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RegisterSOFT DRINKS FEATURE 2024
15/02/2024
Case Studies
The Venture Inn, Reigate, licensee John McDonagh
The Venture Inn is a family-oriented premium pub that caters for all. On the food front, there is a light lunch menu for weekday office workers, a bar menu for those watching sports and a tapas menu that gives the pub a USP as a dining spot on weekday evenings and weekends.
John was brought up in pubs and has been in the industry 30 years, 20 at the Venture. He is passionate about the importance of no and low drinks for pubs and the opportunity they provide to drive business.
The Venture has a separate, designated non-alcoholic section on the bar with a Heineken 00 draught font centre stage. In addition to draught Heineken 00, the pub stocks: Moretti Zero, Lazer Crush, Erdinger Alkholfrei, Old Mout Zero and Guinness 0.0 in cans. It also offers non-alcoholic gin, rum and vodka and mocktails. It has a premium soft drinks range, which is all refrigerated, as some customers don't like ice. There are even large bottles of water in the champagne fridge. John uses fruit juices in cartons vs. bottles where he can to ensure they are as fresh as possible. He is considering installing a Pure Water system on the bar, enabling customers to help themselves. Adjacent to the non-alcoholic section is a proper barista coffee machine for those wanting hot drinks.
John is a great advocate of having a separate no and low section. Explains John: “Some customers are almost reticent about wanting a non-alcoholic drink. They gain confidence from being invited to the no alcohol section of the bar where a member of staff can talk through the choices with them.”
John believes presentation and the quality of the serve is essential to making no and low drinks appealing, and he goes all out in this area. Guinness 0.0 is never given to the customer in a can but is perfectly poured in a glass. Even a lime and soda is served in a crystal glass with fruit.
Over the years John has seen people’s drinking habits change. Says John: “People want to come out and socialise in pubs but don’t necessarily always want to drink alcohol. Those who’ve made a lifestyle decision to moderate their alcohol intake are often the decision makers when it comes to where a whole group of friends goes. A good no and low selection is therefore increasingly not a ‘nice to have’ but a ‘must have’”.
John promotes his no and low range in pub via POS and boards and on social media but says that the prominence of the no and low products on the bar is the most effective way of highlighting them to customers. If a customer doesn't ask for a no and low product but looks like they might want one, John and his team will let them know about the Venture’s non alcoholic selection.
