The Winter World Cup has started and with the festive season approaching, venues and their suppliers can expect a much-needed boost in winter sales this year.

Even with the uncertainty of the energy crisis and cost of living woes, sport and Christmas parties provide a welcome respite. With consumers in a celebratory mood, this puts venues and their suppliers in a strong position to score a winning goal when it comes to sales.

Whether you have a pub, café, or restaurant, or you’re a hotel operator or cost sector caterers, make sure your venue is ready to host visitors this winter. Suppliers should also be ready to meet this increased demand for popular food and drink items that they know football fans and Christmas partygoers will be looking for.

If the home nations go far, there will likely be an even bigger spike in sales, so preparation is key.

Here’s how you can maximise the opportunities:

It’s a World Cup Christmas crossover

It’s estimated that 7.9 million consumers visited pubs in 2018 to watch the World Cup so there are certainly sales to be had. The timing of this year’s FIFA World Cup means increased sales for most venues, on top of Christmas providing a welcome boost in trade.

Capitalise on this by ensuring both groups are catered for and comfortable. You could create different ‘zones’ in your venue, for example using an empty function room for private Christmas gatherings, while keeping the bar area for football fans to watch the games. Don’t restrict yourself to either group, but ensure all parties are welcome, and watch sales grow.

Pre-bookings and deals

Many venues have already offered pre-booking slots for match days, which can help prepare both stock and staffing levels, particularly for larger groups. Taking bookings also creates a buzz of exclusivity leading to more people wanting to get involved and booking too. You could even offer an early bird discount to get more people through the door.

For football fans, think about the deals you can offer on match days. How about a ‘hat trick’ deal to upsell a sandwich, snack, and drink? Stick with crowd pleasers and best-sellers for maximum sales.

Score with branded POS

As well as pre-bookings, you’ll want to attract the attention of passers-by looking for a spot to watch the match. Adorn your venue with national flags and get signs out front with match day offers to pull them in. Remember, you’ll be competing with other local venues, so stand out from the crowd with bright and colourful football-themed decoration. You could mix in some Christmas touches too to capture partygoers.

Inside your venue, go all out with branded point of sale if you can. Think team colours or flags on napkins, straws, cups, and table covers – check with suppliers what support is available.

Get staff on board

Let your team get creative during the festive season, with football or Christmas themed clothing, tinsel, even flags painted on their faces. This will promote a sense of unity and make them feel involved in the fun and festivities while working.

Make life easier for bar and kitchen staff wherever you can, especially if you have limited numbers. You can do this by serving food in disposable greaseproof wraps and as handheld options (think burgers, hot dogs, hot sandwiches, and pasties) as these minimise the need for washing up and make simple serving options. Keep deals simple and easy for staff to manage, and work with suppliers to ensure stock levels are replenished and to hand.

Be mindful of World Cup promotion rules

Remember to always be generic and never reference the World Cup in any marketing, social media, POS, or menus, as this would be seen as directly associating with the tournament – which is something only official sponsors and venues have the right to do. Caterers and venues need to be aware of these strict rules when attracting sales or exposure during major sporting events.

Keeping this in mind, there are still ways that venues, caterers and suppliers can get involved and help boost sales. Use generic means such as national flags to decorate, team colours for POS, and get creative by offering food and drinks inspired by the countries in the tournament.

Keep in touch with seasonal tips and ideas from across the industry – connect with me on LinkedIn.