5 ways to make your small serves sell themselves!

As consumers continue to take more risks and become more adventurous with their wine choices, it comes as no surprise that smaller serves are the latest trend in the premium On Trade.

With 30% of consumers more likely to choose smaller serves*, it's worth ensuring that your by-the-glass range is a prominent feature on your wine list. And even though consumers are purchasing less, 28% are spending more when they do.*, so make the most of this trend by highlighting your most premium (and most profitable) smaller serves in an engaging way.

We asked Bibendum designer Silvia Ruga to give us her top five tips for making your by the glass range pop on (and off) your menu!

1. Box it up

It might be obvious, but design is key when it comes to highlighting your by-the-glass range. It needs to be eye-catching, easily recognisable and unmissable to consumers. Whether that's by using boxes, highlighting certain words, using different colours or fonts to make them bold, your by-the-glass range needs to be impossible to miss.

2. Pair it up

Food and wine pairings are a great way to get consumers to try new and exciting wines. By recommending your by-the-glass wines with certain dishes (which can be noted on both the drinks and food menu), consumers will be more likely to take a chance on something new. And with recent studies showing that 38% of consumers tend to choose something beyond their norm when choosing an alcoholic drink*, food and wine pairings are the perfect place to upsell to more unusual wines by the glass; sushi and manzanilla anyone?

3. The Instagram effect

If you’re going through all this effort to highlight the by-the-glass range on your list, surely you should make the same effort to make the wines sing once they are in the glass! Invest in some interesting, high-quality glassware or mini carafes to give consumers a more premium experience. 41% of consumers* hope to see bars experimenting with the type of glassware wine is served in, which leaves us with one question that is becoming increasingly (and frankly terrifyingly) important – would this look good on Instagram?

4. We ❤ this!

One question that hospitality staff will hear time and time again is ‘what would you recommend’. Not only does this help consumers who find wine lists daunting or those who seek an ‘expert’ opinion, but most importantly, it provides a server with the perfect opportunity to up-sell. With wines already highlighted as ‘staff picks’ on the menu, it gives customers a great starting pointing when it comes to choosing their wine and discussing it with their server. It is also a great way to highlight your most profitable products.

5. Premiumise

For many consumers, Coravins and Enomatic machines may sound like mythical creatures, but for those in the know, they offer one of the best opportunities to sell premium wine by the glass. Consumers can try smaller serves of more unusual or premium wines without having to buy the whole bottle; or with the option of 50ml serves, without even having to commit to a full glass! This de-risks their purchase and increases their own experience for a fraction of the price.

                *Data from our in-house insights team