Article

Revisit your beverage program to cater to customer needs

Although a majority of pizza chains offer fountain drinks or ready-to-drink options, revisiting your beverage offering could uncover opportunities to capitalize on trends.

February 12, 2016

By Helen Griffith, director of marketing, S&D Coffee & Tea.

Although a majority of pizza chains offer fountain drinks or ready-to-drink options, revisiting your beverage offering could uncover opportunities to capitalize on trends.

Customers ages 18 to 35 drink more iced tea than any other segment, and iced tea aligns with millennial trends because it is plant-based and natural and therefore, selected as a healthier alternative to soft drinks.

Additionally, there has been an increase in culinary developments around product versatility and flavor customization. Tea is one of the few products that can serve as a canvas to deliver new and innovative flavors. Now, rather than just offering plain iced tea, foodservice brands are actively looking at ways to offer multiple tea flavors in one location, addressing the need for customization often sought by Millennial customers when making beverage selections.

Just as many fast casual pizza restaurants are offering local, craft beers as a unique product offering, this mindset can be extended to non-alcoholic beverages as well. Non-alcoholic beverages provide the opportunity for branding and creativity. and-crafted tea beverages, which can extend the brand of a restaurant focused on custom crafted pizzas.

Some concepts, however, are exploring a lesser degree of customization by incorporating additions such as muddled fruits or flavored syrups. This strategy can expand their tea offerings while keeping costs down by using a single product for the base: fresh-brewed iced tea. For example, California Pizza Kitchen lists freshly brewed iced tea as well as strawberry, peach, raspberry and mango variations on its menu. These same flavors are also offered in lemonade and frozen lemonade, to further expand the restaurant's non-alcoholic beverage options.

Coffee can also play a role in pizza chain beverage strategy. Casual and family dining restaurants, especially those that offer a dessert menu or seek a European feel, may choose to offer a more robust coffee selection, such as espressos or specialty coffee drinks, to enjoy after a meal.

When it comes to building a coffee or tea program, restaurant owners and operators should always start with their core consumer. Determine if your offering matches the beverages customers feel are important. Ask customers if they are satisfied with the choices today and what beverages are missing.

Then, you have to look at the consideration set — the other coffee and tea destinations that the core consumers consider. It will be critical to see if your menu assortment matches up, and this assessment will uncover some gaps and opportunities for growth. When reviewing options, cull lower performing items to make room and make sure that any new items fit the brand and cuisine, as there may be clear boundaries in terms of what your consumers like and expect.

Finally, run consumer liking tests to affirm the new beverages. If your operation has multiple locations deploy them in test markets to "work out the bugs," including any equipment and training, and gauge the market uptake. If successful, roll them out chain wide.

The beverage program may not be the primary reason customers visit a pizza restaurant, but once they're there, they should find a unique, robust offering that caters to their needs, provides a variety of choices and pairs well with their meal.