| Create the trend, don’t follow it. Too often in this industry we focus on the chef who is educated, has price negotiation skills, and experiential dishes as forms of brand differentiation. We may fail to recognize that our margins on alcohol tend to be more favourable than those on food, if priced accordingly. My recommendation for you is to hire a ‘cocktail technician’ who has skill sets including mixology education, costing skills and experiential cocktail development as your expression of brand differentiation. By including your ‘cocktail technician’ as a full-time part of your team, it allows for ongoing branding, innovation, and a competitive advantage, all of which a one-time consultant cannot offer your organization. It’s all about flavour In 2012 there were many ‘experts’ who declared bourbon and other full-flavoured whiskies as the spirit of choice. I am not convinced that the masses embraced bourbon as their ‘go to’ spirit. However, the idea of using ingredients that are full of flavour was spot on. The consumer is demanding food and cocktails with fuller, truer flavours. My recommendation is to tap into new flavours through creating them versus buying them. You don’t necessarily have to pick one type of spirit to be trendy or ensure your cocktails are screaming with flavour; make your own infused syrups. You can do this by tapping into the creative side of your staff through employee competitions. This drives your costs down, your staff morale up and maintains your organizational culture. Head for the big city If you want to stay ahead of the local competition, I recommend that you keep a pulse on the global competition. Know what’s happening in big cities like New York City, Los Angeles or London. They have large diverse populations and when the economy is strong, research how their guests spend their disposable income; this will assist you in predicting consumer demands for specific trends locally. What are the cool kids doing? Ensure that you know who the “cool kids” are and what they are doing. These are the bartenders in your area whom everyone seems to be watching. In Toronto, Dave Mitton at the Harbour Room and Elan Marks at Westlodge are the employees that customers and competitors are always talking about. It is important to know what they are doing and strategize on how to do it better. Check out your competition and observe the innovative things they are doing. Can they be adopted or modified into your establishment? In closing, make sure you are the one who is designing the trends specific to your own establishment. Stay in line with your vision, mission and culture, and more importantly know what your guests want. After all, the magazines or hipster bloggers don’t necessarily know what will work for your establishment. In other words, be a pencil not an eraser! See also:
About the author Adrian Caravello, MBA, is a sommelier, professor and coordinator of the Food and Beverage Program at George Brown College. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by visiting www.georgebrown.ca. | |
