’ Brand Awards. The event also saw Ice Breaker Pale Ale take a medal.

The Bartenders’ Brand Awards evaluate entries extremely carefully with a blind tasting followed by a formal judging of the design and value of the products.

Flint Eye, Level Head and Ice Breaker were all awarded medals for the taste, design and value of the beers. In the crucial taste category, Level Head and Ice Breaker secured a Silver Medal, with Flint Eye also picking up a Bronze and scoring ahead of many competitors in the segment.

Ice Breaker Pale Ale (4.5% ABV) was launched in 2019 and crafted by Greene King’s brewing apprentices.

The new awards landed just ahead of the first anniversary of the

launch of the two craft beers, Level Head, a session IPA (4% ABV), and Flint Eye, a dry hopped lager (4.5% ABV). Both brands take a modern twist on Britain’s eccentric past.

Greene King has committed £10m of investment to back the launch of the beers over the first two years. This includes an advertising campaign to drive further brand visibility through billboards, digital display, social media, and video on demand.

Alex Radcliffe, Marketing Controller at Greene King said: “We are thrilled to have secured medals for all three of our modern beers and it is a testament to our brewers and their skill that we have such a brilliant portfolio to share.

“We are incredibly proud of Ice Breaker and how that has continued to grow following its launch, we are sure that Flint Eye and Level Head will follow in succession after a brilliant first year. Keep your eyes peeled as there is so much more to come from these brands in 2023!”

“WE ARE THRILLED TO HAVE SECURED MEDALS FOR ALL THREE OF OUR MODERN BEERS AND IT IS A TESTAMENT TO OUR BREWERS AND THEIR SKILL.”

ALEX RADCLIFFE, MARKETING CONTROLLER AT GREENE KING

New branded Belhaven trucks hit the road

FAST FACTS:

2 new branded trucks

6 new branded trailers

2 x Belhaven Best

2 x Belhaven Black

2 x Brewery Design

Trucks cover an average of 150,000km per year

Each trailer holds 28,000 litres, or 56,000 cans

Two new Belhaven-branded trucks and six new branded trailers have recently hit the road as part of Greene King and Belhaven’s expanding fleet of delivery vehicles.

The trucks are expected to cover around 150,000km a year travelling the length and breadth of the nation.

The eye-catching vehicles will help raise awareness of some of Belhaven’s most popular brands as they travel around the country. Two of the trailers carry

Belhaven Best branding, another two feature Belhaven Black designs and two more feature artistic artwork of the historic brewery itself, as do the trucks that will pull them.

Each trailer can hold 28,000 litres of beer – the equivalent of 56,000 cans – and the vehicles will deliver beer throughout the UK.

Belhaven Marketing Controller Steven Sturgeon commented: “There is a real sense of pride when we see these trucks

on the road, especially when friends and family report seeing them! But the real importance of vehicle branding goes much further and deeper. Our customers appreciate these mobile billboards as it drives greater awareness of Belhaven’s brilliant beers.

“The eye-catching ‘can’ designs on the trailers gives a cheeky nod to the journey from the brewery to your venue while the artwork featuring the brewery helps convey the beauty, history and heritage of our wonderful home.”

Two new Belhaven-branded trucks and six new trailers are now travelling the length and breadth of the country, helping to grow awareness of the historic brewery and some of its leading brands.

‘Brand Genius’ to reward bar staff for delivering great experiences

Greene King’s new Brand Genius programme will help bar staff deliver great experiences for their customers – and reward them with shopping vouchers for their efforts.

Greene King has unveiled a new programme called Brand Genius to help bar staff provide consistently excellent experiences for their customers –and reward them instantly for doing so.

For many years the company has been championing beer quality through its Beer Genius training platform and its Cellar Doctor process. Now the company is extending that scheme with a front of house activity called Brand Genius that will ensure bar staff can serve the perfect pint through brand knowledge while delivering a great experience to the customer. What’s more, bar staff will be rewarded on the spot through a mystery shopper programme.

The simple three-step programme is designed to give staff the tools they need to learn some simple facts about Greene King and Belhaven beers. These will help them to engage better with their customers, make recommendations and sell with confidence, thus driving a better customer experience.

To take part, simply opt in when you take on a new keg line and we will send you the Brand Genius POS packs for that line. Then, within eight weeks of the brand appearing on the bar, our mystery drinker will enter your venue and ask for a recommendation. If the team member serving talks about the focus beer, offers a sample and then executes the perfect serve they will be awarded a shopping voucher as a reward for becoming a Brand Genius.

BRAND GENIUS: 3 EASY STEPS

Brand Genius is quick and easy to implement and involves just three steps:

1

2

LEARN ABOUT OUR BEERS

Our back of house POS kits will arm your team with everything they need to become an expert on our beers, from tasting notes to food pairings.

OFFER SAMPLES

Offering customers a small taste of the beer is key to enhancing their repertoire and driving that great hospitality experience. Around 60mls will be enough to experience the aromas, look and taste of the beer.

3

PERFECT SERVE

If the customer wants to buy a pint, make sure it’s served perfectly in a cool clean glass and preferably a branded glass if available. CGA data shows 40% are more likely to purchase a beer if it’s served in a branded glass.

Greene King emissions targets formally approved

Greene King’s near-term emissions reductions targets have received formal approval from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Greene King is pleased to announce that the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has officially approved its near-term science-based emissions reduction target.

The targets submitted to the global body by Greene King last year committed the company to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, from a base year of 2019.

The action is urgently needed by all companies as the latest climate science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows it is still possible to limit a global temperature rise to 1.5°C, but the world is dangerously close to that threshold.

Reacting to the news that the SBTi had verified

Greene King’s targets, CEO Nick Mackenzie said: “We know the scale of what has to be done and today is an important milestone as it shows our climate action plan is based on science.

“The hard work starts now as we are just starting out on our journey and beginning to put our commitments into practice.

“The climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our time, and it’s clear from climate science findings that nothing less than rapid and deeps cuts to emissions before 2030 are required. It’s vital we play our part in this – it’s the right thing to do, it helps our customers make more sustainable choices and ensures the long-term commercial sustainability of our pubs and breweries across the UK.”

GREENE KING’S EMISSIONS REDUCTION COMMITMENTS

To reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 from a 2019 base year.

To reduce absolute scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within the same timeframe.

Scope 1: emissions from sources that an organisation owns or controls directly.

Scope 2: emissions a company causes indirectly when the energy it purchases and uses is produced.

Scope 3: emissions not produced by the company itself but by those that it’s indirectly responsible for, up and down its value chain.

MANAGEMENT ‘TO BE 50% WOMEN’ BY 2030

Ahead of the recent International Women’s Day 2023, Greene King set out its ambition to have women make up 50% of its senior management roles by 2030.

The commitment is part of the company’s wider Diversity and Inclusion strategy and is supported by Greene Sky, its women’sfocused employee-led inclusion group.

Greene Sky’s ambition is to help more women shape the future of the business and is composed of women and allies across all levels of the company.

Clair Preston-Beer (pictured), MD for Greene King pubs and Greene Sky’s executive board sponsor, said:

“We recognise we’re on a journey to everyday inclusion where all our people are embraced and valued for who they are so that they can reach their full potential and thrive.

“This pledge is the first step in the right direction to working towards delivering greater gender parity and our ambition to have 50% of senior management roles filled by women by 2030. With our ongoing inclusion activity, developing existing and attracting new talent, along with further policy improvements, I believe we have solid plans in place to make change become a reality.”

Value of contactless payments ‘up 101%’

New data from Barclaycard shows that the value of contactless transactions in the hospitality category more than doubled in 2022.

CONTACTLESS: FAST FACTS

Value of contactless payments in hospitality up 101.4%

Value of all contactless payments up 49.7%

The average contactless shopper made 220 ‘touch and go’ payments, up from 180 the year before.

The average value per transaction rose by 18.5% to £15.13.

The total value of all contactless payments in pubs, clubs, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality venues more than doubled last year, according to Barlaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s debit and credit card spending.

Contactless spending in hospitality venues increased by an enormous 101.4%, a clear sign that consumers and venues are continuing to shift to next-generation technology when buying and selling.

British consumers appear to have enthusiastically embraced the move to an increased £100 transaction limit for contactless payments.

Data compiled from billions of debit and credit card transactions also show that the value of contactless payments across all retail and hospitality transactions grow by 49.7% and the average contactless user made 220 ‘touch and go’ payments last year, up from 180 in 2021, equating to spend of £3,327 per person.

The average value per transaction also rose, up 18.5% to £15.13, and a record 91.2% of all eligible transactions were made using the technology.

MP URGES VAT REDUCTION FOR HOSPITALITY

A Conservative MP has led the call for the Chancellor to reduce VAT on hospitality businesses to 10% in the wake of his Spring Budget.

Tobias Ellwood, who is MP for Bournemouth East, said in the House of Commons: “What I did not see in the [Chancellor’s] red book were any plans to reduce VAT for the hospitality industry from 20% to 10%. As hospitality recovers, it’s hit by the perfect storm of inflation, driving up wages, higher food prices and of course increased utility costs.”

