Bar Trends: Liquor Sales Continue To Increase In Commercial Foodservice Industry

By Nicolas Watson

As most Americans know, as soon as you turn 21 you are officially allowed into a bar, and can legally consume alcoholic beverages wherever they are served (in most cases of course!). So it is no surprise that despite the struggling economy we continue to see positive trends in the bar segment, as liquor is something people drink both when they are happy and when they are sad.

Even in this volatile economy we continue to see indicators and reports that liquor sales continue to grow. In early December, the Huffington Post published an article titled, Increase In Liquor Sales At Restaurants, Bars Linked To Economic Recovery: Study, where they discussed a report from our partners at Technomic, which confirmed this trend as it relates to the restaurant industry. The article said:

“The sale of beer, wine and spirits in restaurants, bars and other licensed locations increased 4.9 percent in 2011, according to a new a study by restaurant research firm Technomic, published Nov. 29. The increase led to a total of $93.7 billion in sales last year, and Technomic contends that those numbers will only rise more in 2012 and 2013.”

To read the whole article in the Huffington Post, click here.

After reviewing our own data, we too can confirm that their 2012 prediction were correct! As we are going to announce in our 2012 Restaurant Industry Update, the Bars segment grew during 2012. The number of bars in the US increased by 2.70 percent. The bars segment had the third largest net change in market segment in 2012, only after FSR-Family Style and LSR-Quick Casual, each of which increased the number of operators by 3.80 and 3.17 percent respectively. It’s great that we can use our foodservice database to verify that the 2012 predictions were correct.

If you’d like to learn more about the 2012 Restaurant Industry Update, or how the bar segment factored into the overall growth,  please email Brad Bloom: bbloom@chd-expert.com.

Foodservice Business and Industry Trends

Would you agree that when a business provides it’s employees with free food they will be more productive?

Let’s take a look at one big company who has free gourmet breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and more for its employees. Drum roll please… Google.

One of the big perks of working at Google, besides working for one of the worlds most famous Internet companies, is the awesome culinary and food benefits. What some call the “Google 15,” other’s call one of the best company perks ever with fresh, local, sustainable and organic food available to employees and guests for FREE every day. That’s right, Google gives anyone who comes through their office free food in an awesome cafeteria.

At CHD Expert, we offer data around the Foodservice Business and Industry segment, so in this example, a company who has an onsite cafeteria that feeds its employees like Google.

Our business & industry segment can be defined as employee feeding in offices, factories, and plants. To a large extent this service is handled by contract feeding companies such as: Aramark, Compass, Sodexo, etc.

Therefore, this type of information might be helpful to you or your business if you are in the foodservice industry. For example, let’s say that you are the marketing manager for a new beverage or packaged snack item that you want to get into offices. We have the data that can help you get your product into these facilities, as we have data on more than 1,600 operators in the US alone.

Via CHD FIND (foodservice industry database), we can provide you details such as:

• Contact Details
• # Employees
• Managed/Self Op
• Management Company
• Number of Meals per Day

Now remember, Google is only one business who provides their employees with free food. But, let’s face it, there are lots of companies out there who are doing the same thing.

Interested to hear more? Contact Nico Watson at nwatson@chd-expert.com.

College Foodservice Database & the NACUFS National Conference

The 2012 National Association of Campus and University Food Service (NACUFS) National Conference  is just around the corner (July 11th-14th) and it looks like its going to be a great show. This year’s attendees will hear speeches from some of the industries brightest minds including: Ming TsaI, Dr. John Francis and Robert Landolphi.  One of the other noteworthy pieces of this conference is the exhibit floor. This year, there are going to be more than 360 booths where you’ll find products, services, and ideas to take back to your operations. This is a great conference for foodservice industry professionals and we’d recommend attending.

Additionally, if you are looking for more information or data around university and college foodservice, we can help.  We have the world’s largest foodservice database. Via our foodservice solution framework, we help foodservice channel members connect with the right target audience, even if it’s as specific as university foodservice operators. Through our database, we provide businesses with the ability to visualize foodservice venues on campus and contact foodservice directors. Getting this granular level of foodservice operator data is our specialty.

What does this mean? This means that we have a university and campus foodservice database with detailed operator contact information. For example, if you want to contact the director of foodservice operations at a particular university because you want to introduce your new “to-go,” box that would be perfect for on campus dining facilities, we have the contact information for these decision makers. In addition, here are some of the other details our foodservice university database can provide you with:

 

• Contact Details
• Number of Schools in the District
• Operation Type (Managed / Self-op)
• # Free & Reduced Lunches
• Ownership Type (Public / Private)
• Enrollment
• Number of Meals per Day
  

Moreover, you can also segment the education database by:

 

• Operation type (self-operated, aramark, sodexo…)
• Enrollment (250 and less, 251 to 500…)
• Number of meals per day
  

If you’d like to receive more information about our foodservice education database, feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to give you a demo of our Database and a free 30-Day trial. Just click here to register for more info. Have a great day!

