What Should Be Included in an F&B Strategy?

No two F&B projects require exactly the same strategic approach. The priorities for a standalone restaurant will differ from those of a hotel, food hall or mixed-use destination, while the depth of work will depend on the project’s scale, location, stage and objectives.

However, there are several areas that will typically need to be considered. Not every element will apply to every project, and some may be explored through separate or later scopes. The purpose of an F&B strategy is to establish a flexible framework that defines the opportunity, aligns stakeholders and provides a clear direction for the teams involved in bringing the proposition to life.

At TGP International, we see strategy as a practical roadmap rather than a static document. It should provide enough clarity to guide the project while remaining flexible enough to respond to new information, changing market conditions and evolving commercial priorities.

Defining the Project Ambition

The first step is to establish what the project is expected to achieve.

For a standalone restaurant, the primary objective may be direct commercial performance. Within a hotel or mixed-use development, F&B may also be expected to improve the guest experience, increase footfall, extend dwell time or strengthen the positioning of the wider asset. Other projects may prioritise portfolio diversification, operational improvement or future growth.

These objectives should be agreed at the outset. The initial briefing process may also consider the project parameters, existing assumptions, site conditions, investment expectations and stakeholder priorities.

This creates a shared definition of success and helps determine which areas of the strategy require the greatest attention.

Understanding the Market and Consumer

Most F&B strategies should be grounded in an understanding of the market, although the form and depth of the research will depend on the project.

Analysis might include demographics, spending patterns, tourism, footfall, surrounding uses, residential populations and the existing F&B landscape. Understanding how people currently use a location can reveal underserved occasions, gaps in the market and opportunities to introduce something relevant.

Competitor analysis should go beyond listing nearby venues. It should help explain how the market is structured, including which audiences are being served, at what price points, across which dayparts and through what types of experience.

Regional and global benchmarks can provide useful context, particularly where a project is introducing a less established format. However, benchmarks should be used to identify relevant lessons rather than as concepts to be replicated without considering local conditions.

The research should ultimately create a clear understanding of the target customer. Who are they? When and why might they visit? What do they value, and what would influence their choice? These questions provide the foundation for the decisions that follow.

Assessing the Site and Location

For site-specific projects, the location can significantly influence which F&B opportunities are realistic.

Visibility, access, surrounding uses, customer movement, seasonality and activity throughout the day may all need to be considered. A location might experience strong morning footfall but limited evening demand, or attract significant visitor numbers without a substantial residential population. These conditions may influence the cuisine, service style, price point, trading hours and scale of the offer.

For developments with multiple units, the assessment may also consider the role of each space. Some may be suited to high-volume, convenience-led concepts, while others could support more experiential or destination-driven offers.

Where a site has not yet been selected, the strategy can instead establish the criteria against which potential locations should be assessed.

Establishing the Positioning and Concept Direction

Once the opportunity is understood, the strategy should establish where the proposed offer will sit within the market and what will make it relevant and distinctive.

Depending on the project, this may involve decisions about the target audience, price point, experience level, service style, cuisine or product direction and the role the concept will play within its location.

The strategy can then translate this positioning into an initial concept direction. The objective at this stage is not necessarily to develop every creative or operational detail, but to establish a coherent foundation. This might include the concept rationale, target customer, indicative service style, menu direction, price positioning and anticipated capacity.

Concept values or experience anchors can also be established to define the qualities that should remain consistent as the proposition develops. These provide a reference point for later decisions across operations, design, branding and the guest experience.

For some projects, a high-level positioning and concept recommendation may be sufficient. Others will require a more detailed brief to inform the next stages of development.

Planning the F&B Mix

For hotels, food halls, portfolios and mixed-use developments with multiple venues, the strategy may need to consider how the different concepts work together.

The objective should not simply be to fill available units. Each venue should have a clear role within the wider F&B ecosystem, serving a particular audience, occasion or daypart.

Price points, cuisines, service formats, customer profiles and trading periods may all need to be considered. The mix should provide variety while avoiding unnecessary duplication or competition between concepts. When planned carefully, it can create activity throughout the day, extend dwell time and give customers multiple reasons to return.

The operating structure may also form part of the analysis. Directly operated, leased, franchised and third-party concepts have different implications for control, investment, risk and revenue. The right balance will depend on the owner’s capabilities and objectives.

For a single-venue project, these portfolio considerations may not apply, although the concept should still be assessed in relation to the surrounding market.