Ellwood cited a petition on the UK government website calling for action and urged the Treasury to “do that maths” and lower VAT to “allow hospitality operations to survive and indeed build and grow, thus increasing productivity and that will help advance GDP”.

The petition referenced by the MP has since received more than 12,000 signatures, meaning the government will be required to respond. The petition has until 7 May to reach 100,000 signatures, at which point it will be considered for debate in parliament.

Duty on draught products ‘11p lower than in supermarkets’

In his most recent Budget statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out his plans to “increase the generosity” of draught relief for pubs, stating that from 1 August this year the duty on draught beer and other products would be up to 11p lower than the duty in supermarkets.

Alcohol duty is, however, still set to rise in line with inflation and duty on nondraught beer will rise.

Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said that duty reform was a positive step but highlighted that the Budget

announcement will actually increase the duty paid by the sector by around £225m.

She said: “The cut to draught duty as part of the alcohol duty reform is positive and we hope that it will result in a boost for our pubs this summer.

“However, the fact is, our industry will be facing an overall tax hike, not a reduction come August. Duty on non-draught beer will rise and the measures won’t rebalance the catastrophic impact soaring inflation and unfair energy contracts are having on both pubs and the breweries that supply them.”

FOOD SAFETY SCHEME ‘BUILDS LOYALTY’

Coeliac UK is celebrating 10 years since the launch of its Gluten Free Accreditation Scheme for food and catering businesses. The scheme aims to guarantee safe delivery of gluten-free food and drink for the whole gluten-free community, helping establishments to meet the increasing customer demand for medically required dietary needs.

The Gluten Free Accreditation symbol automatically tells customers that an establishment is safe – building trust, loyalty and driving new visitors.

A recent Coeliac UK poll found that 96% of people said their glutenfree needs, or a member of their party’s, determines where they eat out.

Wine drinkers hit with biggest duty rise in 50 years

The Chancellor’s Spring Budget also revealed that wine drinkers in the UK are set to be hit by the biggest single duty hike in almost five decades.

Jeremy Hunt announced that the alcohol duty freeze will end on 1 August and will be increased in line with inflation, 10.1% at Retail price Index, while wine drinkers will be hit with a huge 20% tax.

The hike means that duty on a bottle of still wine will increase by some 44p.

In addition, several accredited partners have reported sales increases of 10-12% as a result of being accredited.

Visit coeliac.org.uk/foodbusinesses to find out more.

In the most recent Budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he plans to “increase the generosity” of draught relief for pubs.

INSTALL LEVEL HEAD OR FLINT EYE AND GET:

TWO FREE KEGS * &

Brand New Beers, Centuries in the Making

PREMIUM POS KIT *

INCLUDES: GLASSWARE, BAR RUNNERS, BEER MATS, STAFF T-SHIRTS, LANYARDS AND BEER INFO CARDS.

SPEAK TO YOUR SALES DEVELOPMENT MANAGER TO DISCUSS ELIGIBILITY FOR YOUR VENUE.

* Promotion available for new installs of Level Head or Flint Eye during May and June 2023. New stockists only. One deal per customer per brand. First free 30L keg and POS will be issued upon confirmed install of Flint Eye or Level Head. Second free 30L keg will be awarded after 8 weeks continuous stocking. Eligibility of venues will be confirmed by a Greene King Sales Development Manager. Point of sale items are subject to availability and may be substituted or delayed. 100 deals available.

Craft out new growth

There’s no avoiding the fact that the last few years have been enormously challenging for the trade with the impact of the pandemic driving down footfall, sales and profits. Thankfully there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel, however, and one of the brightest opportunities remains craft beer.

In a world turned upside down by Covid, craft beer continues to go from strength to strength, growing +42.6%*.

According to the latest CGA data, there’s a growing appetite for craft beer in hospitality venues, representing a clear opportunity to tap into the trading-up potential and capitalise on this now and into the future.

CGA’s OPUS research of 5,000 consumers reveals that craft beer drinkers are more concerned with quality than cost when it comes to purchasing craft beer. Indeed, the report found that a significant 30% of craft beer consumers are exclusively looking for premium brands.

What’s more, one in five craft beer drinkers are still looking for new and interesting brands. Yes, brand reputation is a driver for these consumers, but they are still actively seeking out new and exciting products to try.

MODERN TWIST

Step forward Flint Eye and Level Head, Greene King’s new premium craft beers. Launched less than a year ago, the two new brands have already started collecting independent industry awards, recognising the quality of the taste, design and value of the exciting new beers. Level Head secured a Silver Medal at the recent Bartenders’ Brand Awards while Flint Eye was awarded a Bronze Medal following an exhaustive judging process which included a blind tasting followed by a formal judging of the design and value of the products.

Level Head, a session IPA (4% ABV), and Flint Eye, a dry-hopped lager (4.5% ABV) are both perfectly placed to capitalise on the demand for exciting, interesting new brands with a strong story to tell.

Both brands take a modern twist on Britain’s eccentric past and, to create them, Greene King drew on its 200 years of brewing expertise to reimagine old recipes.

Flint Eye and Level Head were inspired by myths and legends from Bury St Edmunds, where Greene King have been brewing for centuries.

Flint Eye celebrates the Neolithic flint-tipped

The craft beer market continues to go from strength to strength with consumers actively looking for premium products, especially if they are new and interesting.

One in five craft beer drinkers are still looking for new and interesting brands.

*Source: CGA OPMS data MAT to 28/01/23

arrows found in and around the brewery’s native Bury St Edmunds.

Combining orange peel and citrus aromas with subtle pine notes, this lager is created with yeast that is fermented at a colder temperature for a longer time, resulting in a crisp and refreshing beer that has a delicate balance of flavours.

Level Head is a perfectly executed session IPA which has an aroma sitting somewhere between tropical and grapefruit notes. Light in body, but slightly dry with a medium bitterness and pithy aftertaste, this session IPA’s name hints at the legend of St Edmund, the original patron saint of England who was beheaded by the Vikings in 869 and from whom Bury St Edmunds takes its name.

CUSTOMER’S VIEW

30% of craft beer consumers are exclusively looking for premium options.

NATIONAL ICE CENTRE & MOTORPOINT ARENA

Phill Jones, Commercial Director

“We have a superb relationship with Greene King. They produce outstanding products and they have a history and heritage that appeals to a city like Nottingham which is very proud of its own long history and, despite being centuries old, Greene King continues to innovate and keep up with the times. A great recent example is the launch of Level Head which has been hugely popular with our customers.”

“WE’VE TWISTED AND ADAPTED TRADITIONAL FLAVOUR PROFILES AND CHANNELLED SOME OF BRITAIN’S COLOURFUL FOLKLORE TO CREATE AUTHENTIC, MODERN, AND EXCITING BEVERAGES, PERFECT FOR A NEW URBAN AUDIENCE RIGHT ACROSS THE UK.”

WILL HEMMINGS, BREWING & BRANDS MARKETING DIRECTOR

The new offerings celebrate Britain’s wild flavours and occasionally eccentric past but are very much designed for the modern drinker. Targeting craft drinkers who enjoy flavour discovery with quality they can trust, the new range is designed to be enjoyed primarily by customers in relaxed premium drinking outlets, such as craft-focused bars, gastro pubs and quality sports clubs.

Greene King has committed £10m of investment to back the launch of the beers over the first two years. This includes an advertising campaign to drive further brand visibility through billboards, digital display, social media, and video on demand.

ESTABLISHED FAVOURITES

While Flint Eye and Level Head may be the newest craft beers on the block, Greene King and Belhaven also offer some more established craft favourites like Ice Breaker Pale Ale and East Coast IPA.

Indeed, Ice Breaker was also among the winners at the Bartenders’ Brand Awards, adding a Silver Medal for taste to its list of accolades. Ice Breaker was first launched back in 2019 and, to add to its interesting backstory, was crafted by Greene King’s brewing apprentices.

Under the tutelage of Ross O’Hara, at the time the world’s youngest Master Brewer, the apprentices were given the freedom to break the boundaries of brewing at Greene King, creating this easy-drinking unfiltered pale ale, bursting with fruity hop aromas.

The beer is triple-hopped to deliver citrus and tropical fruit aromas and tastes, complemented with fresh pine resin and a crisp bitterness.

CUSTOMER’S VIEW TRENT BRIDGE

Pale and amber malts give balanced sweetness and the addition of Carapils malt and torrefied wheat contributes body and mouthfeel.

Alex Radcliffe, Marketing Controller at Greene King, said: “We are thrilled to have secured medals for all three of our modern beers and it is a testament to our brewers and their skill that we have such a brilliant portfolio to share.

“We are incredibly proud of Ice Breaker and how that has continued to grow following its launch, and we are sure that Flint Eye and Level Head will follow in succession after a brilliant first year.”

Meanwhile, venues can also take advantage of the well-established East Coast IPA brand which is crafted using only the finest American hops. This 4% fusion ale pairs the punchy citrus aroma of American style IPAs with the easy-drinking flavour of the finest English pale ale. Cold, gold and beautifully bold, East Coast IPA is a triple-hopped celebration of all that is great about our two great brewing nations.

FRESH OPPORTUNITIES

There’s no question that the craft beer category is an important one for many venues and often helps target a different consumer demographic, bringing new customers to your door.

