Dedicated to marketers in the eating and drinking out industry, the MCA Winning In Foodservice 2018 brought together experts from the ‘giants’ of the foodservice industry, as well as exciting emerging brands, to discuss innovative ideas and the opportunities in the sector.

The 2018 MCA Winning In Foodservice conference covered:

• Challenging Times: Unconventional Thinking… Read more »
• Standing out in a crowded space… Read more »
• Maximising social media within foodservice… Read more »
• Building a brand… Read more »
• Bringing together innovation and marketing to maximise opportunity… Read more »
• Influencer Marketing for launch of a new product… Read more »
• Marketing on a shoestring… Read more »
• Commercialising The Customer Journey… Read more »
• Marketing to the changing consumer trends… Read more »
• Taking 170-year-old brand forward… Read more »
• Generational Futureproofing… Read more »

Challenging Times: Unconventional Thinking

We kicked off the 2018 Marketing Conference with a panel of experts discussing the current market conditions and what was needed to achieve growth. On the stage was Ben Forbes, Marketing Director at Essential Cuisine, Nicola Mills, Foodservice Marketing Director at EBS Group, Morgane Thouvenel, Head of B2B Marketing at Leatham’s and Katy Watts, On-trade Category Manager at Britvic.

Our experts focused on the skills that marketers need to succeed. These being differentiation, a dynamic approach to interpreting trends and maximising partnerships. There was strong agreement that marketing has become a lot more than a supporting tool and should be at the forefront of every business.

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Standing out in a crowded space

Martin Williams, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, M Restaurants gave a fantastic an inspiring presentation that focused on the key ways to differentiate from competitors.

Martin emphasised the importance of experience and the idea of leaving the consumer wanting more. This coupled with PR, advertising and marketing will give operators the edge they need amid fierce competition.

M Restaurants are using dogs in a great way to differentiate – Doggy pool party! Quarterly dog events help drive footfall and put the restaurant in the limelight.
Read the full article on mca insight.com »

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Maximising social media within foodservice

Elit Rowland, Trade Communications & Social Media at JJ Foodservice aptly titled her presentation ‘How to wrap a cat’. Did you know that a video showing someone gift wrapping their cat was the most viewed video of the year!?!

Social media isn’t all about sell, sell, sell. It is a crucial cog as brands build a strong reputation through customer engagement alongside promoting products and driving sales.

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Building a brand

Following a break, Nisha Katona, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Mowgli took to the stage in a Q&A that saw questions from the audience.

She was asked about the challenges that she faces from competitors imitating her products within retail. Nisha mentioned her frustrations, but she also emphasised her pride in the quality of her brand and product that others looked to it for inspiration. She spoke of the need to trust the strength of your brand and the quality of your product – if competitors are looking for you, then you must be doing something right!

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Bringing together innovation and marketing to maximise opportunity

This session saw another Q&A, as we saw a video of Arnaud Kaziewicz of Eat being interviewed by Foodspark Editor, Tom Lee.

This discussion focused on the trends that are emerging within foodservice and how Eat are embracing them.

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Influencer Marketing for launch of a new product

Tapping into current social media trends is one of the key ways that operators can be creative when it comes to marketing for a new product launch. Kamila Sitwell of Kolibri Drinks is doing a brilliant job of maximising reach across social media channels. She explained the great opportunities to build brand presence and get your brand in front of the right audience.

Her key tips to being an influencer are:

1. Relevant Content
2. Expand your reach
3. Attract Prospects
4. Position yourself as an authority in your niche
5. Build credibility

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Marketing on a shoestring

Marketing doesn’t have to cost thousands. This session saw MCA News Editor, Finn Scott-Delaney host a session with Carl Morris, Co-founder & Director at Yard & Coop, Brittney Bean, Co-founder at Motherclucker and Liam O’Keefe, Brand Director at Bleecker Burger.

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Commercialising The Customer Journey

‘Food is just a small part of the customer journey’, highlights Mike Bell of The 59 Club. With less people eating out, the pressure is on operators to provide the full experience.

Mike discussed his approach, which is to look at the complete journey, from when the customer first sees the restaurant from the street to when they lose sight of it on their way out. However, in order to achieve this properly, your staff need to be with you on the journey. They need to fully understand and embrace what you aim to achieve and how.

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Marketing to the changing consumer trends

MCA Insight’s, Josh Ford showcased data from the MCA Eating Out Panel that indicated a challenging period for the eating our market, however was clear that opportunities remained. More people are eating out, however they are doing so less frequently, with spend growing at a weaker pace than inflation.

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Taking 170-year-old brand forward

Our penultimate speaker was Anna Fenten of Searcy’s in London. She spoke of the need for brands to constantly challenge their story and remain on top of the trends that are shaping the sector. However, there are clear steps that should be taken to maximising any rebrand. Operators need to understand THEIR customer – they are not always the same as everyone else’s. What drives them into your restaurant, what do they value, what is their demographic etc. Searcy’s focused on these and have seen exceptional growth and recognition as a result.

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Generational Futureproofing

Chloe Combi of Zed was the final speaker of the MCA Marketing Conference 2018. The need for operators to focus on younger consumers is growing in importance. Gen Z will comprise 32 percent of the global population of 7 7 billion in 2019 nudging ahead of millennials, who will account for a 31 5 percent share. How are you protecting your restaurant for the future? Gen Z is one of the first generations (as a cohort) to be fluent in rapid information gathering which can be dangerous for accuracy! They have wholesale rejected ‘old’ media ( newspapers, magazines, cinema) in favour of ‘new’ media (social media, web, phones). They increasingly rely on brands for ideological leadership/a moral compass (See Nike).

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