Members’ News
January 2021
William Murray launches marketing roadmap for 2021 #
William Murray PR & Marketing has launched a marketing roadmap to help sales and marketing teams plan into the year ahead.
Better Communications Means Better Business: a marketing roadmap for 2021 is packed with advice and thinking points to support with planning.
Anita Murray, CEO, William Murray, says: “Covid-19 has changed how we all see the world as individuals and how businesses operate. That includes how they market themselves, given the seismic disruption to the channels we can use to communicate. More than ever, companies are adapting to the idea that they need to see things through the eyes of their customers and focus on what’s important to them.
“As someone who runs a PR agency that specialises in food and foodservice, I regularly discuss the challenges comms leaders are facing. From nailing down the commercial value of activity to deciding which media channels to use in the face of a shrinking trade press, I thought it would be useful to share some of these insights so that your teams can build them into their marketing plans for 2021.”
For a copy of the piece email anita@williammurray.co.uk
Brexit latest: FEA warns that transport costs have tripled #
Brexit latest: transport costs tripled as paperwork creates logjams
Shipping some appliances is becoming economically unviable, warns FEA
FEA is warning that some of its members’ import/export transport costs have tripled with Brexit, due to the complex paperwork issues. One member reported that it would have cost £85 to ship a single unit, valued at £600 – making the transaction unviable. Typically the extra cost is £100 per load, whether for single or multiple pallets. Then there are commodity codes – the first three are free, then they cost £7.50 each. The nature of foodservice equipment means a single load might have 25 different products – which is another £165 to pay. Meanwhile the inevitable bottlenecks and logjams are causing businesses even more problems, with stock held up in distribution hubs and at borders.
“It’s to be hoped that as things settle down, crossing the borders will speed up” says Keith Warren, chief executive of FEA. “However, even if it does, those extra shipping costs are a big concern. They are yet another blow to the foodservice equipment industry.”
The problems are even more acute when it comes to Northern Ireland, where the complexities of the paperwork can be mind-numbingly convoluted, time-consuming and expensive.
“We’ve heard of hauliers holding back from accepting foodservice equipment shipments, because they can’t deliver them, due to the backlogs,” says Warren.
A FEA member reported that before Brexit, they simply called up the haulier and were given a pick-up and delivery date. Now they have to fill in customs forms and supply them for pre-checking, before they get a date. And two of the three companies they use won’t accept orders at the moment, as there’s no room in the distribution hubs, which are full of goods destined for the UK but without clearance.
Of course, Covid-19 restrictions and fears add another layer of complexity to trade. In addition, lead times from outside the EU have increased – those from China have risen from 2-4 weeks to up to 12 weeks. Plus, there’s a shortage of stainless steel.
“Manufacturers, importers, dealers, design houses – we are all under huge pressure. Credit ratings are being downgraded everywhere, credit insurance is becoming more difficult to get, and despite concerted lobbying by FEA and many other groups, such as UK Hospitality, the government is still not giving the supply chain the support it needs,” says Warren. “It’s a situation that must be addressed immediately, and it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.”
The Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA)is the independent, authoritative voice of the foodservice equipment industry, representing nearly 200 companies who supply, service and maintain all types of commercial catering equipment - from utensils to full kitchen schemes. For more information on FEA visit www.fea.org.uk
Deadline extended until end of month for Springboard Awards for Excellence #
Springboard UK has extended the entry deadline for its annual Awards for Excellence until Friday 29th January.
Chris Gamm, CEO of Springboard UK, said: “We’ve been blown away by the amazing, inspirational entries already received for Springboard’s Virtual Awards for Excellence, but with the challenges businesses are facing right now, a few have asked for a little more time. Therefore, we are pleased to say that we will be extending the submission deadline to give even more businesses the opportunity to showcase their best practice, resilience and outstanding contributions.
“It’s been a hugely challenging year for hospitality, but we’ve seen some amazing innovation: from the way businesses operate, market themselves, and develop their teams, to the way they look after their people and unlock new opportunities. This is the chance to recognise your colleagues, team, or the people you do business with and I encourage you to use the additional time to enter.”
The awards are open to any hospitality business that is proud of their achievements over the past year. This year there is also the option for businesses or members of the public to nominate another deserving business or individual. New to this year, the awards will include additional categories to showcase businesses and employees who have gone above and beyond, demonstrating the ability to quickly adapt and implement new, successful initiatives in order to support their employees and communities during the pandemic.
There are 16 different awards to choose from falling under the main categories of Staff Support, Business Innovation and Community. The most impressive entries in each category will be presented virtually in March. The Awards will be an opportunity for companies to build their employer brand and gain industry recognition – all the while supporting the Springboard Charity.
To enter, or find out more about The Springboard Awards for Excellence, visit https://springboard.uk.net/awards
Make the most of Pancake Day with a flipping good competition from Premier Foods #
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With Pancake Day on the horizon, Premier Foods is getting into the spirit by launching a McDougalls competition, giving caterers the chance to win high street vouchers**. Encouraging them to have some flipping good fun, entrants will be tasked with seeing how many times they can flip a pancake in just 10 seconds. The competition will be live from 1st February and alongside this, Premier Foods is introducing its ‘Pancake Through the Day’ recipe book available via www.premierfoodservice.co.uk, showing caterers how to make the most of the versatile pancake across breakfast, lunch and dinner occasions.