These four fantastic beers can open up more opportunities for you to drive fresh footfall, sales and profits by offering carefully created premium beers, rich in history, that will appeal to those looking for something new and interesting to liven up a trip to their local.

Michael Temple, Commercial Director

“We’ve added both Level Head and Flint Eye and they’re doing really well. Adding exciting new premium craft beers is vital for us to keep up with modern trends and offer our guests a choice of interesting beers.”

How is the cost-of-living crisis affecting your customers?

FINDING 1: FREQUENCY OF VISIT

44% WILL GO OUT AS MUCH AS USUAL THIS YEAR

Consumers continue to acknowledge they are visiting pubs less in the current environment – but the numbers are moving in the right direction.

In Greene King’s February Pubgoers survey (filled out by 1,000 people), 44% said they’ll be going out as much as usual this year. In November last year, that number was 41%.

FINDING 2: SPECIAL OCCASIONS

51% WILL GO OUT FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS AS OFTEN OR MORE OFTEN

The survey took a deeper dive into the current focus for those who are visiting pubs and social venues. The key findings were that special occasions are being prioritised by the majority.

Some 51% say they will go out more often for special occasions over the next six months, compared to just 34% who say they will reduce such visits.

FINDING 3: SOCIAL OCCASIONS

48% PRIORITISE MEETING FRIENDS

As well as special occasions, many consumers say they also prioritise general social occasions. Nearly half (48%) claim they prioritise meeting friends while almost as many (47%) say they prioritise meeting family.

FINDING 4: DAY PARTS

45% PRIORITISE EARLY EVENING

The challenges of the last few years have led many consumers to change when they prefer to visit venues.

Late evenings, once a mainstay of the trade for many venues, are now prioritised by just 28% of pub goers. In contrast, a significant 41% prioritise lunch and even more people – 45% – prefer to visit a venue in the early evening.

The two main reasons given for this trend away from late evenings were given as a “dip in atmosphere” and “cost of living”.

FINDING 5: QUALITY

QUALITY THE NO.1 DRIVER

Despite all the important concerns around the cost of living and domestic budgets, the quality of both food and drink at a venue remains the primary factor for venuegoers when choosing where to go out to eat or drink.

The two other key drivers are range and hygiene & cleanliness.

By Caroline Morley, Insights Manager – Consumer

One of the key pillars of Greene King and Belhaven’s new Value for Venues vision is business insight and advice. Value for Venues has been created with a clear goal of helping you increase your footfall, sales and profits – and one of the most powerful ways of helping you do just that is providing you with key insights that can help you understand your customers more deeply and respond to their evolving needs more quickly and more effectively.

MONTHLY SURVEY

Understanding our end user is vital to us all which is why, every month in life, Greene King and Belhaven survey 1,000 consumers who all have one thing in common: they are all customers in Greene King and Belhaven venues.

The findings from these monthly surveys have proven critical in helping Value for Venues continue to keep up with the latest trends and developments and ensure that we continue to meet the often rapidly changing needs of venue-goers.

From this issue of Value for Venues, we will begin sharing our insight with you to help you stay up to date and make well-informed decisions about every aspect of your business. Highlights from the customer surveys will be shared regularly, as will research and insights from other industry sources.

In this launch article, you won’t be surprised to learn that the subject of most importance to your customers is the cost-of-living crisis. We all know that the cost of living has affected how consumers use our venues and we’ll all have seen the evidence of that on a daily basis.

So what did our 1,000 survey respondents say when we asked them about how they are managing their way through the cost-of-living crisis and how they are adapting their behaviours to meet the challenges facing them?

In this feature you will learn some of the key findings – and we also suggest some ways that you can positively respond to the major trends that seem to be emerging.

TURNING INSIGHT INTO ACTION…

With these findings beginning to reveal a clearer picture of what drives your customers, what should you do to respond and ensure that you are meeting the needs of those who visit your venue?

How do you take these learnings and use them to your advantage to help you grow footfall, sales and profits? Below we have listed some simple ways of taking what we have learned and turning it into action in your venue, action that could help you run a busier, more profitable business.

1. EMBRACE THE OCCASION!

The research shows clearly that while there is still a strong – and growing – appetite to visit venues, guests are prioritising special occasions and social occasions.

Take time to have a think about how you can ensure your venue can cater to these occasions – either through creating the right atmosphere for meeting friends and family or through delivering a truly memorable experience.

2. QUALITY MATTERS!

Despite everything that is currently going on and the cost-of-living crisis that has swept the nation, the research very clearly shows that customers still want to go out, meet friends and family, and create new memories.

Customers may be visiting venues less often than they once did and they may be more careful about their spending than they have been in years, but the research suggests that when customers do go out, they want it to be special. That means great quality food, drink and environment.

If they are not venturing out so often, guests may be prepared to pay a premium for a better experience.

In the first of a new series of insight-driven articles addressing the big issues facing venue operators, Caroline Morley unveils new customer research into how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting consumer behaviour – and identifies some opportunities as a result.

TURNING INSIGHT INTO ACTION…

CONTINUED

3. ALL DAY FOCUS!

The survey demonstrated that late evenings remain a challenge across the whole market – but that doesn’t simply mean shifting your focus onto the lunch and early evening occasions that your customers are prioritising.

There are lots of ways that you can encourage guests into your venue in the evenings. Running events like pub quizzes or live music can help build the right atmosphere where customers feel safe and relaxed – and persuade them to stay longer and spend more.

Of course, the fact that customers are evidently prioritising lunch and early evening means that these represent great opportunities to take a fresh look at your entire offer and make sure that you are maximising these visit occasions.

Hygiene and cleanliness have always been important to customers but the pandemic has hugely prioritised these areas for many people. Being confident that the venue they are thinking about visiting is safe and clean is now hugely important and is, in fact, the third-biggest driver of pub choice, even with Covid being less of a concern.

The pandemic has reset expectations around hygiene and cleanliness – so it’s vital to ensure you’re delivering on this and keeping all communal areas as clean and safe as possible.

4. KEEP IT CLEAN!

accepted! Epic challenge

its hands, and one that its

We all know how massively complex and challenging it can be to run a successful pub, bar or restaurant at the moment, so imagine what it’s like to run a venue that features more than 30 pubs, bars and eateries. Throw in the UK’s leading ice centre, a 10,000 capacity arena and more than ¾ million visitors a year and you start to get a feel for the scale of the challenge that faces Nottingham Ice Centre Commercial Director Phill Jones every day of the week – but it’s a challenge that he absolutely relishes.

“The NIC and Arena are two very different businesses that operate together under the one team,” he explains. “The NIC operates 362 days a year from 5am to midnight for ice sports enthusiasts, schools and the general public to come and have a skate. The Arena hosts around 150 events a year with a resident ice hockey team, the Nottingham Panthers, and a range of concerts, comedy shows,

family and sporting events and even some corporate meetings and dinners.

“Many global superstars have graced the stage over the years including Beyonce, One Direction, Elton John, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber and comedy greats including Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre and John Bishop.”

IN-HOUSE TEAM

Across the site there are more than 30 different pubs, bars and restaurants and the combined business employs around 1,000 people with a contracted staff of around 150 .

Despite being such an enormous business, all of the hospitality and catering is done by an in-house team, rather than outsourced to contractors.

“We like to have full control over what we

provide to our customers and the only way we can have that confidence is by using our own team,” explains Phill.

That approach also partly explains why Phill chooses to work on an exclusive basis with Greene King.

“We’ve been working with Greene King for more than 15 years,” says Phill. “Every five or six years we put the partnering rights back out to tender to test the market to make sure we’re getting the best partner and so far, Greene King have come up trumps every time. They clearly understand the value to them of our partnership and they reflect that value in their offer to us.

“I have to say we have a superb relationship with Greene King. They produce and supply outstanding products and they have a history and heritage that appeals to a city like Nottingham which is very

With more than 30 bars and restaurants on site and welcoming more than ¾ million guests a year, the National Ice Centre and Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham has a massive challenge on

Commercial Director relishes.

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“Despite being centuries old, Greene King continues to innovate and keep up with the times. A great example is the upcoming launch of Level Head and Flint Eye at the Elite Ice Hockey League Playoff Finals in April which should be hugely popular with our customers. They’re also extremely flexible and the people are just really good to work with.”

KEEPING UP

The sheer scale of the wider NIC business makes the business Greene King’s biggest single customer in the Midlands.

“We operate a suite of over 30 bars, cafes and restaurants,” explains Phill. “On the concourse alone we have more than a dozen bars, including our new “No and Low” bar which is a first of its kind in the arena industry. We offer a range of great quality low and no alcohol product

like Old Speckled Hen Low Alcohol and Estrella Galicia 0.0%.

“We’ve also launched Vegan Kitchen, the UK’s first ever vegan outlet in an arena, again catering for an important and growing audience.

Just like Greene King, we like to keep up with the times and this bar offers our customers something a little different.”

Aside from that, there’s a bar or restaurant for pretty much any taste: wine bars, sports bars, cafes, premium burger, fried chicken, fish and chip, vegan and vegetarian outlets, bars and more.

LOST TIME

Operating two huge and completely different venues for different audiences has its own challenges but, after the horror of the pandemic, Phill believes that more and more customers are crying out for the chance to have a night out and let

their hair down.

