[BBC News] Bars urged to cut soft drink cost

[Plectrum Infusion]

The problem is there's a lot more profit in soft drinks than there is in alcoholic drinks, so bars and pubs will charge absolutely the maximum they think they can get away with, especially since they know some poor bugger in any group of people is likely to be the designated driver and won't have any choice but to get ripped off.

 

As already mentioned, postmix is the most scandalous, you get a ten litre "bag-in-a-box" of industrial strength sugary gloop (which costs just a few quid at catering prices, and stays fresh for nearly three months after opening), which is then mixed with carbonated water at the dispenser at the bar, the mix ratios are something like 7.5:1 - so from a ten litre box you can get a yield of 85 litres. Bearing in mind that your average serving at the bar is half a pint (not much more than a quarter of a litre), from a ten litre "bag-in-a-box" costing about a tenner, a bar can serve up 300 drinks.

 

Or in other words, Heron and Brearley spends a tenner, and charges £300 for the resultant drinks. (Assuming a pound a pop, at £1.65 per pop, it'd be just shy of £500.)

 

Not bad eh?

 

An obvious solution would be to oblige any bar that serves up a £6 or greater round of alcoholic drinks, to also provide a free soft drink, but the truth is they'd potentially make more profit out of the one soft drink than they would out of the alcoholic drinks. (Especially on stuff like pints where the profit margin is pretty slim.)