QSR September 2022

S P ON S O R E D B Y S E B P R O F E S S I ONA L

3 Smart Strategies for Driving Incremental Sales with Coffee

restaurant leaders can capitalize on co ee’s popularity todrive incremental sales. First, Bowman says, operators should make their co ee programs standout. “Recently, the industryhas seen sub scription-based co ee programs take o ,” Bowman says. “This has beena bigwin for the chains that have adopted these programs. But for both these chains and smaller brands looking to competewith subscriptions, LTOs allowrestaurants to create buzz around their co ee programs, while driving tra c from co ee drinkerswhowant to try something new. Often, LTOs also allowrestaurants to charge a premium,meaning brands candrive evenhighermargins.” Second, AmyBrown,marketingmanager of commercial foodservice at SEBProfes sional, recommends restaurants o er cold co ee beverages.Mintel Foodservice’s 2021 Co ee andTea report notes thatGenZdiners are core consumers of cold co ee, andnearly half of GenZconsumers purchased iced cof fee away fromhome. “Cold co ee drinkswere trending before COVID, but cold co ee drink saleswill only growasGenZdiners gainmore spending power and consumers shift frombuying regu lar hot brewed co ee tobeverages that are harder to create at home,”Brown says. Bowmanagrees anddoesn’t see cold cof fee sales slowing anytime soon. “Coldbrew co ee and iced co ee continue to see double digit growtheachyear,” he says. “Cold co ees canalso command ahigher price point or an upchargewhenpairedwitha combomeal thatmight typically include ahot co ee.” Of course, no co ee programis complete— nor can it competewithother restaurant’s of ferings or co ees prepared at home—without ahigh-qualityproduct. “At SEBProfessional, we’ve seenfirsthand howimplementing a full-scale co eeprogram cannot only boost incremental sales, but an operator’s core foodservice o erings,”Brown says. “Withall three of our brands—WMF, Schaerer, andCurtis—wehave seen that operators o ering the freshest, high-quality co ees have the ability toquickly become a go-tobeverage destinationover their com petitors. Andwith the right equipment from SEBProfessional inplace, operators cano er top-quality and consistency, nomatterwhat their current labor situation looks like.” ◗

Boost check averages without making operations more complex . / BY PEGGY CAROUTHERS

T hough restaurant tra c has improved since the onset of theCOVID-19pandem ic, anNPDGroup study reports restaurant tra c is still down4percent compared to 2019 levels.While that number is recover ing, a decrease of even just a fewpercentage points can still createfinancial strain for restaurants. As a result, brandsmust focus on making eachvisit count by increasing check size anddriving incremental sales. One of the simplest andmost e ectiveways for restau rants todo so is serving a strong beverage menu. “Beverage programs have always helped restaurants drive incremental revenue,” says ChadBowman, vice president of commercial foodservice sales at SEBProfessional. “The

margins for beverages are good for opera tors, and adding a co ee or iced co ee to the menu canhelp restaurants realize large sales increases.” Co ee is a particularly strong driver for restaurants. Not only is co ee one of thehigh estmargin items ona restaurantmenu, but it alsohas a strong built-in consumer base. In its 2022 report, “National Co eeDrinking Trends,”TheNational Co eeAssociation noted66percent of Americans drank co ee in the past day, andAmericans choose co ee more often thanother beverages, including tapwater. Byusing a fewsmart strategies,

To learnmore about driving incremental sales with coffee, visit wilburcurtis.com.

SEB PROFESSIONAL

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SEPTEMBER 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com