“We get around 250,000 visitors a year to the NIC and it’s open seven days a week,” he says. “The NIC is effectively the home of figure skating in the UK too and, of course, we’re home to Torvill and Dean! They’re both from Nottingham and they still visit us here regularly.” “On top of the public skating we are home to the Nottingham Panthers and we host 35 games a season. We get 4,000+ fans at most games and we also host the Elite League Ice Hockey Playoff Finals for a weekend in April every year. That’s a massive footfall driver for us and it allows us to grow our sales of food and drink if we get our offer right.“

By far the bigger part of the business, however, is the Motorpoint Arena which welcomes an enormous 500,000 visitors a year.

Everyone who is anyone has played the arena at one point and 2023 looks set to see another rollcall of superstars.

“After the pandemic, the live entertainment industry is making up for lost time,” laughs Phill. “There were so many cancelled or rescheduled gigs so there’s been a bit of a release of pent-up desire so see live entertainment. As we speak, we’re just about to host Premier League Darts and in the near future we’ll have everyone from Tom Grennan, Olly Murs, Michael Bublé and André Rieu to Peter Gabriel, Iron Maiden and Pete Tong. And then there’s events like Peter Kay, The Harlem Globetrotters, Ricky Gervais and the UK’s Strongest man. It’s going to be a busy year!”

Feeding and watering up to 10,000 people in a single evening is an epic undertaking, but it’s one that Phill and his team both enjoy and embrace.

“There’s no doubt it’s a big challenge but we’ve been doing it for a few years now

and we have invested heavily to build the infrastructure to cope with this sort of scale. All we want to do is make sure that our F&B offer helps customers have a great time, make some memories and hopefully come back to do it all over again in the future.”

BACK ON FORM

As Phill alluded to, the Covid pandemic hit his business as hard as any and it’s not a period that he cares to look back on too often.

“There’s no other way of putting it: Covid was devastating,” he says with a frown. “It turned our world upside down and we had to make a lot of redundancies which was absolutely traumatic for us.”

That’s a sentiment that is undoubtedly shared by all venue operators, but time

moves on and lessons are learned.

“All we can do is learn from it as best we can and then ensure that our businesses are in the best possible shape moving forward,” he says. “If we’re trying to find positives, it’s clear that after years of lockdown, customers are keen to get back out and make the most of life. There’s a desire out there to get and enjoy time with family and friends, whether that’s spending an hour or two on the ice, coming along to watch the Panthers or visiting the Arena to see an event, some music or some comedy with a few drinks and bite to eat.

“We’re definitely seeing the spend per head go up so people seem keen to make the most of their social time now and we’re trying our best to deliver memorable, enjoyable experiences.”

Standing out from the crowd

There’s a pub on every corner in the busy town of Haddington, which is why Craig Douglas has made the most of his years in Spain to set his pub and restaurant apart from the competition.

Just half an hour’s drive east of Edinburgh city centre, the Royal Burgh of Haddington is a small town with a population of only around 10,000 souls, but the locals are never stuck for a place to eat or drink. The historic town seemingly boasts a pub on every corner which is why Craig Douglas knew he had to be creative to help ensure he stood out from the crowd when he first took over The Victoria Inn around four years ago.

Built way back in 1840 to commemorate the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the pub has a long and storied history and it also commands a fantastic position facing directly onto the farming town’s main square.

“When I first saw it, it was love at first sight,” says Craig. “I’m a bit of a history fan and I grew up in nearby Edinburgh so I knew Haddington had a great heritage and I knew the pub itself had an amazing story to tell.”

SPANISH EYES

Before leasing The Victoria Inn – or ‘the Vic’ as it’s referred to by the locals – Craig had enjoyed a long and diverse career in the hospitality trade and it was that journey that

would give him the inspiration for making the Vic stand out from the competition.

“I’ve been in pubs and catering all my days,” he explains. “I started out as a chef and worked in Edinburgh before getting a job pulling pints and quickly realised I enjoyed the customer-facing role much more. I’m a real people person so dealing directly with the customers rather than sweating away in the kitchen was much more up my street.”

Craig wound up running a couple of big pubs in Edinburgh before deciding to move to Spain, where he remained for 12 years.

“My first job over there was as a chef in a holiday resort then

I rented a pub of my own,” he says. “It’s a totally different take on hospitality over there. It’s very regimented and I learned a lot out there – but eventually it started getting a bit like groundhog day. A plane load of people would arrive and you’d look after them for a fortnight then they’d leave and another plane load would arrive and you’d start all over again.”

HOMEWARD BOUND

Craig returned to the UK in 2010 and found himself back in the kitchen, this time on a boat – but that career was short lived.

“My first job when I came back was as a chef offshore but I quickly realised I get sea sickness and I get it bad!” he laughs. “So bad in fact that I couldn’t work on boats.”

Shortly afterwards Craig had some fairly serious health issues which he worked through but which, he says, “made me take a fresh look at my life and where I was going”.

He decided that he wanted to work for himself, be his own boss, take things a little slower and spend more time on

“WE ONLY INSTALLED BELHAVEN BLACK IN DECEMBER AND I’D SAY IT’S SELLING TWICE THE VOLUME WE USED TO DO ON GUINNESS. IN FACT, I THINK IT’S ALREADY OUR BIGGESTSELLING BEER.”

THE VICTORIA INN

the golf course. How did that work out? “I haven’t been near a golf course in the last four years!” he chuckles.

It turns out Craig’s idea of taking things easier was to lease a pub - not a job many people would consider the ‘easy option’.

At that point a friend of Craig’s who had recently bought a few pubs got in touch to say he had something that he thought Craig should look at. That something turned out to be The Victoria Inn – and Craig was instantly smitten.

NEW DIRECTION

“I loved it from day one,” he says. “It had lain empty for over a year so it had no clientele and it was in a real mess. But I could see the potential.” Craig got the keys in June 2019 and spent the next five months gutting and fully refitting the Vic. “We literally emptied it and replaced just about everything,” he explains.

The Vic opened for the first time under Craig’s stewardship in the October and it flew from the off. “We were successful from the very beginning,” he says. “We had so many people interested to see what we’d done with the place and we were rammed. We had a phenomenal festive period. January and February were slower, as you’d expect, but we were building up steam in March – and then our world collapsed.”

Just six months after turning his dream into a reality, Covid struck and the dream dissolved into a nightmare. “It was awful, really and truly awful,” says Craig with a grimace. “We were lucky because we have five bedrooms on the top floor and some long term lets so we could keep some money coming in. I didn’t get rid of any staff. They all got 80% of their wages through the furlough scheme and we voluntarily topped up the extra 20% so nobody lost any money.”

DOWN TIME

Through the Covid years, Craig and his team didn’t sit idly by hoping for the best. “We knew the pandemic was going to drag on so we decided to use the enforced down time to get ourselves up to speed on social media to let us communicate with the wider community.

“Before Covid we were massively wet-led with only about 5% or 10% coming from food. I reckoned food would be more important post-pandemic so we asked the locals what sort of food they thought was missing from Haddington. We got over 400 replies and the top three were: tapas, Tex-Mex and a steakhouse.”

With Craig’s time in Spain, tapas was a no-brainer and with an Argentinean friend from his time in Spain who was expert in all things steak, he was off and running. “I recruited a kitchen team of four, trained them all myself and off we went.”

Did it work? “Did it ever!” says Craig. “We did over 20,000 tapas dishes in our first month!”

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In the meantime, Craig also had a terrace built out the front of the pub, a sun-trap that gets the sun all day long.

By last summer, 80% of the Vic’s turnover was coming through food. “It was incredible,” he says. To cap it all, the Vic was then named best Eatery at the Midlothian and East Lothian Food & Drinks Awards in October.

That led Craig to commit to fully redeveloping the first floor restaurant and, when Value for Venues visited, the vibrantly coloured new Spanish-style restaurant was only a week or so away from welcoming its first guests. “We’ve invited about 40 locals to come and try the restaurant for free,” says Craig.

In addition, Craig has built a brand new bar in the restaurant featuring exclusively Belhaven products. “We’ve been with Belhaven since day one and they’re a great company with brilliant products. Best is a big seller and Estrella Galicia is also popular, thanks to the Spanish connection. The latest success is Black: we only installed it in December and I’d say it’s selling twice the volume we used to do on Guinness. It’s about £1 a pint cheaper and our customers tell us it tastes better. In fact, I think it’s already our biggest selling beer.”

MIX IT UP

“With so much flux, it’s important to keep trying new things

and watching what works,” he advises. “The cost of living challenges mean people are coming out less but when they do come out they want to have a great time. That means a great venue, great service and great products.”

And while Craig has worked hard at standing out from the competition, he still enjoys good relationships with other publicans in the town. “Yes, we’re competitors,” he comments, “but with lots of great pubs and restaurants in the town, it means people are less likely to head up to Edinburgh for a night out.”

As for his strong links to Spain, Craig has no intention of letting those go. “I love Spain, I have a lot of friends there and I get a lot of inspiration from there. I still go back every couple of months and bring lots back with me: artwork for the walls, crockery, speciality meats.”

