Serving food in the salon can be a great way to link with like-minded local providers while boosting your business with a valuable client service. As clients increasingly look to salons for extended opening hours and add-on services, serving food and alcohol in the salon provides a solution for them and an added income stream for you – as well as the chance to partner with other local brands.
Everything You Need to Know About Serving Food in Your Salon
When serving food in your salon, you must be aware that anyone handling food sold to the public needs to abide by certain standards of hygiene, which are laid out in the Food Safety Act. Contact your local environmental health officer for guidance, as staff involved with food production may have to complete a hygiene course.
For more advice on food safety, visit the Food Standards Agency, and for further information about licensing laws, visit www.direct.gov.uk.
Partnering with Businesses to Supply Food in Your Salon
Here, Steve Rowbottom, Director of Westrow, shares his top tips when partnering with businesses to supply food in-salon to clients…
Try To Partner with a Well-Known, Reputable Brand With Similar Clientele
I would suggest a bespoke independent, sourcing local produce to induce community spirit. We have previously partnered with high profile local restaurants in Leeds including Gaucho, The Living Room, and Angelica to host pop up blow-dry events. This is a great way to cross promote between brands and opens each business up to potential new clients.
Keep it Local
We always try to use local services to support the business. If the local area is thriving, it benefits the business and when more people visit the area, money is spent locally, and small independent businesses are better off for it – not to mention the potential new clients it brings.
Think Added Value
Remember it’s not always about the financial aspect – it’s about adding value to the client experience. We hope that by offering services we will see an increase in appointments made for group bookings and parties, etc.
Keep Control of The Creative Input into The Menu and Any Offers You Wish to Advertise
Think about linking it with special promotional salon services – for example, an afternoon tea or blow-dry for Mother’s Day.
Think of The Client Potential
It might attract more business professionals between 12pm and 2pm as they can relax, have lunch, and attend afternoon meetings looking groomed to perfection.
Try To Cover All Eventualities
Remember to cater for everyone and all occasions. Include seasonal fare with an array of starters and desserts, perfect platters for parties with pals, afternoon teas with sandwiches and scones, or champagne brunch for those special occasions.
The Addition of Food and Drink In the Salon Will Enhance the Clients’ Overall Experience
The majority of clients are in the salon for at least a couple of hours, so aim to make their time as enjoyable as possible while they are there. By allowing them to book the lunch of their choice along with chilled bottles of champagne if they require, all of which can be delivered while they wait, is the perfect way for them to relax even further. Additionally, having lunch ready in the salon could speed things up for those clients with poor time management.
Make You Initiatives Known
Make sure your clients know of your initiatives by promoting it through your salon, e-newsletters, social media, and your website. The more you publicise what you are doing, the greater the uptake.
Everything You Need to Know About Serving Alcohol in Your Salon
Popping a bottle of champagne in the salon to treat your clients is a great way to make them feel special, but if you don’t have the right licences to serve food and drink, you could face a hefty fine as without a drink’s license, you’ll be committing an offence under the licensing laws.
Serving Alcohol in Your Salon
The Licensing Act stipulates that you need two licenses to sell alcohol:
- A Personal Licence – for the person authorised to sell the alcohol.
- A Premises Licence – for the site.
Both of these licences have a cost attached to them which will vary according to your local authority.
Some salon owners get caught out over the fact that you also need a licence to give drinks away to your customers as part of the service. We spoke to a licensing officer with one local authority who told us: “If there’s any suggestion that the alcohol being provided is linked to a sale, then a licence is needed.”
So, if you’re giving customers a glass of wine or a bottle of beer during their appointment, that means you’re only offering it to people that are having a haircut – and that means it’s linked to a sale, even if you’re not charging them directly for the drink. If anyone could come into your salon and have a free drink – for example, people who aren’t there for a hairdressing service – you could argue that the drink isn’t linked to a sale, and that you don’t need a licence. You would need to check this with your local authority first though.
Serving Alcohol at an Event in Your Salon
You won’t require a licence for a one-off occasion, such as an open evening or a party, if the people attending aren’t there for a haircut. If it’s a regular occurrence, you may need a temporary event notice. The licensing officer we spoke to, urged any salon owners to contact their local authority to clarify the position as various local authorities may interpret the law differently. So, what a salon in one area is allowed to do, may not be the same for a salon in another borough.
For more information, please head to: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/.
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