In a world where brands are constantly trying to engage customers, it’s easy to get caught up in chasing new ones. But there’s a secret weapon that many UK hospitality brands already have: superfans. These loyal, passionate customers are not just regulars, they’re the ones who live and breathe your brand. They’re your evangelists, your cheerleaders, and they have the potential to boost your bottom line. 

 

Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit about the value of these customers, building on recent research KAM has conducted in partnership with the British Institute of Innkeeping and Brakes, and how brands can harness their power for growth. 

 

The example I used last week was the Taylor Swift superfan who had every one of her songs tattooed on their back. Now, that’s a little extreme, but the short answer is that superfans are those customers who aren’t just satisfied with their experience – they’re genuinely emotionally invested in your brand. They’re the people who turn up rain or shine, share your social media posts and recommend you to anyone who’ll listen.

 

They’ve been to your restaurant or pub so many times they know the staff by name, and they’re quick to tell all their friends when something new or exciting happens at your venue. Superfans are your loyal tribe, the customers who will keep coming back for more. And bring their friends with them. And tell their friends about you. And maybe get a tattoo of your logo if they’re really invested!

 

KAM research tells us that 32% of UK adults describe themselves as emotionally connected to a specific hospitality brand, so it’s no surprise they will visit more you often. But it’s not just about the frequency of visits; it’s about the value superfans bring to your business. Superfans are more likely to spend more per visit, provide (free) word-of-mouth marketing and contribute to your brand’s online presence by posting reviews and interacting with your social media channels. They don’t just come for the food; they come for the experience, the atmosphere and the community you’ve created – see Lina Stores for exactly how to maximise the brand story and create a community.

 

But how do we keep superfans once we’ve got them? It’s not just about the food and drink (though, of course, that is hugely important – superfans tend to value quality more than your average customer). Superfans are deeply connected to the experience you provide. Here’s what our insight suggests are the most common reasons superfans stay loyal to a venue.

 

Our research shows that more than 50% of superfans cite exceptional customer service as a top reason for feeling emotionally connected to a hospitality brand. They want to feel like they’re valued, whether it’s a friendly greeting when they arrive – by name if possible – remembering their regular drink order, or just the feeling that the staff genuinely care. It’s not just about giving good service; it’s about going the extra mile to make guests feel special. Superfans expect more, and they’ll reward you for it.

 

Superfans know what to expect from your brand, and they return knowing that they will get a great experience every time. They also value variety – keep them engaged with new menu items, special promotions and seasonal events. A specials menu or guest beer/pop-up food option keeps things fresh without sacrificing the familiar. It’s a balance, but it pays dividends if we get it right.

 

According to KAM research, superfans are drawn to a venue because it feels like part of their social circle. They may have met friends there, celebrated special occasions or simply found a place where they feel at home. Building a community that gels together around your brand is key.

 

Loyalty programmes are a no-brainer when it comes to keeping superfans happy. KAM data highlights that superfans are more likely to engage with brands offering exclusive rewards or perks. These customers want to feel like they’re getting something extra for their loyalty – discounts, access to limited-edition items or invites to VIP events.

 

Social media plays a pivotal role in amplifying the influence (and happiness) of superfans. If they’re not posting photos of your latest dish or sharing their positive experiences on Instagram, they’re telling their friends about your venues via WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. KAM research indicates that 68% of superfans are likely to share their experiences online. That’s free marketing right there!

 

So, how can you turn regulars into superfans?

 

1.  Create memorable experiences. People don’t just remember what they eat or drink, they remember how they feel. We need to provide an environment and experience that creates memories.

 

2.  Make your superfans feel special. Simple gestures can make all the difference. It’s not just about transactions, it’s about building relationships. They like to feel special – what can you give them access to that the average customer won’t get? Secret menu options or merchandise (think Primark X Greggs but on a tiny, personal scale) – something unique.

 

3.  Leverage technology for engagement. Whether it’s a well-designed loyalty app (Anglian Country Inns just relaunched its, and from what I’ve seen so far, it’s great), social media interactions or targeted email marketing, use technology to stay connected with your superfans. 

