How consumer tastes are shaping event hospitality

The demand for better quality beverages combined with the requirement to eliminate glass from event sites has seen one events business go from strength to strength. 

Guesting on the Event Industry News Talking Events podcast, Event Wine Solutions’ managing director, Paul Scaife said that his business is experiencing a ‘pull’ into more events as a result of customers demanding better quality wine. The company specialises in sourcing high-quality wine and bottling it in full-size 750ml recyclable plastic bottles.

“A statistic from the Association of Independent Festivals states that 50% of customers don’t go to festivals for the headline act. This shows that they are seeking an experience rather than a specific artist, and that includes food and drink. Thus far wine has lagged behind the rise in better quality food at events, but people are now looking to replicate a restaurant dining experience during a festival weekend. When people buy wine in a restaurant they get a full-size bottle, but until we came along the consumers only choice was single-serving plastic bottles. What we do is give them a full-size bottle, and a quality of wine that was previously not available to temporary event organisers.”

Paul also spoke of the need for organisers to address the hospitality elements of their events as a key way to improve profitability.

“I think there is a big untapped market within events and certainly, a better way for events to increase revenue. Having entered the events industry from the outside, I’ve observed that there’s a lot of talk about safety – which is critically important – but not as much talk about revenue. When I was elected to the council of the National Outdoor Event Association (NOEA), my mandate was to try and link some of my bar operator clients with NOEA to discuss how to create a more profitable industry. We’ve all seen festivals fall by the wayside despite being previously successful, so there’s clearly an opportunity to look at hospitality levels as a way to improve the bottom line.”