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RLI LEISURE INSIGHT

The Stage Is Set

Helena Hudson, Founder and Managing Director of the Real Eating Company
sits down and explains that the stage is set for agile and independent food and beverage
brands to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities now available to them.

he past 18-months have been devastating for hospitality. But this isn’t just a positive for brands like ours. It’s also essential
From government-enforced lockdowns to disenfranchised for ensuring the longevity of high streets. We must do what we can to
workforces as a result of furlough and regular isolations, ensure that they offer something unique. That each has personality. It
Tthe pandemic has forced brands across the industry to adds very little for customers to see the same coffee house, the same
reimagine how they operate. pizza chain, or the same sandwich shop.
While it’s accelerated the end for some, it has also opened up a I urge small brands to take a leap of faith and a risk, because this
wealth of opportunities for small, agile and independent food and moment won’t last forever.
beverage brands.
The tide is turning
Changing consumer tastes It’s not just small brands who are having to take risks in this
One positive that we’ve seen from the pandemic is the increasing moment, but also landlords. For years, institutional landlords have
number of people who are opting to shop locally. According to sided with the ‘big-boys’. But, in the last 18 months, these are the
Barclaycard data released earlier this year, spending at specialist local brands that have moved out quickly.
food and drink outlets such as butchers, bakeries and greengrocers These brands weren’t able to wait and work together with
rose by 63 per cent in the year since March 2020. landlords. As said before, they serve shareholders. Shareholders
Consumers can see the difference that shopping locally brings, want a return and an empty site with high rent returns nothing.
whether that is through better food quality, affordability or enjoying But small brands can. We’ve had months of positive discussions
a connection with the local community. with institutional landlords, private landlords and have nine time out
The same is also true for serviced F&B brands too. I believe that of 10 come away with a mutually beneficial understanding.
customers no longer want to see the same ‘cookie-cutter’ selection This is now being reciprocated during discussions for new sites.
of restaurant brands on their high-street. Instead, they want unique, Small brands are now being treated on a par with—or often preferred
locally sourced, carefully curated offers from smaller businesses. to—larger brands as landlords have faith that they are more likely to
These brands serve a different purpose to many of the high-street stick around and work together. We are more accountable and are
giants: they serve customers rather than shareholders. In comparison, less likely to walk away.
this results in a completely different offer. Like shopping locally, landlords want to build a relationship with
Arguably, these small brands care more about every touchpoint people. They want a recognisable face, and someone who they know
with a customer and put more thought and care into the design, - if the going gets tough - will work with them.
innovation and quality of their food and drink offering. This combination of factors provides a fantastic foundation and,
This is because, for them, it is do or die. There isn’t a huge safety potentially, a once in a decade opportunity for small agile brands

net that they can fall back on, and it isn’t other people’s money to seize. This will provide great opportunities to accelerate growth.
at risk. The past 18 months has brought a great deal of pressure and stress
Customers have come to realise this. A restriction in movement for businesses of all sizes. Not all of the changes have been bad and
has meant that local brands which have been previously overlooked a number of factors have come together to accelerate a behavioural
have now been thrust to the forefront of a customer’s mindset. They shift that would otherwise have taken decades to happen.
aren’t just now aware of these brands; they are now more likely to The most important thing we can do as small business owners
actively choose them. This presents huge long-term opportunities for is to take action and seize the opportunities that have presented
small, independent and differentiated brands. themselves. It’s a big leap forward but will also ensure that high
streets up and down the country come back fighting, and better
The high-street opportunity than ever.
Sadly, departures by large F&B brands and coffee chains have
meant that even some of the UK’s most bustling high streets
are nothing close to what they once were. In inner cities, this
has been even more catastrophic.
Entire areas of London, where high streets were already at
tipping point, have been left obsolete. This presents a challenge
for landlords, but a real opportunity for agile brands who are
capable of moving at speed.
Landlords want to quickly sign deals to fill their units and
retain their earnings. They don’t want empty sites, and neither
do we as residents.
If our conversations with landlords over the last 12 months
are any indication, we are at a unique moment in time where
small brands are able to ‘level-up’ and move into prime
locations. For my brand, the Real Eating Company, which
typically operated in and around the South East, we’ve been
able to sign deals to move into three central London sites –
locations which were previously completely out of reach.

46 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2021