Santini Grill at QT Perth
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Getting ahead
OF THE CHALLENGES
F & B LEADERS TALK ABOUT HOW THEY ARE BEST MANAGING THROUGH SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES , INFLATION AND THE CONTINUALLY CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF BUSINESS .
Contributed by JEANETTE HURT
With supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressure on food costs , food and beverage management have tapped their creativity to manage the bottom line . “ This has been a big challenge for everybody ,” says Guy Rigby , president of Octopus , a F & B consultancy based in Toronto , Canada . “ The hotels and restaurants I ’ ve been dealing with have been caught a little off guard .” Even with the pandemic retreating , Greg Griffie , senior vice president of the Atlanta , Georgia-based Davidson Restaurant Group , says his team was pretty sure business as usual would not be easily attained . “ There ’ s what we ’ re dealing with today , but we ’ re already looking out six months or so to anticipate other challenges ,” he says .
To deal with these challenges , the “ knee-jerk ” reaction is often to simply and immediately raise prices , Rigby says . But while you may need to adjust prices , Rigby thinks that ’ s not the best solution . “ You need to be creative and strategic ,” he says . “ You also need to do a regular , competitive pricing analysis . I constantly run into hotels , where I ask them , ‘ What is the competition charging ?’ They look at me as if I ’ m from Mars .”
Instead of using eight ounces for a burger or a fish entree , how about seven or six ounces ? “ You shouldn ’ t be set in your ways ,” Rigby adds . “ If you go down an ounce , can you add volume to the plate with different vegetables ?”
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