4. Methodology
Email invitation
Research took the form of an online self-
completion questionnaire sent to our database
of hospitality professionals
Email invitation sent to 50,832 people
containing a link to the survey
A £1,000 prize draw was used as a financial
incentive to complete the survey
Field work took place between 16th August and
23rd September 2010
335 responses to the survey were received
(after screening)
Note: Results shown are based on those answering each question
Online survey
4
6. Industry sector
B&I, Education, Health, Training: (29)
Primary business of company:
Drinks/Food
Education/Training
Manufacturing
Oil/Gas/Chemicals
Technology
“Other” responses:
Equipment supply
Education
Operations/Head Office
Recruitment
Marketing
Events
Q. Which sector of the Hospitality or Catering industry is your company involved in?
Bases: All Respondents (312)
6
7. Region
Q. Which area of the UK are you based in?
Base: All Respondents (211)
7
8. Main job function
B&I, Education, Health, Training: (28)
39% Catering Manager/Officer
11% General Manager
11% Operations Manager
7% Owner/Proprietor/Partner/Landlord
7% Other Manager
7% Sales/Marketing
7% Lecturer
4% CEO/Chairman/Board Director/MD
4% Overall Head of Catering Operations
4% Consultant
Q. Please indicate your main job function from the list below:
Base: All Respondents (206)
8
10. Change in comparison to last year
Turnover Profitability
B&I, Education, Health, Training: (46) B&I, Education, Health, Training: (46)
43% - Grown 35% - Grown
30% Flat 33% Flat
20% Declined 24% Declined
Q. Which word best describes your current turnover in comparison to the same time last year?
Q. Which word best describes your current profitability in comparison to the same time last year?
Base: All Respondents (293) Base: All Respondents (290)
10
11. Challenges in last year for your business
B&I, Education, Health, Training: (35)
59% - Managing costs
37% - Reduced consumer spending
35% - Global economic recession
33% - Effective pricing strategy
33% - Retaining good employees
31% - Too much competition
27% - Differentiating our offering
25% - Attracting good employees
18% - Securing financing
18% - Marketing
14% Regulation
12% - Building green credentials
Q. Which have proved to be the biggest challenges for your business in the past twelve months?
Base: All Respondents (248)
11
12. Challenges in coming year for your business
B&I, Education, Health, Training: (35)
35% - Managing costs
33% - Reduced consumer spending
29% - Effective pricing strategy
25% - Global economic recession
24% - Attracting good employees
22% - Securing financing
22% - Differentiating our offering
22% - Marketing
20% Regulation
18% - Retaining good employees
18% - Too much competition
14% - Building green credentials
Q. Which do you feel are facing your business in the coming twelve months?
Base: All Respondents (231)
12
13. Actions taken in last year
B&I, Education, Health, Training: (35)
66% - Cut operating costs
49% - Restructure organisation
46% - Lay off staff
34% - Change your offering
34% - Target fresh market sectors
26% - Cut employee benefits
26% - Stepped up marketing
20% - Cut marketing spend
17% - Developed a clearer business plan
17% - Reduce prices
6% - Borrow money
9% - Not taken any action
Q. Have economic pressures forced you to take any of the following actions in the past twelve months?
Base: All Respondents (250)
13
14. Attitude to future health of business
B&I, Education, Health, Training: (35)
20% - Very positive
37% - Fairly positive
31% - Neutral
9% - Fairly negative
3% Very negative
Q. Which phrase best describes your current attitude to the future health of your business?
Base: All Respondents (246)
14
15. Positivity for next year
UK Hospitality UK economy
B&I, Education, Health, Training: (33) B&I, Education, Health, Training: (33)