The 2012 New York Bar and Restaurant Show Recap

This year’s 13th annual New York Bar and Restaurant Show at the Javits Center in New York was just as great as those in years past!

One of our favorite perks about working in the foodservice industry is getting to attend the awesome tradeshows, especially the Bar and Restaurant Show. While business is always priority number one at any trade show we attend, the Bar and Restaurant Show is always packed with tasty samples of food and drinks, and just walking the floor is worth the price of admission.

The first observation upon entry was that this year’s event had a full house! The Bar and Restaurant Show always draws a good attendance, but it seemed like every single booth was sold. So it appeared that not only were there a vast amount of attendees, but also a tone of exhibitors.

Speaking of exhibitors, the companies who were exhibiting were incredibly diverse.
Walking around the floor we noticed that all 6 major continents (Sorry Antarctica) were represented, and that this show had a global presence with representation from the entire international community.

Be it wineries from South Africa and Australia, Rum producers from Latin America, Exotic liquor brands from Europe and Asia, or startup micro brewers from the USA, the exhibitors has something for everyone.  Bar and restaurant owners could make plans to stock their bar with whatever they desire, and the options were great!

Because of this incredibly unique opportunity to sample different beverages from all around the world, we also noticed a much more diverse crowd than in years past. In addition to all of the industry professionals who attended the show primarily for business purposes, there also appeared to be a lot more “curious civilians” in attendance. There is a plethora of samples being offered from booth to booth, and it is easy for one to truly diversify their pallet.

One additional observation that we were glad to see at this years show was the way that they consolidated some of the booths and improved the logistics. They had grouped like industries, so the Brewers were close together, as were the rum distributers, and Inventory Management companies, etc. While this made more logistical sense for the attendees, it likely created a higher sense of urgency between competitors. However, having competitors battle over consumers’ attention is ultimately good for innovation and the economy, so we welcome the change.

Additionally, we at CHD Expert are still the only company who collects and manages data specifically for the away from home foodservice industry and we are proud to stand alone in this segment of the industry.

The Impact of Fast Food on America – InfoGraphic of the new (AB)Normal

Fast food portion sizes have increased since 1950s and companies like McDonalds do not want to admit that they might be part of the problem. Last week, McDonald’s Corp. voted down a proposal to assess its impact on public health, particularly childhood obesity. Do you think that fast food has contributed to the problem?

The Center for Disease Control came out with a new infographic that is jaw dropping – but not in a good way. The May 23rd Daily News article titled, “Fast food burgers have tripled in size since the 1950s: CDC graphic,” reports the latest in a recent onslaught of news highlighting out-of-control portion sizes and weight problems in America.

According to the recent CDC study, in the 1950s typical fast-food burger weighed just 3.9 ounces. Now, it’s 12 ounces, which is three times larger today then it was 50 years ago. Another great stat that the CDC discovered is that an average order of fries has grown from 2.4 ounces to 6.7 ounces. Shocking right? But, the biggest shocker of the study is centered around sodas. The study reported that today, people drink 42-ounce sodas, which is up from the comparatively skimpy 7-ounce soda pours people got at fast-food restaurants in the ’50s. Now, that data has quite an impact!

Check out the new infograpich below. And be sure to check back for more foodservice industry news updates.

Burger and a Beer – The Chicago Way of Life is More Than Just Pizza

When one thinks of the Chicago dining scene, pizza comes to mind. After all, Chicago is proclaimed the pizza capitol of the nation.

While Chicago has more than its share of pizza places, the fact is that the predominant full service restaurant in the metropolitan area is the local bar and grill. Nearly 12% of all full service Chicago area restaurants are classified as a “bar and grill”, meaning that they generate a significant portion of their revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages. The Chicago area is dotted with sports bars, microbreweries, and pubs; boasting a much higher percentage of them than New York or LA (3.5% and 2.5%, respectively). Chicagoans spent almost $550 million in bar and grill establishments last year .

These establishments, as a rule, are quite small. About 78% of Chicago area bars and grills have annual revenues of less than $500,000. But being small hasn’t meant much to their survival. Nearly 80% of Chicago’s area bar and grills have been in business for more than five years.

Why Chicagoans prefer their local pub n’ grub to other restaurant types is subject to speculation.  Certainly, the allure of a bar and grill establishment is probably more about the beverages than the food. It is likely that many patrons’ frequent places that are close to home or work. The atmosphere of your local pub can definitely be more relaxing than other establishments. In many cases, a bond with a particular employee or the owner of an establishment results in frequent visits due to camaraderie and loyalty. It is not at all unusual for patrons to stop in virtually every day.

At any rate, what better way to watch the game or enjoy times with friends than having a beverage and a sandwich on your favorite bar stool? In the Chicago area, it is the thing to do.

Because of the preponderance and diversity of the bar and grill market in the Chicago area, marketing to them can be challenging. Cathy Kearns of CHD Expert, a Chicago based food service marketing firm, noted “Our clients are always looking for ways to reach the Chicago area sports bars and pubs. They are spread out and usually small in size but they represent a large part of the Chicago market, so you really need to get to them somehow”.

