The growing appeal of pub grub is plating up success for the pub industry, according to new research by Mintel. Pub grub sales have grown by an estimated 14 per cent between 2012 and 2016 to reach £7.4 billion. In that same period, sales of alcoholic drinks grew by 6 per cent, with soft drinks at 7 per cent.
The increase in food sales echoes the responses of surveyed customers, 23 per cent of whom said in 2016 that they had visited a pub in the past month because of the high quality food on offer; in 2017, this had risen to 30 per cent. 69 per cent of pub-goers say that food is a factor in choosing a pub, while one in six said that they would visit a bar or pub especially to find a new menu.
“Sales of meals in pubs have benefitted from an ongoing move in the pubs market towards more food-led venues and efforts to improve quality and to expand and updates menus across price points,” said Richard Caines, senior food and drink analyst at Mintel.