Asking caterers to throw themselves into celebrations, entrants can expect a real race against the clock to get as many successful attempts as possible. Caterers across all channels will be invited to submit a video of their achievements, either via email or by tagging Premier Foodservice on Twitter (@PremierFoods_FS), Instagram (@premierfoods_fs) or Facebook (Premier Foods Foodservice). The caterer with the highest total will receive high street vouchers worth £10 per flip (up to a maximum total of £300). All entries will have to use McDougalls Plain or Self-Raising Flour in their batter, and videos can be filmed at home or in the workplace.
Sarah Robb, Foodservice Marketing Manager at Premier Foods comments, “Pancake Day is an occasion many foodservice operators get involved with as a chance to offer their customers something different – after a challenging year for many, we wanted to give caterers the opportunity to have some fun and win a great prize. At the same time, we are launching our latest recipe book to inspire outlets to use pancakes as a versatile base for dishes throughout the day. Quick and simple to prepare, they are a great option for any day of the year, and our ‘Pancake Through the Day’ guide includes ideas such as a Lemon and Sugar classic to Mini Chocolate and Banana Pancakes.”
To enter, caterers can simply email their videos to sarah.robb@premierfoods.co.uk with their name, phone number and email address, or tag Premier Foods on their social media posts. Entries open 1st February 2021 and close 28th February 2021.*
*Open to professional caterers who are residents of the UK, aged 18+. Internet access required. Valid email address or, a Twitter, Facebook or an Instagram social media account required. Max 1 entry p.p. Please create your entry safely and wait for pancake to cool before flipping. Do not flip using a hot pan. Pancake must be cooked with either McDougall’s Plain Flour or McDougall’s Self Raising Flour. Please retain packaging. Prize voucher terms of use will apply. Your personal data will be received, stored and processed by the Promoter and / or their competition agency, Digital Blonde Ltd. for the purpose of administering this competition. For full details on entry requirements and for full T&Cs, visit: www.premierfoodservice.co.uk. Promoter: Premier Foods Group Ltd.
**Love2Shop vouchers. Prize voucher terms of use will apply.
Taste Shakers shares top tips to help restaurant brands succeed in retail #
Taste Shakers, the joint venture between William Murray PR & Marketing and Category Wins, has shared its top tips to help restaurants brands succeed in retail.
The tips come following a webinar for operators last week where the Taste Shakers team walked dozens of operators through the process and answered their questions on making the jump to getting their brands on supermarket shelves.
Top tips to succeed in retail
Identify your best-loved products. What do your diners really love to eat on your menu? Identify your points of difference and evaluate whether these products could launch into the retail categories you’ve identified.
Research your market. There are a number of different ‘categories’ that your products could be sold in. Look at all these different possible areas so as to really understand your opportunity potential.
Think about where you will launch. Evaluate the different retail options for you to launch products into, and match these up with your resources. Going for a major retail launch? Targeting smaller retailers? Launching your own retail platform? Clarity here will help focus your strategy and maximise your budget.
Do some competitor analysis. Identify your strengths vs the competitor set in the retail channel/s you have targeted. Make sure you have some strong enough points of difference.
Plan ahead. Set out a clear road map of the opportunity and how you’re going to get there.
Do your sums. Is there really profit potential?
Be realistic. Understand that the process will take time and effort.
Develop a robust retailer proposition. To build a strong retail business, you need a strong retail proposition covering:
- Brand proposition: Product packaging, distinctive branding and marketing initiatives to attract shoppers.
- Commercial proposition: Create an interesting commercial proposition with acceptable margins for all players within the value chain.
- Category proposition: This will ensure you understand how to add value to the category of the retailer you have identified by having your products listed there instead of others. How will shoppers interact with the category more as a result?
For a copy of the webinar, or to discuss the needs of your brand, email anita@williammurray.co.uk
Access Hospitality are delighted to support and contribute to this month’s Arena webinar #
Many of the challenges facing operators today are beyond their control, but we believe a strong management team and the right technology to hand can help weather the storm. We have put together a useful information hub on how operators can control costs and the areas where savings can be made in the procurement process which includes an on-demand webinar by Arena panellist David Whyte who talks through how technology can help make real savings both in the short and long term.
Access Hospitality has brought together five best of breed solutions to form a hospitality management system, Access Workspace for Hospitality, which powers all our solutions with intuitive apps and analytic functionality surfacing key data and speeding up everyday tasks. Over 1300 UK bars, pubs, restaurants, food to-go, hotels and casual dining operators are benefiting from efficiencies in their reservations, ticketing, EPoS, HR, financial, purchase to pay and property maintenance processes. With guests seeking nothing less than exceptional service, technology from Access Hospitality can reduce general and staff management administration to enable your GMs and front of house to focus on delivering great guest experiences.