And when Craig is off to Spain? “My sister Anna runs the place,” he laughs. “She’s the real boss. And she’s the face of the pub as far as our customers are concerned. She joined me when we opened the Vic, never having run a pub before, but she’s taken to it like a duck to water. She’s a force of nature!”

With Craig and Anna at the helm, 2023 looks set to be another hugely successful year for this historic venue.

“WE WANTED TO MAKE THIS ICONIC LEGEND RELEVANT, APPROACHABLE AND INCLUSIVE FOR THE NEW GENERATION OF DRINKERS.”

FIONA MATHESON, BELHAVEN BRAND MANAGER

Bringing out the Best!

Iconic Scottish favourite Belhaven Best has been rebranded to help bring out the Best in this muchloved classic ale. The rebrand was carried out after long planning, careful consideration and extensive research to ensure that the brand continues to live up to its name.

The fresh new look helps convey the approachability of this 3.2% ABV wonderfully balanced, refreshing and easy drinking ale. The rebrand also helps celebrate Belhaven Best’s unique story and reflect the changing face of socialising.

Belhaven Brand Manager, Fiona Matheson, comments: “At our heart, we believe in bringing people together over a good pint, as times shared will always be the best. So with this rebrand we set out to make sure that Best continues to bring out the best in every occasion.”

BELHAVEN BEST: TASTING NOTES

Belhaven Best is Scotland’s Favourite Ale! Best is an extremely sessionable and refreshing brew at 3.2% abv. It’s available on smooth keg and widget can, and is brewed from 100% Scottish malted barley, fresh local water and our unique Belhaven yeast. A bright amber colour ale with malty aromas all crowned with a smooth creamy head.

COLOUR

Amber, copper

NOSE

Sweet, malty aroma

TASTE

Sweet malt, light bitter and refreshing.

This new branding will be carried right across the world, helping to further develop Scotland’s enviable reputation for fantastic quality products.

To inform the rebranding, Belhaven carried out consumer research among adult drinkers, who confirmed the liquid is sessionable and easy to drink.

NEW LOOK

The branding has been updated with the addition of ‘Smooth Session Ale’ to the can, the font, lenses etc. to reflect and communicate the updated liquid inside.

Consumer research completed around the new branding showed clearly that the new design appeals to new audiences without alienating existing Best drinkers.

Belhaven Best has been fully rebranded to bring out the Best in this market-leading iconic Scottish ale.

Best was last redesigned back in 2015 and to create the new look for 2023, Belhaven turned to local Scottish agency Thirst to create a design for the times.

“We wanted to make this iconic legend relevant, approachable and inclusive for the new generation of drinkers,” explains Matheson. “We were looking for a design to challenge the old-fashioned image of ale, communicate freshness and sessionability yet still celebrate Belhaven’s proud heritage and provenance.”

The new design incorporates Belhaven Brewery’s iconic malting chimneys that have been part of the brewery’s history since 1719, more than 300 years ago.

The design also makes a nod to the local

town of Dunbar, also known as ‘sunny Dunny’, with the rays of sunshine shining through the chimneys.

ROLLOUT PLAN

The relaunch of Best will begin in midMay with around 100 venues per month receiving new fonts, tap handles and keg lenses.

Also available will be comprehensive new POS kits which feature branded glassware, t-shirts, bar runners, drip mats, posters and table talkers.

In addition, the activity will be backed by a strong launch campaign across all media types to ensure that Belhaven is bringing out the Best as effectively as possible.

Bring out the Best!

We know that Scottish people love to buy Scottish products and the redesign will help firmly root the ale in our proud Scottish heritage.

New POS kits will be available and include glassware, t-shirt, bar runner, drip mats and posters/table talkers.

The rollout will begin in mid-May with around 100 venues per month receiving the new fonts, tap handles and keg lenses. A strong launch campaign across all media types will support the launch.

“WE WERE LOOKING FOR A DESIGN TO CHALLENGE THE OLD-FASHIONED IMAGE OF ALE, COMMUNICATE FRESHNESS AND SESSIONABILITY YET STILL CELEBRATE BELHAVEN’S PROUD HERITAGE AND PROVENANCE.”

FIONA MATHESON, BELHAVEN BRAND MANAGER

The campaign will help communicate to consumers that the best times are the ones they spend with friends and family with Best playing a vital role in making those times as memorable as possible.

GROWING SHARE

“Over the last year, Best gained share in the Scottish Ale market and with this new rebrand, we hope to continue growing,” comments Matheson. “There is every indication that Best will continue to cement its position as Scotland’s favourite ale.

“It has been a privilege to lead the rebrand project of Scotland’s number one ale. The

team at Belhaven have worked on this project for many months and I am very excited to see it come to life in venues across Scotland and further field.

“The new branding captures everything that is fantastic about Best and I believe our customers will really understand and appreciate the subtle nods to our long heritage and our brewery in Dunbar.

“Best is the first product in our portfolio to receive a rebrand and hopefully this sets the precedent for things to come from Belhaven, Scotland’s oldest working brewery. Keep an eye out for more important relaunches in the future.”

TRADE BENEFITS

Naturally, the rebrand will also have significant benefits for venues stocking Best by bringing new drinkers to the brand while also helping ensure existing fans remain loyal to their favourite ale.

Indeed, the customer research showed clearly that customers are even more likely to recommend Best to their friends after seeing the new designs.

So while things change, times shared together will always be the Best.

Building on success

The rebrand of Belhaven best comes after a very successful 2022 for Belhaven Brewery. Some of the highlights from last year include:

New Visitor experience in Dunbar – named Visitor Attraction of the Year at the Icons of Beer Awards and has received over one hundred 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor.

Award winning portfolio – World Beer Awards World’s Best Oat Stout, and Gold Medals for the full Discovery Range.

Bringing out the Best – new state of the art kegging line added.

Get ready for summer

With good weather widely predicted, a bumper bundle of Bank Holidays, the King’s coronation and the majority of consumers opting for a staycation, Greene King has a number of suggestions to help you ensure this summer is a scorcher.

There’s nothing quite like a warm summer to help drive extra footfall, sales and profits – and it’s widely predicted that this summer is set to be a cracker. When the mercury rises, people are invariably far more inclined to venture out with friends and family to enjoy a few drinks and maybe some food – and if you are lucky enough to have an outdoor hospitality area at your venue, so much the better.

The last couple of months have been chock full of opportunities to grow your business, including a run of sales-boosting bank holiday weekends and, of course, there are another four on the way in May.

The biggest event of all, however, is likely to be the coronation of King Charles III on the 6th of May, a once-in-a-lifetime celebration that’s likely to see the nation come together to toast the new king. It’s been 70 years since the last coronation, so it’s not unreasonable to expect that the coronation weekend will be an opportunity like no other.

If you really want to mark the coronation in style, be sure to stock Greene King’s unique Coronation Ale, a limited-edition cask ale brewed specially to commemorate the occasion.

HOT OPPORTUNITY

The coronation, then, will help the trade get off to a flyer in May but with warmer weather upon us and another couple of bank holiday weekends on the horizon in May, it’s a wonderful time to start planning for a bumper summer.

Another fantastic opportunity to take advantage of is a special promotion being run by Greene King in May and June which offers venues free branded parasols when they order 2x9G casks of Greene King IPA, Abbot Ale or Old Speckled Hen. Increase your order to 4x9G casks and you can collect five free parasols.

The offer is available from the 16th of May to the 20th of June while stocks last and is a perfect opportunity to enhance your

CREATE AN INSTAGRAMWORTHY BEER GARDEN!

If your venue is lucky enough to have some outdoor space, creating a beer garden or freshening up an existing one is a great way of making the most of those warm summer days. Here are five top tips for creating a beer garden worthy of Instagram…

GET GREEN FINGERED!

Sprucing up your garden needn’t be time consuming or expensive. Plant a few brightly coloured flowers, cut the grass, trim the edges and tidy up any paved or pebbled areas and help enhance the relaxing, natural environment that will bring more customers and keep them there longer.

FOCUS ON FURNITURE!

Attractive, comfortable, hard-wearing furniture and fixtures can help make your beer garden a more inviting and enjoyable spot for your customers to while away a few hours. Get as creative as you like with everything from wheelbarrows, bean bags and benches to parasols and blackboards. It all helps make the garden feel welcoming.

BRIGHTEN IT UP!

Adding some bright, vibrant colours in whatever way you choose can help lift your beer garden and make it truly Instagramworthy, particularly for younger customers.

outdoor drinking area and help your guests make the most of the better weather.

To help you make the most of the summer opportunity, we have been working with our research partners at CGA to identify the top five out-of-home summer drinking trends. Post-Covid, the market continues to change and evolve rapidly so making sure your offer is in line with the latest consumer trends will be key to making the most of the next few months and squeezing every penny of profit out of the critical summer sales period.

As the summer gets into full swing, CGA by NielsenIQ research reveals that in the last summer before Covid, the summer months accounted for a whopping 31% of all on premise sales by value. That represents a total spend of £9,795m in the summer months in 2019. This emphasises the huge importance of summer in the positioning of drinks brands and the venues that sell them, and the need to understand how consumers’ preferences change from the rest of the year.

