COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS UNVEILS FIVE STEP PLAN TO SUPPORT HOSPITALITY CUSTOMERS REOPEN AND THRIVE THIS SUMMER

Last year, Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) launched a support package totalling £20 million as part of its ‘Open*’ campaign to help hospitality customers reopen. This year CCEP is building on this with another multi-million pound package of support, which includes a five step plan to help operators open safely and successfully and the launch of Net Zero Pubs & Bars initiatives in partnership with the Sustainable Restaurant Association & Net Zero Now.

Paul Robertson, Head of On-Premise at CCEP GB said: “It’s been a tough year for the hospitality sector and we’re delighted to be helping our customers reopen and get the most from the summer trading period. Pubs, bars and restaurants have long been an integral part to our busines and we remain committed to supporting the sector to return to its former glory, pre-pandemic.

“We received a lot of positive feedback following last year’s support and we will once again be assisting with a Free Bag in Box scheme for our customers, guidance on sanitisation of post-mix equipment, an enhanced wholesale promotional plan across our core range and some great summer activation plans on our Schweppes brand and across Coca-Cola and the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament to help drive footfall and spend in outlets.

“It’s great to see that many pubs have managed to reopen in their garden spaces already, some of which have been upgraded thanks to the Coca-Cola Community Pub grants from 2020, but we very much look forward to the day all pubs, bars and restaurants can fully open their doors.” 

COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS FIVE STEP PLAN

All information can be found here: https://my.ccep.com/topics/hospitality-support

1. Post-mix Restart Guidance: we have produced both video and PDF guides to assist with restarting post-mix equipment to ensure all our customers are able to offer their guests the highest-quality soft drinks.
2. Free Stock: we are offering our independent free trade customers up to three Bag in Box across our most popular brands, free of charge, to help support them during reopening.
3. Core Range Focus & Enhanced Promotional Offers: we are focusing on the supply and the availability of our Core Glass Range. This range includes consumer favourites such as 330ml Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Coca-Cola Original Taste and Diet Coke as well as 200ml Schweppes Classic Tonic Water, Schweppes Classic Slimline Tonic Water and 275ml Appletiser. We are running several unmissable promotions via our wholesale partners to ensure all our products are available at the best possible price throughout the summer.
4. Project Open – Business Accelerator programme: Earlier this year we introduced a new initiative called ‘Project Open’. This is a business accelerator programme run in partnership with CCEP, Coca-Cola Great Britain, Costa Coffee and Innocent with senior executives from these world leading brands offering insights and advice to help small independent businesses in the hospitality sector recover faster from the pandemic and thrive in the future. Participating businesses will also receive advice on engaging customers from Influence at Work, the world’s leading experts in behavioural science. Some of the insight and advice will be available shortly on our trade website for more of our customers to benefit from.
5. Driving Sales & Footfall:
   1. UEFA Euro 2020 (summer 2021): We’re launching a Scan and Score promotion, which enables guests to scan their Coca-Cola in outlet and be instantly notified whether they have won one of many exciting prizes including TVs, national team shirts and Coca-Cola branded merchandise. The promotion can easily be set up in pubs or bars by requesting one of our 10,000 scan and score activation kits which will be ready for 1st June. Promotion is open until the 11^th July 2021. We’ve also set up an online Coca-Cola platform for operators to create their own social media posts as well as print posters to communicate to guests which matches they will be showing. The platform (http://www.cocacolafootball.co.uk/social ) will go live from the beginning of June.
   2. Schweppes Mixers: In 2021, we will focus on our great tasting Schweppes Classic range​ including Schweppes Tonic and Schweppes Slimline Tonic as well as Schweppes Russchian Pink Soda and new Elderflower Slimline. To support Schweppes Pink Soda and new Schweppes Elderflower, we will be providing activation kits including glasses, chalkboards and vinyls.
   3. Driving Sales online: Deliveries and click & collect services have flourished over the last year. Consumers will continue ordering take-out to enjoy at the home, which offers a valuable revenue opportunity for hospitality businesses via food delivery partners such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat. Customer can enhance their e-commerce capabilities by utilising our guides and videos. These are available on MyCCEP.com which is accessible here https://my.ccep.com/topics/online-delivery

Net Zero Pubs & Net Zero Bars 

In addition to the five step plan, CCEP has also partnered with the Sustainable Restaurant Association and Net Zero Now to launch Net Zero Pubs and Net Zero Bars initiatives that will define what ‘net zero’ means for licensed outlets, offering guidance and tools to get there, and also provide an accredited standard which those who wish to claim Net Zero status can be certified against.  

Paul Robertson, Head of On-Premise at CCEP GB said: ‘Net Zero Pubs & Net Zero Bars demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the hospitality sector, now and in the future and builds upon our ‘Open*’ campaign last year. As businesses race towards becoming net zero we know that meaningful change at scale can only be achieved if we work together and these guides will help give pubs & bars the tools to do so.”

*Coca-Cola’s ‘Open’ campaign launched following an historic five-month long pause to the brand’s advertising – the longest in Coca-Cola's history – while the company diverted funds globally to coronavirus relief efforts. The campaign included a new Coca-Cola brand advert and a number of measures to support the hospitality sector recover including gifted marketing spend so that customers could highlight they were back open for business, free and replacement stock, enhanced promotional plan and the creation of the Coca-Cola Community Pub Fund which awarded £165k to the winners of the Great British Pub Awards following their outstanding support of their local communities. 

As a continuation of this campaign, last month, CCEP introduced ‘Project Open’, a business accelerator programme with the teams at Coca-Cola GB, Costa and Innocent, which is giving a small group of independent customers in the hospitality sector – cafes, pubs and restaurants – the opportunity to gain business insights from experts to help them recover faster from the pandemic and thrive in the future.