Enhancing Experiences

A new year brings with it a whole lot of new experiences and opportunities, and 2023 will certainly have its fair share. In this article that featured in the December issue of our Catering Quarterly magazine, we look at how catering can enhance experiences, and how that caterer could well be you:

One of the best sources of opportunities for caterers are events, and the great thing about events, is there’s an abundance of them – there’s always an event happening somewhere. Take the tail end of last year for example, and the amount of opportunities that were created across the nation – and the globe – as a result of the World Cup, as caterers engaged effectively with the event and used it as a draw to bring customers in and draw wallets out.

It goes without saying that food and experiences are and have always been synonymous – you can’t really have an event without food and drink. As time has gone on, and possibilities within both food and events as separate entities have widened and been explored, tastes have developed, and with them expectations among audiences. This has created a need to provide more to keep alluring audiences and pushed the bracket of this time-old relationship between food and experiences to new heights. After all: Food is the glue that brings people together and is a driver to keep them coming back.

What a delightful chip

Sticking with the theme of football for a moment, it is testament to the quality of street food vendors filling bellies with goodness that while the age-old tradition of pie and chips still holds up and retains its charm, the shifting dynamic and evolution of consumer tastes and demand has led to the ready availability of great food choice on matchdays for supporters. This speaks volumes to the popularity of multifunctional experiences sweeping across hospitality and the wider entertainment industry.

To the extent that the food experiences on offer – now widely (and rightly) considered an event in their own right – can almost frame the ‘actual’ event, as something of a subtext. Being based in Birmingham, we have seen this development right on our doorstep – Aston Villa and Birmingham FC have both been somewhat pioneers of this approach, and have seen great results from it. One example is an Indian grill street food vendor that began trading in the Holte End stand at Aston Villa, offering a range of Desi pub classics.

Fans have been vocal about their appreciation, flocking to the vendors pre-match and at half-time to get their fill. This is a pre-existing culture – Birmingham, football fans, Indian food – that the marriage of Aston Villa and caterer have celebrated. There is no reason to not encourage this degree of innovation and widen the choice on offer to fans – it enhances a consumer’s enjoyment of the main experience (attending the football) while also existing as a totally unique food experience on its own. This combination of what is effectively two separate events is a mutually beneficial relationship as they play to one another’s advantage and ultimately has a positive impact on the attendee.

The acceptance and welcoming of street food vendors into sporting stadiums can be seen as a nod to the wider potential of similar arrangements that can elevate the enjoyment of a huge range of different events. This rise can be charted as something of a phenomenon on social media, with accounts like Footy Food and Footy Scran documenting the fine foods found at football, detailing from which ground and how much it cost. Furthermore, it serves as great inspiration for the sector and individual caterers to see what can be achieved and can open the doors for a wealth of opportunities in the future.

Sing your praises

One of the biggest events the UK will host in 2023 is Eurovision, set to take place in Liverpool throughout May. Similar to the World Cup in the hybrid event sense, that it will be broadcast and consumed remotely across the world. Viewing habits of consumers are also shared as groups will congregate to host watch parties in their homes as well as bigger, public screenings that take place, bringing people together. There is also a vested interest in a home nation – a reason for people to engage on such a scale. With all of this, comes ample opportunity. Engaging with an event like Eurovision can be a fruitful venture that you can tailor in line with your business speciality.

It gives a reason for people to visit – and ultimately spend money with – your business. The event is a pre-set theme for you to base everything around. For the World Cup as an example, a quick and easy way to align with the event and show the public you are engaging is to dress up the premises – draping the flags of competing nations all over your business is a classic tactic.

This would be no different with an event like Eurovision – a simple temporary ‘look’ matching the event will tell people straight away that you are on board with the event and more simply put, mark you out as a preferential establishment for them to enjoy the occasion with. Advertising is a must with this endeavour – a sign outside your premises goes a long way, you can also drum up loads of interest through social media and create a palpable sense of involvement.

Eurovision will be enjoyed by many from the comfort of home, so there is a huge takeaway market to access here too. You could put together a package deal to feed everyone, sharing platters, drinks packages – there is so much room to explore and different products you could make good on and have the potential to serve and engage with a huge pool of customers doing this.

Think about menu items with quirky, relevant titles – these always pique interest and are a great talking point. Why not host your own Eurovision contest, with prizes for the best costumes? This adds another dimension of engagement for customers and will increase the likeliness of them staying at your premises for the duration of the event. It’s always worthwhile to consider taking bookings pre-event, and advisable to offer some form of group discount as well.

An event like Eurovision gives you a fantastic chance to show off your creativity and leave a lasting impression with customers who can quickly build up an affinity with you following an impressive experience, just keep your efforts aligned with the event in question and it will be an enjoyable endeavour all around.

Opportunity knocks

It is a well-established feature that music festivals, while striving to host and attract some of the most exciting live artists, have become synonymous with boasting mouth-watering line ups of street food vendors. To the point many festivalgoers will head into the fields with one eye on trying the chili vegan burritos all their friends were raving about last year, and the culinary experience on offer can be just as fondly remembered as the moment of magic when favoured bands deliver the goods. They serve as a great example of the multifunctional experience working well, and it is great to see the doors for these kind of experiences bursting open to your local street and engulfing communities across the UK, presenting so many options and opportunities for caterers.

2023 is a fresh set of 365 days – that’s a whole lot of opportunity. And opportunity really is everywhere – if you look for it, you will find it. As stated in the beginning of this piece, events always need catering! So the demand is already there, you’ve just got to capitalise on it. Whether you cater indoor and/or out, are mobile, function or fixed-site, there’s often events taking place that you can serve well and experiences you can make good on. Focus on events relevant to your specific business, play to your strengths, think outside the box, be bold and plan for success.

As a quick example we have here six of the biggest events set to take place in 2023 – each of which could prove to be a worthwhile opportunity for you:

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