Food Chain - Issue 212 - June 2026 | Page 37

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bill’ s
love going out, but can’ t afford to do so as frequently anymore, so we’ ve been very conscious of making sure that we offer good value,” Tom elaborates.“ For example, we launched‘ Kids Eat Free’ four years ago and have given away over 2.5 million meals to kids in crisis.
“ We’ ve also moved quite considerably to appeal to Gen Z,” he adds.“ We’ ve acknowledged that a lot of the Gen Z demographic are students who don’ t have a huge amount of disposable income, so that’ s why we launched our £ 5 bottomless pancakes deal on Fridays – you can come in and eat as many pancakes as you can in 90 minutes for just £ 5. It’ s been hugely popular. Last year, our set graduation menu was the most popular it’ s ever been, which shows that we’ ve been able to build up brand loyalty amongst the students.
“ There’ s a lot of science behind Bill’ s menu development. Around two years ago, we built what we refer to as the‘ menu matrix’, which incorporates all our sales data and food margin data so we can identify trends. Last year, we created an‘ emotional heat map’, where we searched for 200 key emotional words across tens of thousands of reviews that people have left us on TripAdvisor and Google. That then gave us a clear pattern on how we can adapt and change our menu,” Tom explains.“ This summer, we’ re launching a whole new kids’ menu which is totally customizable. We’ ve done several workshops where we’ ve learned that if a child can choose their own dish and make the recipe they want, they are far more likely to enjoy it and eat it all.
“ Last year, we launched delivery for the first time through an exclusive partnership with Deliveroo, which has been
GLOBALLY
SOURCED

Celebrating

BESPOKE PRODUCT SUPPLIER— TO THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY— 25

Years of

McAra is proud to have supported Bill’ s since 2008, when the brand had just two sites in Lewes and Brighton. Over the years, we’ ve grown alongside this exceptional business, building a strong and trusted supplier partnership.
As Bill’ s has evolved, it has remained true to its roots – serving wholesome, quality food with genuine hospitality in beautifully designed spaces. It’ s this consistency and commitment that continues to set the brand apart.
We are proud to play a part in Bill’ s journey and to support their continued success.
ON TIME
ON BRIEF
ON BUDGET
STOCK MANAGED
QUALITY ASSURED
Congratulations to the entire Bill’ s team, past and present.
It’ s been our pleasure working together and we look foward to many more years of partnership.
With our thanks – Ian & Jane McAra.
Our commitment
Bringing McAra into your supply chain will give you the confidence to centralise your products all under one roof, delivering reductions on your distribution costs, volume-based purchasing savings and confidence knowing that all your products, bespoke or otherwise, are stock managed and looked after by McAra.
The McAra team are heavy on experience and work on a‘ just in case’ motto rather than‘ just in time!’ We have a wonderful manufacturing network who can turn their hand to anything we ask of them, both here at home in the UK and further afield. Watching the brands we support grow, from one site to many sites, gives McAra a sense of achievement and the determination to keep doing what we do best … deliver the best possible service every day.
020 8655 1144 sales @ mcara. co. uk www. mcara. co. uk
McAra Ltd, 2-4 West Way Gardens, Croydon, Surrey CR0 8RA
Proud to support great people, great food and great hospitality.
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