Bars and Nightclubs: What’s happening in the beverage industry

March is now upon us and we are gearing up to attend this month’s 2012 Bar & Nightclub show is Las Vegas, Nevada. As we mentioned in a previous post titled, “2012 Foodservice Trade Shows – Why are they valuable and which are CHD Expert attending?” we outlined the importance of attending trade shows in the different segments of the foodservice industry. Since everyone loves a good night on the town, we are excited to get a bar and nightclub industry update and to see what are going to be the new trends for the second half of the year.

As discussed on their website, the Nightclub & Bar Show is one of the best bar, nightclub and beverage trade shows for bar and nightclub owners, operators, bartenders and other professionals in the industry. The big advantage here is that attendees walk away with the tools they need to better attend to their clients, which really helps them improve their businesses. Overall, this is a great show to attend for players in the beverage segment of the foodservice industry.

In addition, The Beer Institute just released some timely news about the value of beer, which of course will have an impact on nightclubs and bars. The Beer Institute’s new report indicates that the value of beer sales in restaurants rose by more than 9% last year, totaling about $23.6 billion in 2011. In their article, QSR Magazine reports that restaurants are having a huge impact on introducing consumers to new brands of beer, especially premium and craft styles. Now the question is, will this same trend carry over into bars and night clubs?

As we just reported in our article titled “ 2011 U.S. Restaurant Trends: ‘The Hungrier Games” the number of restaurants in the U.S. marketplace declined by 2.5% last year, which represented a net change of 16,000 less restaurants nationwide. So, when the Beer Institute released the growth numbers on the beer beverage industry, it was exciting to see this positive trend.

With all of of that said, we are excited to see what the overall theme is going to be for the 2012 Bar & Nightclub Show and what the key take aways will be. Stay tuned for an update from the beverage industry, or leave us a comment and let us know your thoughts. 

CHD Expert Provides Beverage Industry Trends: Find Out What’s Hot in Foodservice

Independent and chain coffee shops are dominating new restaurant growth in North America. According to CHD Expert, strong customer loyalty and affordable convenience are just a few reasons the hot beverage industry is poised for continued growth in 2012.

The hot beverage market continues to grow, with over two-thirds of coffee consumption being out of home. Don’t think that quick service restaurants haven’t noticed. QSRs have dramatically increased product offerings to include more hot beverages. McDonald’s, for one, has increased their McCafé offerings helping them increase their same store sales for 55 consecutive months. Even convenience stores are upgrading their hot beverage selection to try to compete with the quick service options.

Specialty Hot Beverage Operators currently make up 5% of the consumer spends in the Limited Service Market. In terms of number of operators, independents (1 to 9 units) and large chains (501 + units) dominate the hot beverage market. The medium size coffee and tea companies (10 to 500 units) only account for 8% of the market, whereas independents constitute 53% of the industry.

The hot beverage market doesn’t seem exciting on paper. After all, the chance a prisoner opts for a cup of coffee as a last meal over a juicy steak is pretty slim. However, a $14.4 billion market in a declining economy is simply something manufacturers cannot, and should not ignore. The hot beverage market is one of the few markets that have shown continued growth over the past 4 years. The global market for hot beverages (coffee and tea) is forecasted to reach $69.77 billion in value and 10.57 million tons in volume by the year 2015.

According to Cathy Kearns, General Manager at CHD Expert, “We have seen independent and chain coffee shops continue to dominate new restaurant net growth in North America. The Hot Beverage market transactions have nearly tripled between 2000 and 2011 whereas the Limited Service Foodservice transactions have decreased by 7% during the same period.”

Why is Hot Beverage market on the rise?

Future growth in worldwide coffee and tea industries is expected to rely on a few key factors – quality, health and convenience.

Widespread awareness of health benefits associated with hot tea continues to drive the beverage to new heights of popularity. Hot tea is one of the healthy beverages recommended by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. So go ahead and have that second helping of fries, just make sure to wash it down with a nice cup of hot tea.

Gourmet coffee continues to be a significant portion (37%) of total coffee consumed; indicating that consumers want to maintain coffee quality despite the economy. The constant demand for Coffee had helped it sustain extraordinary sales levels even in an uncertain economy. As the economy recovers, rising levels of affluence, consumer awareness and greater per capita consumption in developing economies, is slated to accelerate future growth. No matter the consumer age group, coffee consumption is on the rise:

40% of 18-24 year olds drink coffee daily, up from 31% in 2010
54% of 25-39 year olds drink coffee daily, up from 44% in 2010

An increase in consumption among younger drinkers demonstrates strong category loyalty, which suggests a solid customer base for future growth.

Whether it is a case for our cell phones, or the toppings on our pizza we want everything we have OUR way. Ordering coffee with two creams was a thing of the 90s, I’ll take a tall half-skinny half-1 percent extra hot split quad shot latte with whip. Thanks.