Get set to welcome the Christmas crowds to your venue with a range of sips to encourage customers to spend a little extra to celebrate the occasion.
Despite last year’s challenges, the data shows that on-trade venues saw improved Christmas sales in 2023 compared to 2022, as the sector reported sales growth of 8.8% over the festive season. Pubs performed strongest, with sales growth of 9.6%, followed by restaurants at 8.3% and bars at 5.6%.*
Visits to the on-trade remained important, with 41% of customers prioritising spending disposable income out in their favourite pubs and bars. This was reflected in an increase in footfall, up +3%, and dwell time up +4% YoY.
With 2024’s festivities nearly upon us, customers continue to value visits to the on-trade as the place for celebrations, reunions or casual catch ups. Make your venue the place to be for all festive occasions and serve a range of drinks that will delight customers as well as make your margins merry!
Magnificent Magnums
Encourage customers to spend a little extra and add some wow-factor to their celebrations by offering magnums of sparkling and still wine.
With its eye-catching bottle design, elevated even more in large format, Bottega Gold Prosecco Brut is perfectly suited for bringing some glitz to any festive occasion.
Not just for the summer, rosé wine has fast become a sip to enjoy all year round, and it goes well with the complex tastes that Christmas lunch brings. With its pretty pink colour and beautiful bottle design, Ultimate Provence AOP Cotes de Provence served in large format is sure to look magnificent sat atop any festive table. Great for your customers to snap for Insta stories - and for drinking, of course!
Top Tip: Serve your magnums by the glass at the table to bring a theatrical touch to your diner's experiences.
Premium Draught Lager
Stretch your pricing ladder by increasing your range of super premium draught lager; giving your customers the option to trade up into the growth segment of the lager category.
Introduce Asahi Super Dry to your taps this Christmas! The number 1 Japanese beer in the UK has a distinctive dry, crisp taste and clean finish.
For those seeking a Mediterranean taste, Peroni Nastro Azzurro is an icon in the UK beer market. This premium Italian lager has a distinctive, intensely crisp and refreshing character.
Don't forget your fridges!
Make sure they're full of favourite lagers and ciders, including premium non-alcoholic sips, like Peroni 0.0% and Asahi 0.0%, which will help you cater to the non drinking crowds who are also out to treat themselves.
Festive Fizz
With so many superb sparkling wines available these days, look to extend your sparkling wine offer this Christmas beyond entry level and Champagne. From award-winning English sparkling wines to premium Cavas, and more, encourage customers to splash out on a bottle of fizz that will satisfy both their taste buds and their budgets.
Graham Beck Brut NV is perfect for reaching these treat-minded customers. Made in the Cap Classique method, this South African bubbly can be a perfect alternative to Champagne for customers looking to try something new.
Top Tip: Ensure your by-the-glass sparkling wine range extends beyond your house fizz.
Memorable Drinks for Memorable Moments
Offer customers the opportunity to trade up to a better-quality, more premium sip that will make their special moments even more memorable.
Telling the story behind some of your more premium sips can also help elevate your customers' experience. When Chianti became a DOCG in 1984 (typically the most prestigious wine growing sites in Italy), it was a bottle of Ruffino Chianti that wore the first warranty strip bearing the number 00000001. Even though this might not have been an intentional gesture, it seems to render a secret tribute, giving Ruffino its Chianti ‘first-born’ status. Made exclusively of Sangiovese, Ruffino Chianti DOCG shows floral and fruity notes that lead towards spicy scents of white pepper and hazelnuts.
Top Tip: Train your staff on key wines and their stories to help encourage customers to trade up to a bottle of something special.
The Joy of Experimentation
49% of customers are likely or very likely to try new or different drinks over the festive season. As people are more willing to experiment with new drinks over Christmas, use staff recommendations and menu nods to encourage them to explore with their sips.
Austrian white wine, Laurenz V Friendly Grüner Veltliner, is friendly by name and friendly by nature. With a similar, if not more interesting and exciting, taste profile to Sauvignon Blanc, it’s perfect for customers looking to expand their wine palates when out for festivities.
Top Tip: Draw attention to the more interesting wines on your list by adding a box around the products you want to highlight.
Familiar Festive Favourites
36% of visits to the on-trade are drinks-led occasions, which in turn has seen more customers gravitate to easy drinking styles and familiar grapes. As customers opt for familiar favourites when choosing wine in the on-trade, encourage trade-ups to the classics by drawing attention to them on your menu and offering staff recommendations.
One of the most popular styles of red wine among Brits, this traditional Rioja Crianza from Don Jacobo delivers rich notes of ripe raspberry, cherry and stewed plums and a fragrance of sandalwood and vanilla. It’s a perfect wine to offer customers who are happy to spend a little extra for more flavour.
Top Tip: Encourage staff to ask customers their preferred style of wine to help give suggestions for more premium options.
Discover more inspiration for your festive drinks menu and more in our Christmas 2024 guide. Download your copy here.
Find and order all featured products online at Matthew Clark Live.
About the author
Mary McCarron
Mary looks after the majority of Matthew Clark's digital marketing comms. After a couple of years working in tech, she found her way back to the hospitality industry and can now be found talking all things cocktails, spirits, beer, softs and more across our website, social media, and other digital channels.