CGA and Zonal research has found that the key drivers for consumers choosing hospitality venues in 2023 are as follows:

Price (66%)

Location (61%)

Hygiene standards (41%)

Good customer service (39%)

ADD A BAR!

If you’ve got the space and licensing rules permit, why not added a dedicated outdoor bar to make it even easier to your customers to quench their thirst on a hot summer’s day. You can offer a limited menu to make it easier and also to encourage your customers to buy higher margin products.

TAILOR YOUR FOOD!

Drive up food sales by offering a summer menu in the garden with lighter dishes, or get the BBQ going, a great way to drive sales as customers get wafts of that irresistible smell.

81% of consumers plan to holiday in the UK this year rather than going abroad.

KEY TRENDS

Here are five of CGA’s key insights to help venues flourish this summer:

1 CIDER SHINES

CGA data from the last ‘normal’ summer of trading in 2019 shows cider shines in summer. Cider took 7.2% of all on-premise drinks sales over the summer in 2019, significantly higher than the category’s average of 6.0% over the rest of the year. Daily breakdowns of sales show it performs particularly well on hot days.

Serving Suggestions: A great option would be the new Kopparberg Summer Punch, a limited-edition variant from the UK’s leading flavoured cider brand – see p65.

Also consider installing Thatchers Fusion to cater for cider drinkers looking for new flavours, particularly as new installs come with free geo-targeted social media support from the brand to dive footfall – see p64.

2 LAGER UP

Beer’s share of the market stays steady all year around, but there are significant sub-category trends to follow. As drinkers seek more refreshing drinks, standard lager takes an extra 0.4% of beer sales in the summer while premium world lager takes even more at 0.6%. Given its popularity in 2022, it is likely to flourish over the next few months.

Serving Suggestions: Estrella Galicia is a fantastic option, providing a little authentic Spanish flair – and it’s also available in a 0.0% format. Plus, there are some fantastic deals available this period – see p12.

3 GIN WINS

When the sun is out, many spirits drinkers turn to light choices like gin and tonic. Gin grows its share of total spirits sales by 1.8% over the summer. Spirits like rum and tequila can also be expected to perform well this summer, given their growing popularity and their versatile serving options. Vodka’s resurgence post-Covid and similar adaptability is also likely to lead to summer success this year.

Serving Suggestions: To help boost profits, take advantage of the deal in this issue which offers you a free bottle of Chase Pink Grapefruit and Pomelo gin and a case of Schweppes Slimline Tonic when you order any four 70cl bottles from the Chase and Tanqueray ranges – see p46.

4 WHITE AND ROSÉ LEAD IN WINE

Perhaps surprisingly, wine loses 1.2% of drinks share in the summer, but the category has two big winners: white and rosé. They grow their splits of the wine market by 2.8% and 1.1% respectively – at the expense of red wine, which loses 3.7%. Sparkling wine has performed well since lockdowns ended and should enjoy a decent summer.

Serving Suggestions: Cash in on the rosé trend with Boutinet Showdown ‘Widow Queen’ White Zinfandel Rosé or La Ruchette Cotes du Rhône Rosé, two delicious fruity wines perfect for long, warm days.

5 COCKTAILS MIXED UP

CGA’s Mixed Drinks Report shows how consumers’ cocktail choices change with the seasons. More than two in five (43%) choose their options based on the time of year, and nearly two thirds (62%) prefer different flavours. Spritzes are a particularly good bet for the summer, with just over three quarters (77%) of consumers choosing them at least occasionally. Iced or slush cocktails—which two thirds (66%) of consumers who have seen them would like to try—could also be poised for growth this year.

Serving Suggestions: Whether you’re new to cocktails or specialise in them, there are a number of special promotions in this issue that can help you make the most of the summer cocktail opportunity. Check out our Bacardi Piña Colada (p34), Funkin (p68) and Aperol (p72) deals.

STAYCATION BOOM

Another factor that is likely to benefit venues this summer is the continuation of the staycation boom, as consumers say they are more likely remain in the UK this summer than they are to go abroad.

The latest GO Technology report from CGA and leading hospitality tech provider Zonal reveals that the majority of consumers (81%) are planning to holiday in the UK in 2023, as cost-of-living pressures deter them from taking trips abroad.

The survey of more than 2,000 UK consumers highlights the continued opportunity for domestic venues in 2023 with nearly half (44%) of consumers saying that they will avoid hotel stays overseas due to cost-of-living increases. A further 39% said they’d be ‘staycationing’ simply because they would prefer to travel within the UK rather than abroad this year, up 12% from 2022.

Summer months spend in 2019 totalled £9,795m.

Summer months accounted for 31% of all on premise sales by value in 2019.

MAKE THE MOST OF SUMMER WITH FREE PARASOLS!

To help you make the very most of summer and the outdoor hospitality experience, Greene King is offering its customers a fantastic promotion on FREE parasols when they selected cask ales.

While stocks last, customers who buy any 2x9G casks of Greene King IPA, Abbot Ale or Old Speckled Hen will receive two free branded parasols to help guests enjoy the sunshine while also helping to drive sales of these leading brands.

As a bonus offer, customers who increase their order to 4x9G casks of any of these three brands will receive FIVE free parasols. The promotion is available from the 1st of May to the 30th of June and the two casks must be within a single order. Customers who want to increase their order to 4x9G casks can split them across two orders within a 4-week period.

Even better news, consumers choosing to holiday in the UK say that the frequency of their staycations will increase with just under a third of consumers (28%) planning to stay at a domestic hotel more than once this year.

With more consumers planning to holiday at home in 2023, venues have a significant opportunity to attract more guests and boost profitability, so it’s vital that they are prepared.

SUMMER CASK

Cask ales also present a huge opportunity this summer and Greene King’s Limited Edition range is perfect for bringing new drinkers into cask ale and also for encouraging existing cask fans to try some new, lighter ales over the summer months.

The special commemorative Coronation Ale is of, of course, a must-stock in May as the refreshing, easy-drinking golden ale is sure to be a hit as coronation fever sweeps the nation.

The Limited Edition range, however, also includes a number of other releases that have been brewed especially for the summer months. Hopping Special Amber Ale is a brand-new offering packed full of fruity flavour and available throughout May and June.

Also worth trying out is St Edmunds Golden Ale, available throughout June. A fresh golden beer, it delivers delicious pink grapefruit notes and will slip down well on a summer’s day.

Finally, why not consider Pave The Way Pale Ale, the result of a collaboration between Greene King and Big Hug Brewing. Not only is it a delicious, easy-drinking pale ale packed full of caramel, watermelon, peach and stone fruit flavours, the ale also helps support the Only A Pavement Away charity, which connects forward-thinking employers in the hospitality industry with prison leavers, veterans and people facing homelessness.

Meet The Team: Andrew Miller

ANDREW, TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF…

I’m Andrew Miller and I’m Business Development Manager for Belhaven. I’m now in my 30th year with the company which makes me the longest-serving salesperson at Belhaven! Despite this, I’m not that old – just 52 in fact. My role basically involves generating leads and new business for the company and I cover the whole of Scotland.

BUT YOU ALSO HANDLE SOME KEY ACCOUNTS?

Yes, I’m technically only focused on bringing in new business but because I’ve been with the company so long and have developed so many strong relationships over the decades, I also handle a few of our Key Accounts on an ongoing basis. They wouldn’t let me go!

A TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH OF YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM?

I hope so, yes. At Belhaven, the relationships we enjoy with our customers is our most important strength. After all these years I think of most of my clients as friends before I think of them as customers. That’s what really makes

Belhaven special and is, I believe, why we have been so successful for over three centuries.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

I’m afraid I have to give the classic answer: there’s no such thing as a typical day! Because of what my job entails, no two days are the same.

SO WHAT DOES YOUR JOB ENTAIL?

In a nutshell, I have to generate leads and new business and I work on my own, rather than as part of a team –but it’s not quite that simple. Once I have brought a new customer on board, I’m responsible for ensuring that they are set up correctly in every sense before I hand them over to our SDMs. That means everything from helping them get their cellar set up correctly and helping them optimise their range to organising finance if they require it. No two customers have the same needs or demands, so life is always interesting. And it’s only when I’m 100% happy that everything is just as it should be do I hand the customer over to our SDMs.

This issue we catch up with Andrew Miller, Belhaven’s longest-serving salesperson, to find out more about his career, his role and the vital importance of relationships to the success of the business in Scotland.

ABOUT ANDREW

Andrew Miller is Business Development Manager for Belhaven and has been with the company for 30 years, making him the longest-serving salesperson at Belhaven. Despite his lengthy service, Andrew is still only 52 years old.

He first began his career covering the Edinburgh to Stirling area then was appointed as BDM around 20 years ago.

His role means he is responsible for new business development across the length and breadth of Scotland.

Despite being responsible for new business, Andrew also holds responsibility for a number of Key Accounts who “refused to let him go” – a sign of the strong relationships he has developed over the decades.

“PEOPLE ARE WHAT MATTERS IN THIS INDUSTRY AND BY TREATING OUR CUSTOMERS WELL, WE ENJOY LOYALTY AND WE DEVELOP REAL FRIENDSHIPS.”

AND YOU ARE BELHAVEN’S £1M MAN?

