PR Tips for the Food & Beverage Industry

Launching any new business is a challenging endeavour, but food and beverage is one of the toughest industries to successfully launch and sustain a business. The bar and restaurant scene is fiercely competitive anywhere you go, and especially in big cities, making it doubly important to stand out from your competitors. 

For restaurateurs and bar owners, good PR can be the difference between lineups out the door and a struggle to stay open.

Arguably, there’s nothing urbanites love more - me included - than trying out the hottest new restaurant as proclaimed by our favourite food bloggers, influencers and news sites. And you know the more we hear about a new hotspot, the more we’ll want to visit. The only way to have tables booked up in advance and lineups down the block is by generating awareness.

While great food, drinks, and service will keep customers back time and time again, great PR will get them in the door in the first place. Ads have their place too. They will drive awareness and keep a business top of mind, but there is nothing better than 3rd party endorsements from trusted sources when you’re talking about new (and established) places to get food and drinks.

Here are some tips to help your café, bar, tea shop, fine dining restaurant, diner, etc. stand out in a crowded marketplace:  

Build excitement before the doors open.

The time before a new restaurant or bar opens is a crucial period for building buzz and excitement. A carefully crafted series of announcements and PR touchpoints leading up to opening day is the best way to get reservations booked up months in advance.

Sustain the momentum.

A successful launch campaign will help drive new business for a while, but your PR campaign shouldn’t be one and done. In major centres, new restaurants and bars launch all the time, and customers will ultimately turn to the latest hotspots that everyone is talking about. That’s why sustaining your momentum with ongoing PR is critical. A PR strategy that lasts well beyond launch will ensure your business remains top of mind. Many of the most successful spots have a PR agency on retainer to brainstorm creative new campaigns that continue to drive awareness years after the doors first open.

Think outside beyond local.

Tourists are a major boost for local businesses and are always eager to try local hotspots. If your business is in a destination location, you have the opportunity to draw in an entirely new audience from among the thousands, or potentially millions, of travellers visiting every year. Get on the radar of major travel publications to vie for a coveted spot on lists of the top places to dine, engage your local tourism board for an exciting activation, and more. This is a prime opportunity to target new customers that shouldn’t be ignored.

In a fiercely competitive industry, having an edge is key. The good news is, there are a lot of food media, bloggers and influencers looking for content. Building delectable dishes and daring drinks is a creative endeavour. Use that boundless creativity to design innovative and inspired PR campaigns that help you stand out.