The economic downturn, coupled with hikes in energy prices and the proposal for a minimum price per unit for alcohol, is increasing the financial burden to those involved in the food and drink sector, creating a scenario where every penny saved really does count, says Bill Tripp of Innserve Ltd.
For those running pubs the burden has been disproportionately harsh, forcing licensees to adopt a variety of initiatives – including better working practices and innovative technologies – to keep overheads to a minimum.
One approach to protecting profits is through good cellar management training for staff and supervisors as this has a direct effect on minimising waste and the quality of draught beers while adding value to the customer experience – research has shown that good quality drinks dispense and cellar management training can improve yields by some 3% and sales by 7%.
Some of the more innovative methods of saving money are driven by climate change, and the desire to operate more sustainably.
InnEnergy
One smart product being pioneered by drinks dispense service company, Innserve Ltd, is the InnEnergy energy monitor. The device, which was a finalist in the Environmental & Energy Awards in recognition of the impact it will provide to the drinks dispense sector, is an intelligent power socket for beer and soft drinks coolers, also ice makers.
The Energy Monitor is designed to reduce energy bills and carbon footprint by intelligently controlling a remote cooler
connected to it. When initially installed the monitor is set to ‘learn’ mode and takes one to two weeks to establish the power usage pattern of the cooler. After the primary assessment period the unit is programmed with the establishments opening hours and switches to ‘optimising’ mode, which allows the unit to gauge the best time to switch off the load completely, without compromising the functionality.
The monitor will also indicate power usage and savings in consumption made, which can be expressed in GBP based upon KWH unit costs. On average licensees can expect energy savings of 30%-35%, equating to £170 to £600 per cooler, per year, as well as a marked reduction in carbon emissions.
The simple plug-in solution is already successfully used in Punch Taverns, which has over 3,000 of the InnEnergy units installed in 800 of its managed houses, generating electricity savings of over £450,000 per annum. So, although times are tough, there are ways to save costs and the environment.
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