12% - Very positive 15% - Very positive
55% - Fairly positive 30% - Fairly positive
21% - Neutral 39% - Neutral
12% - Fairly negative 15% - Fairly negative
0% Very negative 0% Very negative
Q. How positive are you about the future of the UK hospitality industry / UK economy in the next twelve months?
Base: All Respondents (243) Base: All Respondents (243)
15
16. Biggest challenges facing hospitality industry
B&I, Education, Health, Training: (34)
70% - Attracting good employees
65% - Raising service standards
41% - Training
35% - Dealing with food regulation…
35% - Burden of regulation
32% - Keeping up with technology
29% - Delivering on the green/CSR agenda
15% - Immigration laws
15% - Preparing for the 2012 Olympic Games
15% - Securing lending
Q. What are the biggest challenges facing the hospitality industry?
Base: All Respondents (235)
16
18. Level of interest compared to 5 years ago
4.31
3.90
3.86
3.67
3.53
Q. How do you think the level of interest in the following has changed compared to 5 years ago?
Bases: Shown above
18
19. Benefits of stocking branded foods and drinks
Q. Now thinking about products, which of the following do you think are benefits of stocking branded foods and drinks?
Bases: Shown above
19
20. Agreement with statement
4.09
4.28
3.93
Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Bases: Shown above
20
21. Importance of factors
4.78
4.76
4.66
4.50
4.51
4.47
4.44
4.25
4.06
Q. How important are the following factors to your organisation, on a scale of 1 to 5?
Bases: Shown above
21
22. Media used to find out about new products
B&I, Education, Health, Training: (31)
68% - Hospitality industry magazines
68% - Email newsletter/updates
61% - Hospitality industry websites
Q. How do you find out about new products in the market?
Base: All Respondents (215)
22
24. Objectives of catering in business and industry
Q. What do you think are the objectives of catering in business and industry?
Bases: Those whose company is involved in contract catering – business and industry (21)
24
25. Serve hot beverages in organisation
Q. Do you serve hot beverages in your organisation?
Base: Those whose company is involved in contract catering (all refs) or in house catering (47)
25
26. Vending machines
Decreased
35%
Q. Do you have vending facilities in your organisation?/ What type of vending machines do you have?/ Has the number of
vending machines in your organisation increased or decreased in the last 5 years?
Base: Those whose company is involved in
contract catering (all refs) or in house catering Base: Those who have vending facilities in Base: Those who have vending facilities in
(47) their organisation (25) their organisation (23)
26
27. Influence of company policy on catering
Q. What influence does a company’s own policies have on the decisions of the firm catering on their behalf?
Base: Those whose company is involved in contract catering – business and industry (18)
27
29. Executive Summary
• Almost half have seen an increase in turnover compared to this time last
year, and 42% say their profitability has grown over same time period.
• 7 in 10 have a positive attitude to the future health of their business. 2 in 3
are positive about the future of the UK hospitality industry in the next 12
months, while 48% are positive about the UK economy in the next year.
• Managing costs was seen as the biggest challenge for their business over
the last year, and remains so in the coming year. Attracting good employees
is seen as the biggest challenge facing the hospitality industry.
• Delivering a great service to customers was seen as the most important
factor to organisations, followed by managing costs and offering quality
products.
• There has been a marked increase in interest around local and ethical
sourcing of food products, and many have agreed that green issues are a
key focus in the industry.
29
30. Menurama Survey 2008
Q.1 Which of the following is important for you when considering purchasing a hot beverage away from home?
Total
Unweighted base 1035
Weighted base 1035
Quality 861
83%
Convenience 790
76%
Price 768
74%
Sustainable or Ethically sourced 499
48%
Brand 382
37%
None of these 42
4%
Don't know 3
31. Thinking about roast & ground coffee you drink when you are out of home, which of the
following brands do you think would provide a quality Roast & Ground coffee?
Kenco 78% 16% 6%
Costa Coffee 68% 21% 11%
Starbucks 64% 26% 10%
Douwe Egberts 64% 21% 15%
Caffe Nero 53% 23% 23%
Yes
Lyons 45% 29% 26% No
Don't know
Cafe Direct 37% 31% 32%
Taylors of Harrogate 36% 28% 36%
Caffe Ritazza 28% 30% 43%
Lavazza 28% 31% 42%
Illy 21% 34% 44%
Tchibo 19% 33% 48%
Bewleys 18% 35% 46%
Matthew Algie 15% 33% 52%
Source: Quick Bite 09.3 (Sept 2009) Base: All coffee drinkers, 981 respondents