 

4.  Encourage word-of-mouth. Superfans love sharing their passion for your brand. Encourage them to spread the word by offering incentives for referrals or featuring their reviews and photos on your social media. You’re turning your superfans into advocates, which can lead to even more superfans, which can lead to…you get the picture.

 

Superfans are the unsung (and often untapped) heroes of our industry. They’re more than just repeat customers, they’re brand advocates – an unpaid marketing team, if you like. By providing exceptional experiences, recognising their loyalty, and engaging with them on and offline, you can turn casual customers into dedicated superfans, with or without the tattoos!

Any conversations I’ve had with hospitality and retail business leaders in recent months have invariably worked their way around to the issue of labour costs. There cannot be a single management team across these sectors that is not worried about rising costs and is carefully crunching the numbers to see how to maximise the value from its employees.

 

UKHospitality has calculated that employing a full-time restaurant staff member will jump by at least £2,500 from increases in the national minimum wage (NMW) and national insurance contributions (NICs). On top of this, a high number of part-time workers will also be caught up in the lowered thresholds. UKHospitality says nearly 800,000 hospitality staff will be involved, costing the industry around £1bn.

 

With bigger employee bases and high numbers of entry-level jobs, retail and hospitality invariably take the bigger hits from any NICs and NMW changes. This was starkly illustrated by a recent conversation I had with Paul Hargreaves, founder of Cotswold Fayre, whose wholesale business involving selling artisan food into retail stores and farm shops has revenues of £25m per year and employs 40 people, whereas his two Flourish Foodhall & Kitchen outlets, which have a roughly equal split between retail and food and beverage, have sales of £5m and employ 110 people (including part-timers).

 

He says he found the difference in the cost of labour needed for food and beverage due to the much higher number of people required a “real eye-opener”. If the restaurants weren’t such a powerful driver of footfall to the retail part of the business, then I doubt he’d entertain being involved in the customer-facing Flourish business. From large corporates to small operators, the message is the same.

 

Is it any surprise that Sainsbury’s recently announced it will cut more than 3,000 jobs as it shutters its remaining 61 in-store cafés, which comes almost three years after it closed 200 such cafés and removed the labour-intensive food counters from its stores. 

 

Scottish chef Dean Banks, who runs six restaurants in Scotland, including the flashy Pompadour in Edinburgh, says he will be reducing employee numbers by 15%-20% and has just scrapped plans to open a 200-seat restaurant in Dundee due to the forthcoming tax rises.

 

This is drastic action. To avoid such a fate, many businesses are making the strategic decision to focus greater attention on add-on business areas that require fewer people. For some, this involves the push into more hybrid models such as incorporating retail. Copying operators in the US and moving into selling merchandise undoubtedly represents a modest opportunity. 

 

Supplying branded food goods into retail is also proving lucrative for a growing number of restaurant brands. Itsu has made this a key growth area, with 30% of its sales generated this way in 2023, and much more expected in the future. Julian Metcalfe, founder of Itsu, believes it will very soon be larger than the restaurants business, and the rationale for the shift in focus is obvious. “The high streets, especially staff costs, are so expensive,” he said.

 

For many pubs, the answer has been to reduce opening hours, and maybe consider things like outsourcing the kitchen, with third parties manning the stoves. The real strategic winner though for a growing number of pub operators is adding rooms. The labour costs required for accommodation versus the pub, with its food and beverage, is substantially lower, and staying guests invariably prove to be serious spenders on food and drink in the bar/restaurant – often on quieter nights of the week.  

 

The other strategic route to managing the rising costs of employees is automation. There are not many quick service restaurant (QSR) businesses that do not have kiosks within their outlets. If a QSR brand does not have them, then they are clearly doing it to stand out as the only business not on board with this route to optimising customer flow. There are many other examples of automation being tested and introduced into restaurants, predominantly in the back end, to boost efficiency and strip-out labour costs. 

