Interpret Beverage Market Insights Across HoReCa Segments
- Claire Brunaud
- Jan 22
- 4 min read
In foodservice, beverages are never just an add-on product.
They are often the primary margin driver, a strong indicator of customer usage… and an excellent signal of what is really happening in the market.
Yet many players, restaurateurs and manufacturers alike, still look at Beverage Market Insights in an overly global way.
A national average, an aggregated figure, a top 10 of categories… and then decisions are made somewhat blindly.
The problem?
👉 The HoReCa market is ultra-fragmented.
👉 A trend that works in nightlife bars can be completely irrelevant in full-service restaurants.
👉 An average price that makes sense in a downtown café can destroy margins in fast casual.
Correctly interpreting Beverage Market Insights first and foremost means learning how to read them by segment. And that’s where data truly becomes actionable.
Why Beverage Market Insights cannot be read “on average”
An isolated market figure never tells the full story.
Let’s take a simple example:
“Soft drink sales are growing by +6% in the HoReCa market.”
Good news? Yes… but for whom exactly?
In festive bars, growth may be driven by premium mixers and non-alcoholic soft drinks.
In traditional restaurants, it may actually hide stagnation, offset by price increases.
In coffee shops, cold beverages may be booming while sodas are declining.
Beverage Market Insights only have value when they are recontextualized:
by type of establishment, by consumption occasion, and by price positioning.
Segmenting HoReCa: the essential framework for interpretation
Before analyzing any numbers, one simple question must be answered:
👉 Which part of HoReCa are we talking about?
1. Bars & Nightlife Venues
In bars, pubs, and clubs, beverages are the core business.
Key Beverage Market Insights to track:
Product mix (beer, spirits, cocktails, soft drinks).
Premiumization rate (trading up vs volume-driven growth).
Consumption moments (afterwork, evening, late night).
If a brand sees a global increase in spirits sales, the real question is:
Is this driven by cocktail culture in urban bars, or straight spirits in clubs?
Without segmentation, meaningful activation is impossible.
2. Full-Service Restaurants (FSR)
Here, beverages are closely linked to the meal.
They play a critical role in average check and margin per cover.
The most relevant Beverage Market Insights include:
Beverage attachment rate (how many tables order a drink).
Price ratio between beverages and food.
Food-and-drink pairings (soft drinks vs alcohol, still vs sparkling water).
A common insight:
👉 A limited beverage menu often caps profitability, even in busy restaurants.
Segment-level data helps identify:
Underperforming categories.
Price gaps versus comparable venues.
Opportunities to premiumize without harming guest experience.
3. Cafés, Coffee Shops & Daytime Venues
In these outlets, beverages structure traffic throughout the day.
Here, Beverage Market Insights must be read differently:
Purchase frequency matters more than basket size.
Performance by day-part (morning, lunch, afternoon).
Balance between hot drinks, cold drinks, and non-alcoholic alternatives.
A global rise in cold beverages may actually reflect:
A strong summer season.
Weak off-season performance due to a lack of adapted offerings.
Segmentation allows operators to fine-tune:
Recipes.
Formats.
Pricing by consumption moment.
4. Quick-Service Restaurants (QSR)
In fast food, beverages are often treated as a menu bundle.
This is a strategic mistake.
Beverage Market Insights often reveal that:
Drink upsells are underexploited.
Alternatives (flavored waters, premium soft drinks, varied formats) deliver higher margins than expected.
Price sensitivity is lower than assumed — as long as perceived value is clear.
Segmented data shows:
Where price truly limits sales.
Where margins can be increased without impacting volumes.
Why Representativeness Matters in Beverage Market Insights
Not all insights are created equal.
To be truly actionable, Beverage Market Insights must be based on:
A representative market sample.
Fine segmentation (venue type, size, geography).
Actual sell-out data, not declarations.
This makes it possible to benchmark a venue:
Against real competitors.
In a comparable economic context.
Using reliable KPIs (prices, volumes, market share).
Without this rigor, data remains directional — not decision-ready.
From Insight to Action: Where Data Creates Real Value
Reading Beverage Market Insights correctly is not about dashboards.
It’s about answering very concrete questions:
Is my beverage mix aligned with my segment?
Am I under- or over-priced versus my peers?
Which categories should I push to improve margins?
Which products truly drive consumption at specific moments?
At Fyre, this approach translates into:
Segment-specific dashboards designed for each HoReCa model.
A representative panel to track beverage trends accurately.
The ability to test, activate, and measure real sales impact.
What we consistently see on the ground:
👉 simple beverage menu adjustments can generate +10% to +15% in profitability, without increasing footfall.
Making Beverage Market Insights Truly Speak
Beverages are the perfect testing ground: fast, measurable, and highly profitable.
But only if Beverage Market Insights are read at the right level of detail.
The real question is not:
“What does the market say?”
But rather:
“What does the market say for my exact segment, my customers, and my consumption moments?”
That’s when data stops being abstract…
and becomes a real business decision-making tool.
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