Diet drinks in bars and restaurants

[mikep1979]

I also read your original comment too quickly, and edited my response for our southern friend who don't know what free drinks are 😉

hehehehehehe well there is something about corpy pop thats so refreshing...................... oh yeah its that its free 🙂

 

[Munjeeta]

I seem to have missed most of this thread but would definitely definitely be up for trying to make more diet drinks available in bars. I also get so fed up of only really having diet coke on offer. Although I do find a good old gin and tonic or 3 is normally best for my sugars the morning after. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help!

 

[Einstein]

I seem to have missed most of this thread but would definitely definitely be up for trying to make more diet drinks available in bars. I also get so fed up of only really having diet coke on offer. Although I do find a good old gin and tonic or 3 is normally best for my sugars the morning after. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help!

Get the drinks in!

Mines a large one!

Cheers Hic....

 

[Mand]

I agree that there should be more variety of diet drinks available in pubs, restaurants etc. When i eat out with my son he only has the choice of diet coke or water. That's ok for the odd meal out but when we are on holiday in this country and eating out more frequently he has to have diet coke every night which seems so unfair. The supermarkets have a good choice so why can't pubs, restuarants etc have more choice?
Also i get very nervous with diet coke on tap! How do i know they have pressed the right button!
I would be happy to support any ideas to make some changes about this.
Sorry if i have repeated what others have said but i do not have time to read through all the posts today. 😱

 

[DiabeticDave]

Corporation pop - Water - tap water to be more prescise... for those who don't know!

Always called it 'council pop'.........

 

[Northerner]

Always called it 'council pop'.........

Corporation wine where I come from!🙂

Perhaps the trade organisations might respond to a call - Licensed Victuallers Association, perhaps?

 

[Munjeeta]

Get the drinks in!

Mines a large one!

Cheers Hic....

Haha... You'd be lucky on a teacher's wage! 😛

 

[rossi_mac]

Wow what a long thread, interesting mind.

Re pubs etc, when I was first diagnosed i cut down on the old alcohol friend of mine, and the first visit to a pub, I had several refreshing pints of lime & soda water, I cannot reccomend it enough. But also agree with you all that selection is poor, and I would like to see more. However I also note what Einstein said, they are there to make money at the end of the day and they won't if they have the largest choice in the world for all of us!

As for what booze to drink, I'm still learning, but trying to play it safe, by testing lots and eating.

As for coffee, I hate ordering one in those shops, I drink tea you see, and get vastly confused when buying someone a coffee! So many choices & options to go wrong at!

I too like Subway, but the last 6months plus have been an active fan of bread machines and making sarnies at home.

I didn't know lil Dom Littlewood was one of us!

 

[insulinaddict09]

Good point , I didnt know Dominic Littlewood was Diabetic , does anyone

know if he is type 1 or type 2?

 

[Steff]

he was diagnosed with type 1 33 years ago

 

[Lizzie]

I totally agree, there should be more available. A few years back when all the fizzy drinks rebranded from 'diet' to 'zero' there was a burst where there were loads available in shops but now they don't seem to do them any more.

 

[mikep1979]

my local (well old local) do stock a huge range of diet and zero drinks mixers in. also lots of the bars in liverpool city centre stock diet and always make a point of telling you which drink has the diet in.

i agree that more needs to be done with a lot of other places, but if you look at the fact that most acoholic drinks are full of sugar anyway they will just not see the point of having diet mixers.

 

[Lizzie]

my local (well old local) do stock a huge range of diet and zero drinks mixers in. also lots of the bars in liverpool city centre stock diet and always make a point of telling you which drink has the diet in.

i agree that more needs to be done with a lot of other places, but if you look at the fact that most acoholic drinks are full of sugar anyway they will just not see the point of having diet mixers.

But these drinks are not 'mixers' with alcohol they are drinks in their own right.

