What’s on Tap?

5 Tips for Resurrecting your Dying Draft Selection

Staying relevant in today’s food and beverage industry is more important than ever.  Bars and restaurants are in constant competition to create the right mix of offerings to help them stand out in the crowd and pave the way to success.  With trends disappearing almost as quickly as they emerge and a never-ending deluge of options to choose from, it’s easy to become quickly overwhelmed.  When beer buyers fail to adapt and make sound decisions in this type of uncertainty, a bar or restaurant can end up with a draft selection that is stagnant, unprofitable, and on the verge of becoming a liability for the business.  If you find yourself stuck with this type of dilemma, you can use these five tips to revitalize your dying draft selection and make it more appealing and profitable than ever.

VELOCITY – Start with beers that are approachable, affordable, and popular.

For a draft selection to be cost effective, beer must move.  You need to have selections that through popularity, customer loyalty, and affordability will increase sales volume.  To achieve this, at least half your taps should be geared toward products with high sales velocity.  Domestic beers like Miller Lite and Pabst Blue Ribbon, popular imports like Modelo and Stella Artois, and national craft beers may not fit the bill for the most esoteric connoisseurs, but they DO sell.  Studies show that consumers of these easily approachable and heavily marketed beers drink more servings per occasion and are amongst the most loyal to their brand.  Consumption of these types of beer also tends to increase as the night goes on and even the most hard-core barrel aged stout and IPA drinkers shift to something lighter and less expensive.

VARIETY – Round out your selection with a broad range of styles that appeal to different clientele.

If variety is the spice of life, then you can’t rule it out when planning your draft beer menu.  After setting aside some taps for high volume brands, you should fill out the rest of your options with a wide variety of styles and trends that appeal to a myriad of consumers.  Having only popular national brands can turn off some customers but a third or fourth IPA isn’t really broadening your appeal either so stick to styles that are trendy and stand out from one another.  Local beers are very popular and can be found in many different varieties.  IPAs, Amber Lagers, and Wheat Beers are three of the most popular styles of the American Craft Beer movement.  Seasonal selections are also a great way to add variety, with stouts and porters becoming more popular in the colder months, and shandies, sours, and blonde ales peaking in the summer.  Flavored offerings, from fruit infused ales to coconut chocolate stouts, spiced holiday beer, and the annual epidemic of pumpkin ales can also add to your assortment.  Don’t forget about a cider option for the gluten intolerant or those who simply don’t enjoy beer.

THEME – Match your selections when possible to the theme of your bar or restaurant.

Keeping your offerings in line with your business’s theme is crucial when choosing your draft selection.  Irish pubs, sports bars, taquerias, night clubs, pizza joints, college bars, and local dives can all stay within the bounds of velocity and variety without abandoning options that are the right match for their establishment.  Ignoring this advice can lead to a deterioration of authenticity for your brand and an impression of inconsistency and amateurishness being passed on to your consumer base.  To properly support your establishment’s brand, ask yourself, what distinguishes you from your competitors and how you are differentiating your business by excelling at what other retailers are doing poorly?  Pick brands that best match your theme and reinforce your message.  When consumers have bought into your theme, a properly paired draft selection will reinforce their expectations and create an impression that is both genuine and professional.

ATMOSPHERE – Choose brands that will accentuate a fun filled experience for your customers.

Business studies show that emerging consumers for bars and restaurants are buying “experiences” when they choose to head out for a night on the town.  The uninspiring drinking session perched on a barstool with the other jaded regulars is quickly becoming a thing of the past.  Modern consumers and especially millennials are looking for something more when they visit an establishment like yours.  Trivia Nights, live music, theme parties, and the like are becoming increasingly popular and if you want to stay relevant, you’ve got to get in on the game.  Picking draft options that add to the excitement of a special event or unique experience is a sure way to increase beer sales and keep your customers coming back for more.  Be creative and incorporate seasonal themes, popular trends, and stimulating concepts with a clear connection to the brands being offered.  Who doesn’t want an Irish Stout for St. Patrick’s Day, a voodoo themed beer for Halloween night, or a Mexican lager to celebrate Cinco de Mayo?  The sky’s the limit and many suppliers and wholesalers are eager to help pair the right products with your events, from classy beer dinners to throwback dance parties and more.

PROFITABILITY – Affordable value brand or award-winning ale, that beer needs to make you money.

You need to think of your draft portfolio as an engine and each tap as a cylinder that drives it.  When each tap is performing well the engine runs smoothly, and your business becomes more profitable.  Running the right cost of goods is important but remember, even a 1000% profit on zero volume equals zero dollars.  You need to ensure that each beer is priced properly so that it generates the perfect amount of volume at just the right mark up to hit your target for net sales.  Set a goal for the profit you’d like to see each of your taps generate weekly and monitor the data.  If a particular brand isn’t pulling its weight, tweak the pricing, try a promotion.  If that doesn’t work, REPLACE IT.  Never keep a “dead duck” on tap in an effort to hit your cost of goods.  If it ties up your tap from a more productive product for two weeks, you are throwing away potential profit and will lose money in the long run.  Don’t be afraid to admit you picked the wrong brand, sell it out at a discount, and make a note never to try it again.  Work with your beer wholesaler to find the right brands to generate the profit you’re looking for and reward the wholesalers who do the best job at this with more draft lines. 

Saving your ailing draft selection from a slow death can be easier than you may think if you follow these easy tips.  If you’re a bar owner or restauranteur, take these words of wisdom and apply them to the beer menu at your establishment.  Execute these principles properly, and you’ll soon be tapping into something new, a model for success.