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January 30, 2020

2020 – The Year of Sustainable Change

Let us firstly look back on the year that brought us a health kick like no other, 2019. In this year we saw mindfulness, environmental factors and many lifestyle changes take charge. For the food & drink industry, these trends were no different. Millennial influences made sure the industry was aware of these changes and challenged their food & beverage offerings to become more sustainable and reduce their wastage.

Sustainability does not just affect food options, but wine options too. It has come to the attention of consumers & operators within the restaurant industry that some wines aren’t, in fact, suitable for a vegan lifestyle. Some wine often goes through a process called fining, which uses animal products as fining agents. Therefore, for a vegan lifestyle these wines cannot be offered. So, to make sure the consumerist demand of a Vegan lifestyle is met; restaurants have added vegan wines to the menu. Not to mention the rise of biodynamic, organic and other variants of sustainable wines now on offer.

Pouring wine in glass

 

Sustainability beyond the product…

Sustainability however is a lot more than the wine itself. It’s about how a product is packaged, transported, stored, recycled and the values that the restaurant itself holds beyond the product. Entering into the new year, sustainability has definitely been a key factor for consumerist habits. Consumers now are more likely to want to know where their food/drink comes from; if it has been locally produced and whether the restaurant has any sustainable wastage initiatives in place.  About three in four millennials (74%) and Generation Z consumers (72%) are willing to pay more for sustainable products and services, according to The Nielsen Company… And according to lightspeed84% of consumers said sustainability and ethics were a determining factor in where they chose to dine. The report also stated that consumer brands who demonstrate a commitment to sustainability outperform those that don’t, growing 4 percent globally compared to less than 1 percent. These sustainable practices really benefit a business’s bottom line by reducing operating costs. Reducing a business’s impact on the environment means reducing waste and reducing waste means saving money.

It is not just consumers who have sustainability at the front of their minds, more than ever sustainability is also on many restaurants’ radar screens. The National Restaurant Association’s Culinary Forecast provided a survey of nearly 1,300 professional chefs whereby sustainable themes ranked highly in their Top 20 Food Trends. As sustainability has become a game-changer for the restaurant industry. Some of London’s most innovative restaurants have taken the UK’s first Waste Pledge. These restaurants include: The Brasserie Zedel, Frescobaldi, Hawksmoor Air Street, Hotel Café Royal and Sketch; all these pioneering businesses are customers of ours who use Bermar professional wine & Champagne preservation systems to help dramatically reduce their wine & Champagne waste. These systems help all restaurants to meet their pledge commitment on drastically reducing wine wastage, aiding in the reduction of food & drinks wastage by 25% by May 2020. This pledge is imperative to consumerist demands, as people are subconsciously choosing the commodity activism approach, politically trying to help the environment.

Green wine bottles

The Cost of Wine Waste

The restaurant sector wastes £682 million each year on food, drink, and other waste management costs – according to WRAP part of the HaFS agreement; taking action on waste.

How to reduce your wine wastage

An overall average cost of avoidable food & drink waste to a business is £0.97 per meal. When applying a cost to the wastage, it paints a bigger picture of how much could have been saved if certain appliances were put in place to help this situation. Restaurants that invest in wine & Champagne preservation reduce their drinks wastage to less than 0.01%, compared to those that are continuing to pour drink away. With our Le Verre de Vin & Pod Bar systems, an infinite number of wine & Champagne bottles can be preserved and stored perfectly for up to 21 days. With the guarantee, that when next opened, each bottle will be as fresh as the first pour. Therefore, by investing in appliances like Bermar’s professional wine & Champagne preservation systems for the long term, your business will succeed at sustainability, eliminating wastage costs, whilst delighting customers with the perfect wine & Champagne by the glass service.

Many of our fantastic customers have made sustainability a top priority for 2020. The Scottish Café & Restaurant Tower in Edinburgh are a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) and have been rated as a Three Star Sustainability Champion by the organisation. With 12 wine by the glass options, this restaurant must make sure all wines are preserved by their Le Verre de Vin system. The Gate in London is another one of our incredible customers who have invested in their wine & Champagne offering. Winning the 2014 SRA award for most improved sustainability. The Gate serve 14 wines by the glass and are supported by a Bermar wine & Champagne preservation system.

To reduce your wine wastage using our wine & Champagne preservation systems, explore the ranges here.