Beverage Standards Association

25/08/2026

The July/August'26 edition of Something's Brewing - https://mailchi.mp/24de6625338a/the-july-august26-edition-of-somethings-brewing_members_supporters-6430726.
There is an eclectic mix of articles to read in this edition

25/08/2026

Is Resilience a Cliché?

We say foodservice is resilient so often it's become a cliché. But Europe's drought has made me rethink what that word actually means.

The sector can substitute its way out of almost anything: swap a supplier, reweight a menu, adjust prices, de-skill a kitchen. That's resilience. But water can't be substituted. And the same fragmentation that makes the sector nimble also means there's no single voice, no single balance sheet, when it comes to adapting to drought.

In this issue, I look at why foodservice's usual playbook for resilience breaks down when the pressure is water rather than price, then turn to the new planning rules aimed at stopping pubs being converted into housing and ask whether the numbers actually support the crisis narrative around pub closures. I also dig into what the BBPA's closure data going back to 2005 tells us about whether policy can really change the underlying trajectory.

We say foodservice is resilient so often it's become a cliché. But Europe's drought has made me rethink what that word actually means.

20/08/2026

Something’s Brewing – July/August’26

 Something's Brewing - July/August 2026 Something's Brewing Articles & News If you have enjoyed this edition of Something's Brewing, contact our Editor, who always looks for articles and advertising for forthcoming magazine editions. You can contact Katie Mather, the Editor, at [email protected]. Our 2026 feature list is here. We offer competitive advertising rates for BSA members, Supporters, and non-members....

Something's Brewing for July/August is now available. 45 pages of news, articles, profit guidance, and lots more features & analysis

18/08/2026

I'm Not Really a Reader

Nobody bats an eyelid when someone says "I'm not a numbers person." Say "I'm not really a reader" and everyone goes quiet. That double standard is oddly costly and it might be costing hospitality more than most.

This week's insight looks at why a sector built on GP, yield, wastage and labour percentages has somehow convinced itself that numbers are someone else's job and what that means for anyone selling into it.

Then in The Numbers, I dig into the government's own price tag for the Employment Rights Act's rules for cancelling shifts: up to £1.2 billion a year. The twist? The people it's meant to help rank compensation for cancelled shifts second-from-bottom on their list of priorities. So what's the policy actually solving?

Nobody bats an eyelid when someone says "I'm not a numbers person." Say "I'm not really a reader", and everyone goes quiet

04/08/2026

France & Spain

This week I look at what wildfires in France and Spain actually do to eating out - and the answer is not what the acreage suggests. When historic fires hit the Gironde in 2022, camping collapsed while restaurant turnover in the department rose.

Customers moved rather than disappeared. I also examine what it means that DoorDash, Prosus and Uber now own British restaurant delivery between them, and who restaurants will be negotiating commission with in three years.

This week I look at what wildfires in France and Spain actually do to eating out - and the answer is not what the acreage suggests.

28/07/2026

Numbers and News

This week's Weekly Briefing comes in two parts - one for the numbers, one for the news - each ending in a question I think is worth considering.

In The Numbers, I look at new BT Active footfall data: up just 0.9% over the year, but stalling since February, with four of the last five months down. If footfall has flatlined while sales rise, growth is coming from price, not meals - and that doesn't last. The winners reach the customer first, by booking, app or delivery. The question for suppliers: how much of your volume forecast still assumes footfall that stopped growing in February?

In My Insight, I turn to the new Prime Minister's 20% business-rates cut for pubs, social clubs and live music venues - and the curious boundary it draws. Hotels, restaurants and cafés are left out, and café-bars don't yet know where they stand. The line runs between drinking and culture on one side and eating and commerce on the other - a distinction the market, through what I call Food Spectrum Convergence, stopped respecting years ago.

This week's Weekly Briefing comes in two parts - one for the numbers, one for the news - each ending in a question I think is worth........

21/07/2026

The Squeezed Middle

This week's Briefing looks at two stories that, on the surface, have nothing to do with each other but together explain a lot about where the UK restaurant sector is heading.

First, the numbers: ONS data going back to 2017 reveals a second "squeezed middle" hiding in plain sight. It's not just about menus and price points, it's about company size. The smallest operators are multiplying, the largest are consolidating and everyone in between is losing ground. I break down exactly how that squeeze shows up differently at each end of the spectrum and what it means if you run, or sell to, a mid-sized outlet.

Then there's the bigger picture. An American sandwich chain just filed to float at a value of up to $12 billion, on the back of $55 million profit. Around the same time, a well-known UK chain went to court to write off £37 million of debt. I look at why growth stories still sell in America while UK operators are increasingly changing hands for next to nothing, including one deal where the seller had to pay the buyer to take the restaurants off their hands.

This week's Briefing looks at two stories that, on the surface, have nothing to do with each other, but together explain a lot about where..

14/07/2026

Hospitality Cost Base

Last week's anniversary edition looked at what has changed in the customer over six years. This week's follow-up turns to the sector itself: its cost base, workforce, estate, and channels.

From a cost base that reset during Covid and never returned to its previous level, to a workforce rebuilt on entirely different terms, to a high street reorganised around both physical sites and delivery, it's a look at a sector that has been reshaped, not delayed. As with last week, a small selection of charts from earlier editions runs through the piece.

This special 300th edition continues to be supported by sponsors. My thanks again to Featured Sponsor Aviko, to Datassential and others who have come on board specifically for this milestone.

Last week's anniversary edition looked at what has changed in the customer over six years. This week's follow-up turns to the sector itself

07/07/2026

Changing Customer Behaviour

This week's Weekly Briefing Report marks a genuine milestone; edition 300. It's hard to believe it's been six years since the first report went out on the day full lockdown began. This anniversary edition steps back from the week-by-week news to ask a bigger question: what has actually changed in how customers behave and how the sector earns a living from them?

This week covers the customer side – confidence, where the money goes, and what (and how much) people are eating. From the "ratchet effect" in spending habits to the trifurcation of the market and the rise of chicken (and now GLP-1 drugs) reshaping appetites, it's a look back with plenty of relevance for what comes next. Next week's follow-up issue will turn to the sector itself: costs, workforce and the estate.

To mark this special 300th edition, the Weekly Briefing Report is, for the first time, supported by sponsors. My thanks to Featured Sponsor Aviko, to Datessential and others who have come on board specifically for this milestone.

This anniversary edition asks a bigger question: what has actually changed in how customers behave & how the sector earns a living from them?

30/06/2026

Deserving More Attention

n this week’s edition, I look at two issues that I think deserve more attention in the sector. The first maps out what rising UK summer temperatures will mean practically for staffing, costs and sourcing by 2036, making the case that weather needs to be a primary input in business planning, not background noise.

The second unpacks a Wandsworth court case in which an AI law firm recovered £7,000 for a freelance consultant for a few hundred pounds and why that changes the informal payment culture hospitality has always relied on.

It connects both shifts to the operators who are most exposed - the independents and squeezed middle who have the least capacity to absorb them. If your three-year plan doesn't yet account for either, this is a must-read.

I look at two issues that I think deserve more attention in the sector. The first maps out what rising UK summer temperatures will mean......