Yes, that’s true! But only in the sense that I’m the only Belhaven salesperson ever to have arranged a £1m loan for a client, although that was a wee while ago and the rules have changed since then.

IS BUSINESS STILL PRETTY TOUGH AFTER THE PANDEMIC?

There’s no doubt that Covid was horrific for our customers, absolutely horrendous. But I have to say that this is a pretty resilient industry with some really creative, clever people. I have to say that 2023 so far has been really quite good for us. I’ve certainly been extremely busy with plenty of new leads and customers, so I’m hopeful that it will be a good year for both us and our customers.

WHAT ARE THE KEY REASONS THAT CUSTOMERS JOIN BELHAVEN?

My sales pitch is completely simple and focuses on just three areas: products and portfolio, price and, most importantly, service. In my experience, these are the three reasons why most venues join Belhaven. We have a fantastic product range, as we all know, and we can provide access to an outstanding portfolio of products for our customers. We also provide competitive pricing but, for me, the key factor is the service we provide. A lot of people claim to do it, but we genuinely do put relationship building at the very heart of what we do. People are what matters in this industry and by treating our customers well, we enjoy loyalty and we develop real friendships. That counts for a lot. And it’s not just our salespeople that create, develop and maintain those relationships. Everyone at Belhaven understands the critical importance of strong relationships, from the team on the phone in the

AND EVERYTHING IS DONE IN-HOUSE?

Absolutely. We believe that only by having a fully inhouse team can you rely on your colleagues to meet the standards we expect and deliver the outstanding service that Belhaven has been renowned for over the last 300 years. That’s why we don’t use contractors and rely instead on a fully in-house team across the company. That way, everyone is ultimately accountable to the customer.

HOW IS THE FUTURE LOOKING?

As I say, we’re very positive about 2023 and beyond. It’s been a really tough few years but this is a remarkable industry full of remarkable operators. When we started getting back out into the trade after the Covid restrictions were relaxed, the world smelled of fresh paint! So many of our customers had used the enforced down time to freshen up their businesses, carry out refits and rethink their offer. Covid pushed the reset button for us all and forced many venues to take a step back and have a think about what they were doing and whether they wanted to try out some new directions, whether that was adding or expanding a food offer, adding an outdoor area, trying a new range or just giving the venue a fresh look. I’m confident our customers will see the benefit of all that investment and creative thought in the future. And we’re lucky at Belhaven in being able to offer such a fantastic array of products and services that can really help our customers move up a gear. We are able to offer a complete package: brilliant products, range freedom, financial support, business advice and, of course, the best customer service in the business. We become genuine partners with our customers and when they do well, we do well. That’s what a true partnership is all about.

office to the cellar services team.

The Garden House halves its gaming bill with Money Maker

£1,000 saving

When you take on a new venue, particularly when you’ve never run a venue before, every penny you can save in the initial stages is vital to helping optimise cashflow and driving efficiencies.

That’s precisely why husband and wife team Stuart and Lindsay Kendall were so delighted when Greene King helped them save more than £1,000 on their gaming bills within months of opening their pub and restaurant in Banham in Norfolk, around 15 miles from Norwich.

Stuart and Lindsay only took The Garden House over in December, marking their first venture into running their own venue.

The Garden House is a beautiful Country Pub located in the heart of rural Banham and offers a fine selection of cask ales, local ciders, home brewed scrumpy, craft beers and lagers, along with an abundance of fine wines and spirits.

There’s also an excellent kitchen serving home-

made food using locally sourced ingredients and a striking pub garden set in idyllic rural surroundings.

There’s plenty to entertain guests including a pool table and fruit machine – which is where Money Maker came into its own.

“We had a contract with a local company for the pool table and fruit machine and we basically weren’t happy with the deal we were getting so we so spoke to our RSM Deb Hedges and she told us about Money Maker.

“Very quickly she put us in touch with Regal Gaming who came back to us and helped us save 50% on our annual bill. We were delighted, particularly as they provided a brand-new table, new balls and a new fruit machine.

“I know gaming is only a very small part of the business but to save around £1,000 a year is a substantial saving and it all helps, particularly when we’ve only been here for a few months.”

WHERE CAN WE HELP YOU SAVE?

TV subscriptions

In-venue games costs

Insurance

Payment & card services

Waste & recycling collections

LPG MONEY MAKER: WHO DO WE WORK WITH?

SWR World Pay Calor

Regal Gaming

Jensten Insurance

Viaplay

Sky Sports (in partnership with Molson Coors)

BT Sports (in partnership with ABInbev/ BBG)

To find out how much you could save with Money Maker, speak to your SDM

Stuart and Lindsay Kendall saved more than £1,000 – and got a new pool table and fruit machine into the bargain!

Showdown ‘Widow Queen’ White Zinfandel Rosé, California

A major crowd pleaser from the Golden State! Luscious strawberry ice cream on the nose supported by a bright, berry fruited palate and an off-dry finish. Hugely juicy!

La

Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah – are selected to deliver the right balance and flavour profile. A vibrant, fruity and full flavoured rosé with redcurrant, wildflower and strawberry fruit characters.

How could we help you take the next step?

With some fantastic opportunities ahead, now could be the perfect time to invest in your business – and Greene King can help through its tailored Financial Support package.

With an exciting summer lying ahead of us full of fantastic opportunities, it could be the perfect time to invest in your business to make sure you are fully ready to cash in on the summer bonanza. To help you do just that, Greene King is able to offer a range of tailored financial support packages of up to £10,000 right the way through to larger financial investments of £100,000 or more.

Perhaps you are thinking about investing in an outdoor space, a refresh of the bar or a major refit to revitalise your business? Or perhaps you’re even thinking about investing in a new business? Whatever it is you are looking to do, Greene King can help by offering you a package to meet your specific needs. Additionally, if you are facing some short-term challenges, Greene King can also help you maintain your business and build a platform for further growth in the future.

With the challenges of the last few years receding, it’s a great time to be considering taking your business to the next level – and financial support from Greene King could help you achieve that.

For more information on how we can support you in growing and developing your business, please contact your Sales Development Manager who will be able to discuss the options available.

CASE STUDY: THE LAST ANCHOR, IPSWICH

When Charlie Wade wanted to add an outdoor area to grow his business at The Last Anchor in Ipswich, he turned to Greene King to help turn his dream into reality.

Charlie explains: “With Greene King’s help we were able to invest in a large glass annexe that makes the most of our fabulous view of the marina. We’ve laid a new floor, invested in new furniture, and created a large new outdoor bar and barbeque area to serve the space.”

The new additional space has helped transform the business and generate fresh footfall, sales and profits. “The project has enabled us to host customers outdoors, regardless of the changeable weather,” comments Charlie. “It’s been transformative, it looks amazing.”

Summer specials!

Add some sales this summer with some new products that will help your guests make the most of the next few months.

MALIBU STRAWBERRY 75CL

Nothing says summer quite like Malibu, the classic Caribbean rum. This summer you can excite your guests with a new fruit variant that lends itself to a wide array of simple mix serves as well as providing a useful ingredient in more complex cocktails. Malibu Strawberry is a 21% ABV spirit and liqueur blend which stays true to the brand’s Caribbean roots and boasts juicy tropical and exotic notes, including vanilla and coconut but is set apart by the addition of bright, sweet flavours of ripe strawberry through the addition of strawberry liqueur. Why not add a splash of soda for a refreshing sip of sunshine or blend Malibu Strawberry with ice for the ultimate Strawberry Frozen Daiquiri?

KOPPARBERG SUMMER PUNCH 500ML

Available May 23

Any new products from the UK’s leading flavoured cider brand are sure to drive footfall and sales in your venue so make sure you stock up on Kopparberg Summer Punch cider, a limited-edition offering the pairs the brand’s apple cider with a taste of peach. According to VYPR research in 2022, 80% of fruit cider drinkers actively seek out new and different flavours. The new 4% ABV Summer Punch should help you meet that demand as the temperature begins to rise and consumers look for new summer flavours to enjoy with friends and family. New packaging designs help “tell the story of the Swedish summer on the lakes, with music and friends” while remaining true to the brand’s core creative credentials.

GREY GOOSE ESSENCES: STRAWBERRY & LEMONGRASS 70CL

Super-premium vodka brand Grey Goose has long been popular in the hospitality industry, but the Grey Goose Essences range opens the brand up to a much wider audience, particularly during summertime. Made with Grey Goose vodka infused with real fruit and botanical characteristics, the Strawberry & Lemongrass 30% ABV variant now available. Featuring perfectly ripe strawberries paired with the wonderfully fragrant aromas of lemongrass, the new line is are ideal for attention-grabbing summer cocktails and for simpler serves, delivering a lighter, more delicate twist on the flavour Grey Goose fans have come to love.

Greene King pledges £1m to Emergency Grants appeal

Greene King has confirmed it has pledged a £1m donation to the Macmillan Cancer Support Emergency Grants Appeal. The first £1m raised by Greene King in 2023 will go towards helping people living with cancer with day-to-day expenses so they are supported during the cost-of-living crisis.

The charity pledge is the latest move by Greene King to support charities, team members and customers struggling financially during the cost-of-living crisis.

