Taking advantage of seasonal changes

According to the Lumina Intelligence Eating and Drinking Panel, 2024*, there has been a rise of customers going to pubs for treat occasions, which has been driven by those aged 25-34 and 55-64. Therefore, this shows just how important it is to have strong marketing messaging that targets these demographics with treat-led offers around the seasonal periods.
seasonal menu

There has been a big increase of pubs changing their formats during the seasonal periods. We’ve seen examples of pubs turning their space into Christmas grottos for families, hosting egg hunts/painting at Easter, showing outdoor cinemas/plays/comedy shows, and many transform their sites into sporting hubs during major sporting occasions. These occasions and experiences are fantastic for driving additional spend and ensuring the community see your pub as a social hub at those times of the year.

From Valentine’s dishes to festive feasts, there’s always something to look forward to in the year…To help you navigate these themes, we have created an array of support from posters to recipe inspiration. You can view this on Caterers Calendar.

Christmas

When working in hospitality, it can often feel like it’s always Christmas. From planning the menus to serving your unforgettable dishes to your customers, there’s a huge amount to prepare and plan.

Our goal is to support you to deliver the best Christmas ever through menu inspiration, insight into consumer behaviour and ideas on how to capitalise on the period. Find all our support for Christmas here!

There’ll always be dishes that sell all year but it’s important to keep things fresh. Generally we find that people want roughly the same throughout the year but we’ve found that making seasonal changes is a good way of driving quality, it’s better for sustainability reasons, and it’s commercially beneficial too.
Graeme Warwick, Head of Food at Brewhouse and Kitchen
The UK’s largest Brewpub where every pub has a micro-brewery on-site which pairs beers with their classically inspired dishes on the menu.

Why should pubs change their menus seasonally?

By making seasonal tweaks, it is a great way of adding a quality feel to your menu. It also keeps your menu fresh and gives more reasons for customers to come back without making massive changes. Utilising seasonal vegetables is the easiest way to implement this on menus. The additional message behind this is how it drives your sustainability credentials with British in season ingredients.

What are the benefits of seasonal menu adjustments?

Customers are looking for provenance on menus as a way of driving value for money, so any way of adding a local or British touch to dishes will go a long way. By driving the quality in your messaging on your menu descriptors through seasonality, it will add a real sense of premium for your menu.

How does seasonal menu rotation impact food quality?

Regularly rotating your seasonal options on a menu not only keeps things fresh but it is a great way to take advantage of great tasting food when it is at its best. That enhances your quality, drives innovation with your chefs and it drives sustainability goals too. Not only that, but it aligns with customer preferences, building the overall pub dining experience.

How does seasonal menu adjustments reflect pub identity and branding?

Seasonal menu adjustments at your pubs not only showcase your commitment to fresh, locally sourced ingredients, but they also underscore your dynamic and adaptive approach to providing a unique and constantly changing culinary experience.

Your ever-changing menu reflects the essence of your pub identity, where innovation meets tradition, creating a brand that evolves with the seasons to keep your offerings exciting and relevant.

What are some practical tips for implementing seasonal menu changes?

  1. Plan ahead: Schedule seasonal menu changes in advance over the year.
  2. Stay fresh: Plan for menu development throughout the year that focusses on in-season ingredients that add flavour and quality.
  3. Test and adjust: Pilot new dishes and refine them based on feedback.
  4. Communicate: Update online platforms to inform customers and promote within your pub too.
  5. Train staff: Familiarise teams with new offerings and their benefits/flavour profiles they add.
  6. Monitor trends: Adapt menus based on developing customer preferences.
  7. Collaborate: Speak to us about how we can bring to life your seasonal menus with products in our range and support from our teams
  8. Highlight wherever possible: Use enticing menu descriptions for your seasonal dishes.
  9. Collect feedback: Before planning the next year, encourage customer input for continuous improvement

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*Source: Lumina, UK Eating and Drinking Out Panel, 2024

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