Testing Commercial Feasibility

The appropriate level of financial analysis will vary, but an F&B strategy should generally test whether the proposed direction is supported by realistic commercial assumptions.

Revenue forecasts might consider seating capacity, average spend, table turns, trading hours, daypart demand, seasonality and anticipated occupancy. These can be assessed against indicative food and beverage costs, labour, rent, utilities and other operating expenses through an outline profit and loss forecast.

For early-stage projects, this may remain a high-level feasibility exercise. Others may require more detailed financial modelling as the concept develops.

Commercial assessment should not simply act as a final check. Its findings may influence the scale of the venue, number of covers, pricing, menu direction or service model, so commercial thinking should develop alongside the concept.

For hotels and wider developments, the value of F&B may also extend beyond direct profitability. Depending on the objectives, the right offer can increase footfall, support hotel demand, improve dwell time and strengthen the perception of the overall asset.

Establishing an Operational Direction

The strategy should consider how the proposition is likely to operate, although the level of detail will depend on the project stage and scope.

Early decisions about service style, customer journey, trading hours, capacity and menu direction can have implications for staffing, kitchens, technology and workflows. Identifying these requirements before detailed development begins can help avoid conflicts later.

At the strategy stage, the output may be an initial operational vision and a set of requirements for specialist operational and kitchen design teams to develop further. For an existing business, the focus may instead be on identifying inefficiencies or opportunities for improvement.

As the project progresses, the strategy team can continue to review the operational model, helping ensure that it remains aligned with the target audience, commercial assumptions and concept direction.

Informing Design, Brand and Marketing

Where relevant to the project, the strategy should provide a clear brief for the teams responsible for developing the physical environment, brand and route to market.

The positioning, audience, service style, capacity and customer journey can all influence the spatial response. Detailed decisions relating to the interior, kitchen, seating, back-of-house areas and circulation would typically be developed by the appropriate design and operational specialists.

Similarly, the concept narrative, positioning and experience anchors can provide the foundation for specialist creative teams to develop the name, identity, tone of voice and wider brand experience.

A clear understanding of the target audience and customer occasions can also inform subsequent launch and marketing plans, helping marketing teams determine which messages, platforms, partnerships and experiences are most likely to resonate.

The strategy team’s role is not necessarily to develop each of these areas. It is to provide context and ongoing sense-checking, helping ensure that the work remains relevant to the market and consistent with the agreed proposition.

Maintaining Alignment Through Development

One of the risks in any hospitality project is that the original strategy becomes diluted as more teams and stakeholders become involved.

Concepts naturally evolve in response to design constraints, operational requirements, budgets and new information. This is often beneficial, but significant changes should be considered against the objectives established at the beginning of the project.

The level of ongoing strategic involvement will depend on the scope. It may range from reviews at key milestones to continued participation throughout concept development, design and pre-opening.

The purpose is not to restrict the specialists involved in later stages, but to maintain a clear connection between the original market opportunity and the proposition ultimately delivered.

Considering Growth and Measuring Success

Where growth forms part of the ambition, the strategy should consider it early. Could the concept be replicated in another location, format or market? Is franchising a potential route? Could retail products, events, delivery or catering create additional revenue?

Not every concept needs to expand. The priority is to understand the longer-term ambition and ensure that decisions about positioning, intellectual property and operating systems are appropriate for it.

The strategy should also define measures of success that reflect the objectives of the project. These might include revenue, covers, average spend, table turns, labour percentage, food cost or customer retention. For hotels and mixed-use developments, footfall, dwell time, guest satisfaction and the performance of surrounding uses may also be relevant.

Defining these measures early creates a clearer basis for reviewing performance after opening.

Creating the Right Strategic Foundation

There is no single template for an F&B strategy. The priorities, process and outputs should be adapted to the asset type, project stage, market conditions and client objectives.

For some projects, the focus may be feasibility and positioning. For others, it may involve planning a multi-venue F&B mix, repositioning an existing offer or establishing the foundation for a scalable concept.

The role of strategy is to identify which questions matter most, provide the evidence needed to answer them and translate the findings into clear direction for the teams involved in the next stages.

At TGP International, our strategy and advisory team works closely with colleagues across concept development, interior design, operations, management, marketing and franchising. This multidisciplinary approach allows each project to draw on the expertise it requires while ensuring that the developing proposition remains connected to its market, audience and commercial objectives.

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