Greene King recognises it can play an important role in helping Macmillan to be there for those living with cancer at such a difficult time. According to the cancer support charity, 83% of people living with cancer in the UK – almost 2.5 million people – experience some kind of financial impact from their diagnosis, and for those affected, this reaches an average of £891 a month*.

Recent research by Macmillan also showed that cost pressures had led to at least 20,000 cancer patients (6%) delaying or cancelling travel to medical appointments related to their cancer diagnosis**.

The charity’s Emergency Grants Appeal provides those living with cancer practical financial assistance, helping them to pay necessary expenses such as fuel to get to hospital appointments, or support with food and heating bills to aid recovery after operations.

Claire Rowney Executive Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Innovation, at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “We are hearing day-in day-out that many people living with cancer are extremely worried about money because of the devastating financial pressures of both their diagnosis and the increasing cost of living.

“The Greene King pledge to donate £1m to the Macmillan Emergency Grants Appeal will make a practical difference to thousands of people living with cancer in the UK by providing them with a rapid payment to meet their immediate needs and release some of the intense pressure on their lives. People living with cancer need to live, not just survive and, with the support of our wonderful partners like Greene King, we will continue to do all that we can to support those who need us during this challenging time.”

Greene King has pledged a £1m donation to the Macmillan Cancer Support Emergency Grants Appeal to help support those living with cancer during the cost-of-living crisis.

“COST PRESSURES HAD LED TO AT LEAST 20,000 CANCER PATIENTS DELAYING OR CANCELLING TRAVEL TO MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS RELATED TO THEIR CANCER DIAGNOSIS.”

Using insight to

DRIVE ACTION IN THE REAL WORLD

As the Head of Insights at Greene King and Belhaven Breweries, my role is pretty easy to define: I’m here to help continually improve the performance of our brewing and brands business through the use of insight.

That means using insight to delivering longer-term category strategy as well as short- and medium-term opportunities to drive category growth for both Greene King and Belhaven Breweries and, of course, for you our customers.

In its simplest form we’re asking who’s doing what, when and why?

BETTER DECISION-MAKING

In today’s information-rich world it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the masses of customer, market and category data that are available – but that’s precisely where I and my team come in.

It’s our job to find, interpret and analyse the most useful data and turn it into useful information, then turn that into actionable insight. Our role, in a nutshell, is to drive better decisionmaking within Greene King and Belhaven and to also to give our customers the insights they need to make better-informed decisions, helping them to grow their footfall, sales and profits.

Value for Venues magazine provides a very effective channel for us to share these insights with you and, over the coming months and years, we aim to provide you with a wide range of advice and suggestions that could help you grow your business – and all of it based on solid, reliable, relevant insight.

COMMERCIAL FOCUS

One thing that sets the work of my Category Insights team apart is that we operate very much in the real world of pubs, clubs and restaurants.

Eddie Wilkinson discusses how good-quality data and insights are used to fundamentally improve the way Greene King and Belhaven helps its customers optimise their sales of beer and other drinks.

Yes, we take ‘big picture’ insights like macroeconomic trends and global consumption shifts but the work that we do focuses very much on helping our colleagues and customers make quicker, better decisions out in the real commercial world where they live and work.

What does this look like in practice? Well, we take market and category data and we also try to understand the factors that are driving things like distribution and rate of sale.

More importantly, we endeavour to understand the kinds of on-trade guests who actually drive these trends, the nature of their drinking occasions and the triggers and barriers to them choosing one product or category over another.

We explore the needs that different products must meet to get chosen by consumers and we find ways to help guide people to make choices in-venue that suit both the drinker and the venue operator.

CASE STUDY: ALE

To help illustrate how the work done by the Category Insights team drives decision-making in the real world, let’s take a look at the example of the ale category, a category that’s close to our hearts.

We have been working in recent times on a project to help unlock category growth in ale. For this project we worked hand in hand with leading data and insight agencies and also commissioned bespoke research projects.

The result? Over time we gained an in-depth understanding of occasions, motivations, path to purchase and barriers and triggers.

We discovered that, despite the many challenges facing venues and consumers, ale remains a fundamental category within the trade.

We established that: ale accounts for more than one in every five beers sold in pubs

ale drinkers spend more per visit, visit venues more frequently and heavily influence the destination of a group.

We also found that ale drives exploration among drinkers and that cask ale is considered the “freshly baked bread” of the beer category.

REAL WORLD ACTIONS

We identified five key drivers of category growth, broken down into ‘grow the core’ and ‘deliver more’, as highlighted in the visual on the page 69.

This simple ‘road map’ allows Greene King, Belhaven and its customers to focus their decision-making and optimise the effectiveness of the actions they take in the real commercial world when it comes to growing their ale business.

In future issues of Value for Venues we will explore this road map in more detail but, for now, I hope that it is clear how effective and important insight can be in our everyday working lives.

Throughout the year we will explore these issues further as well as tackling missioncritical topics like how to create the right range and how to encourage people to drink ale.

But if there are any insight-related questions you’d like answered in the meantime or any real-world challenges you think we might be able to help with, please email v4vmagazine@greeneking.co.uk to get in touch.

ABOUT EDDIE

Throughout a career spanning more than 30 years, Eddie has worked in Consumer Insights and Category Management. In that time he has worked in both hemispheres of the planet and has worked on both supplier and client side and in a variety of industries. His career has been centred primarily around fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) across food, non-food, branded and private label.

Eddie has been with Greene King on a full time basis for almost four years and says he “loves” working in the beer industry.

“IN ITS SIMPLEST FORM WE’RE ASKING WHO’S DOING WHAT, WHEN AND WHY?”

Grow your business with Hive

Greene King’s innovative Hive model offers a fully supported, low-investment way into growing your portfolio of venues.

With a challenging couple of years now behind us and a future full of opportunities lying ahead, this could be the perfect time to consider expanding your business by taking on another pub. If that is something you have dreamed of, Greene King’s Hive Pub Franchise Agreement is a low-cost, lowrisk way to achieve your ambition.

Hive provides you with a pub that’s ready to trade with all food and drink supplied. Greene King takes care of all marketing and promotions and installs smart till systems so you can understand precisely how the business is performing. Greene King even covers most of the bills.

The only ongoing bills that Hive franchisees must pay are employee costs, insurance and Council Tax / TV licence for any on-site accommodation. All other bills are taken care of.

With everything fully set up, you can concentrate on growing your business and serving customers.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS

A Hive Pub Franchise Agreement could be a great opportunity to develop those in your team who have experience of managing a pub but who want to take the next step in their career.

HIVE IS PERFECT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE:

J

EXCELLENT OPERATORS

You pride yourself on being the best, delivering the best experience for your community.

J BRILLIANT WITH PEOPLE

You are a people person, putting a smile on your customers’ faces.

J TEAM LEADERS

You are great at running a team in a fastpaced environment.

J DRIVEN TO SUCCEED

You’re ready to roll your sleeves up to make a pub the best it can be.

STEP UP

Greene King has opportunities across the country for experienced operators who are approachable, energised and genuine and who are seeking a low-cost, low-risk way of moving their business to the next level with the full backing of a company with over 220 years of experience and expertise in brewing and pubs.

Why not make 2023 a landmark year for your business with Hive?

£20K GUARANTEED

With Hive you will receive a minimum annual income of £20,000 franchise fee plus additional income based on performance.

LOW

RISK

Low ingoing cost of £5,000 includes agreement fees, induction and on-site training.

READY TO GO

A quality pub that’s ready to go, making it easy for you to focus on the business.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN EXPANDING YOUR BUSINESS WITH HIVE, SPEAK TO YOUR SDM.

from the

ranges below COMpletely free

SEASONAL ALE RANGE

AVAILABLE APRil to 14TH MAY

Style: Golden Ale • Colour: Gold • ABV: 4% A refreshing hoppy golden ale made with a fusion of 4 fragrant hops delivering citrus and tropical fruit notes. Delicious and thirst quenching

AVAILABLE May & June

Style: Pale Ale • Colour: Light Gold • ABV: 4.6% Brewed in collaboration with Big Hug Brewing who support the homelessness charity “Only a Pavement Away”. This Pale Ale delivers smooth notes of honey and caramel from the malt combined with Simcoe, Eldorado and Amarillo to give a light aroma and avour of watermelon, peach and stone fruit.

AVAILABLE May & June

Style: Amber Ale • Colour: Amber• ABV: 4.2% A hoppy amber ale brewed with ve di erent malts for rich body and biscuity sweetness. Late hopped with Galaxy and Citra for lots of fruity avour. Inspired by the train service put on for the hop picking families in 19th-20th Centuries.

AVAILABLE June only

Style: Golden Ale • Colour: Gold • ABV: 4.2% Delicious and easy drinking, this fresh golden beer with pale malt and cascade hops was brewed to celebrate Su olk day on the 21st June.

For full details of our 2023 Fresh Cask Releases, scan here stock RISK FREE

DEAL 39

Our Cask Iron Guarantee is a sale or return policy, giving you the confidence to stock a full range of Greene King cask ale for your drinkers to enjoy. If any Greene King cask ales – broached or un-broached – go out of date, you can claim a full refund for un-broached & credit for remaining volume on broached casks**. For more information and to sign up, speak to your Sales Development Manager.