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Profit Margins on Drinks in Your Bar in Spain

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There is a lot of profit on drinks in an English bar in Spain. Today I am going to talk to you about Fanta/Kas orange and how to maximize your profit on soft drinks in general.The buying process is very important if you want to have a good mark-up. A lot of bar owners just buy from the first lorry that pulls up and order 3 cases or 4 cases or whatever they feel they need based on the amount they have shifted in the last week.

When you operate like this you are vulnerable to potential profit loss in the following respects:

• You have failed to research the market for the best wholesale price and therefore could be giving away profit by buying at a higher price than necessary.
• You are loosing potential profit by not buying in larger quantities.

OK. So how do you buy at the best price?

When you run a bar you must look at prices all the time and know in your head what you should be paying for Fanta or a Coke. Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy cans in a big supermarket than it is to buy directly from say the Coca-Cola delivery guy.

Most of the time though we do actually buy from a lorry, but we check the prices offered by various distributors and go with the best deal. Here are some buying tips:

• Be prepared to haggle with the delivery guy. Ask what deals he has this month. It could be that if you buy 10 cases of Coke, you get 2 cases of Fanta free etc.
• You may find that one lorry is offering coke cheap, whilst he/she is expensive on say Fanta, so you have to be a good buyer and buy only what’s competitively priced from any specific supplier.

At the moment we are paying 17p for a bottle of Fanta and if we were to just stick it in any cheap old glass, we would only be able to retail it at around 65p.

So how do you bump up your profit margin?

OK. Serve it up to your customer in a really nice stylish glass, put loads of ice in, cut a disc of fresh orange and put it on the rim of the glass and finally pop a nice fat, bendy straw in the drink. A Fanta Orange presented like this you can sell for 90p.

Always try to see your service from the client’s point of view, always respect the client and you will build up a good business.

How To Prepare a Great Gin and Tonic

Start With a Sparklingly Clean Glass

First you must use a clean class. Personally when I am served a drink in a dirty glass, I usually ask for a clean glass, drink my gin and tonic and then never patronize that bar or restaurant again. When you go out to drink you expect to be served in a totally professional manner.

Pouring out a drink in a bar is an art which has to be learned.

Important!

Always pour the drink out in front of the customer. If the customer is at the bar, then place a clean glass in front of them, so that they can see exactly what you are giving them.

Place the ice bucket next to the glass and using tongs, with accomplished movements at arms length, drop three or four ice cubes, one at a time into the glass in quick succession. (You have to practice loading the ice cubes and pouring out a drink to develop this stylish technique. Just go into an expensive wine bar or hotel and watch how a professional waiter or bartender does it and you can learn that way.)
Anyone can do it but you do have to practice first. When you’ve had a bit of practice you’ll be able to drop the ice cubes into the glass from a bit of a height and clients just love to see you do that.

Once you’ve done the ice, the next step is to take a plate, which has slices of lemon bathed in water neatly arranged on it and using the tongs, drop two pieces of lemon into the glass.

Now take the bottle of gin, which must be a good brand, (never give customers a cheap gin. If you do they won’t come back.) Hold the bottle close to the customer, so that they can easily see the label.

(Your hand should grip the bottle around the middle of its body and neither your fingers or your thumb should obscure the make of the product you are serving). When you start to pour the bottle neck should be an inch or two above the top of the glass and during pouring with practice you will be able to lift the bottle up to 12 inches above the glass creating a stylish and spectacular effect.

You finish the pouring at this height, twisting the bottle and tilting it upwards, with a movement of your wrist to make sure that the drips from the bottle land in the glass and not on the bar.

The measure in an English bar in Spain is about 6cms, when there is ice in the glass.

Lastly place the bottle of tonic, which must be cold next to the customers glass. You may tip just a touch of tonic into the glass if you wish. You will get to know the individual likes and dislikes of your regular clients as you go

Some important don’ts:

Never touch the glass anywhere near it’s neck for simple reasons of hygiene and if you’ve overdone the measure, just leave it, never go back and mess around with the customers drink once it has been served.

Good Luck!