 

One of the most progressive participants is the London healthy bowls restaurant Common Room, which is run by technology and restaurant start-up Kaikaku. The restaurant has a dining room on the ground floor, while behind the scenes in the basement, it has code writers and hardware designers with 3D printers, constantly innovating the model. Interestingly, its backer, Auctor Group, has just bought the 20% stake in Tortilla that was held by Quilvest Capital Partners. The plan is to bring the cutting-edge tech of Common Room and Kaikaku to bear on a much bigger stage at Tortilla and its more than 120 sites globally.

 

The heated conversations and exchanges around NICs and NMW increases will undoubtedly continue, but the hospitality industry is never one to stand still and lose heart, so concurrently, we have many constructive organisations looking at ways they can creatively and innovatively adapt to the serious challenges they continue to face.

We recently hosted a roundtable with senior executives from the restaurant, pub, bar and contract catering sectors, to talk frankly about the challenges and opportunities in progressing their sustainability strategies. We wanted to understand where they see the biggest opportunities to move the dial on this, and what action needs to be taken both at head office and across the estates.

 

It’s clear that there is huge pressure on operators to show their commitment to change. They know that environmental issues are key to the decision-making of both consumers and employees, and this only continues to increase in importance. Guests want to know that their favourite places for eating and drinking out are making meaningful progress in their sustainability strategies, and team members want to be sure they are working for an ethical and responsible company – otherwise, they may well go elsewhere.

 

The challenge lies in driving sustainability progress across every level of the hospitality industry. While smaller businesses are no less committed, their limited resources means that independent pubs, bars and restaurants are at risk of falling behind in their progress and ambitions on sustainability compared with their larger counterparts. Participants agreed that increased support from the government is crucial for operators to advance and meet their goals. However, this alone isn’t enough – industry collaboration is key. Here are five key takeaways for better sustainability practices.

 

1. Adapt your measurements: If you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it. Hospitality leaders understand that progress on sustainability has to start with a detailed, company-wide understanding of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Internal progress must be measured to ensure success in reducing all three, so appropriate KPIs should be in place. A total of 84% of hospitality leaders agreed that KPIs and measurements are vital to improve sustainability.

 

2. Invest in innovation: Technology indisputably plays a big role in sustainability, and 82% of operators see the value in investing in appropriate technology, and return on investment measured in both monetary and reputational terms. All agreed that systems and software help measure and display the goals and milestones of their estate’s carbon footprint or food waste reduction programmes, for example. Actively displaying and communicating this insight also helps showcase the progress the sites are making, helping to inform customers and build loyalty and support.

 

3. Change comes from the top down: More than three quarters (77%) of operators understand that change has to come from the top, and that if sustainability is a priority at the board level, only then will it become a priority throughout the business. Sustainability goals and progress against these should be a recurring item on board agendas. Keeping environmental plans clear and transparent at this level means they can be communicated across the estate, helping to keep team members engaged and motivated to “do their bit”.

 

4. Supplier collaboration is key: The bulk of the hospitality industry’s carbon footprint comes from the supply chain itself rather than individual sites. With this in mind, 77% of hospitality leaders agreed that partnerships with suppliers, producers, logistics partners and others are vital. Good, effective relationships with suppliers enable operators to collaborate and accelerate meaningful change, especially around Scope 3 emissions. 

 

5. Recipe reformulation and menu engineering: Recipe reformulation is by no means a new concept and is used across the hospitality sector. Three quarters (75%) of operators reap the benefits of adapting their menus to drive down both cost and environmental impact and increase health benefits. Carbon labelling on menus can also be positive and labelling lower-emission menu items is a good way to improve guests’ understanding of the environmental impact of their choices – a win for both customer and operator.

 

It’s no secret that operators have a lot to do when it comes to sustainability, but business leaders can’t meet the challenge alone. To make hospitality truly sustainable, it’s essential that we come together as an industry – sharing advice, resources and best practices, to ensure everyone has the tools they need to drive impactful progress. Download our new report for further insight from leading UK business leaders on the actions that can be taken to drive positive change.