Think of the number of different alcohols available in your average pub, off licence or shop. Think of the number of different brands and varieties of any single type of alcohol, for example beer, which are available. Why do alcohol drinkers get this variety and not non-drinkers? Does the shop/pub/off licence really make money from stocking so many varieties? If the argument is that they would lose money from adding a couple of extra diet drinks to their dispenser, how come they don't lose money from having such a large number of different beers and ales, or spirits or whatever? Surely there aren't that many fans of obscure ales with bizarre names or whatever for example, and yet they still remain on the drinks list and I would have thought they would be more expensive for the pub to buy in than diet drinks.

 

[mikep1979]

But these drinks are not 'mixers' with alcohol they are drinks in their own right.

Think of the number of different alcohols available in your average pub, off licence or shop. Think of the number of different brands and varieties of any single type of alcohol, for example beer, which are available. Why do alcohol drinkers get this variety and not non-drinkers? Does the shop/pub/off licence really make money from stocking so many varieties? If the argument is that they would lose money from adding a couple of extra diet drinks to their dispenser, how come they don't lose money from having such a large number of different beers and ales, or spirits or whatever? Surely there aren't that many fans of obscure ales with bizarre names or whatever for example, and yet they still remain on the drinks list and I would have thought they would be more expensive for the pub to buy in than diet drinks.

for things like beers it does actually make a huge difference to how much you will sell as to what you stock. most people will drink carling fosters and carlsberg. some drink stella but not many. now think of the spirits in pubs to. if you sell smirnoff vodka it is as a single or double but is costly, if you have a cheeper brand it allows you to do house doubles at a discount to the punter and still make you a good profit.

i totally agree with the fact non drinkers are simply not given a lot of choice in diet and sugar free drinks in pubs, but it is after all a business and your local pub/shop/supermarket etc wont stock what dont sell as it is dead space.

 

[Lizzie]

for things like beers it does actually make a huge difference to how much you will sell as to what you stock. most people will drink carling fosters and carlsberg. some drink stella but not many. now think of the spirits in pubs to. if you sell smirnoff vodka it is as a single or double but is costly, if you have a cheeper brand it allows you to do house doubles at a discount to the punter and still make you a good profit.

i totally agree with the fact non drinkers are simply not given a lot of choice in diet and sugar free drinks in pubs, but it is after all a business and your local pub/shop/supermarket etc wont stock what dont sell as it is dead space.

But my point is that lots of places sell many more obscure beer brands on top of the popular ones you name - surely this is 'dead space' also? What about pubs selling 'real ales' or pubs with walls full of different spirits, surely they can't sell many of each one?

 

[mikep1979]

But my point is that lots of places sell many more obscure beer brands on top of the popular ones you name - surely this is 'dead space' also? What about pubs selling 'real ales' or pubs with walls full of different spirits, surely they can't sell many of each one?

you would be srprised at what acoholic drinks they can sell and at a profit to. my mate who used to have a bar stocked a beer called sapporo and had it imported from japan. was a lovely brew and after 3 weeks of stocking it it was his most popular seller. as for spirits well i have been to bars that stock over 50 different types of vodka, tequila and rum!!!!! it was all they sold. the key here is that everyone (well nearly) who goes in to a bar will have an alcoholic drink at some point. even if you go to a pub that does breakfast they can offer you a pint with it.

as i say i totally agree it is wrong, but they are after all just running a business and if it gets more profit in by selling ale they will.

 

[Einstein]

But my point is that lots of places sell many more obscure beer brands on top of the popular ones you name - surely this is 'dead space' also? What about pubs selling 'real ales' or pubs with walls full of different spirits, surely they can't sell many of each one?

With real ales, people will go to specific pubs because they have guest drinks each week, spirits, well typically there are a lot, but often on single malts are stocked in multiple varieties. Spirits tend not to have a use by date as they are only going to evaporate, so the cost can be recovered over a year, two, perhaps more.

Soft drinks may only have a 6 or 12 month life cycle, if they aren't sold they go in the bin. Also, cans or bottles of soft drinks take up a lot of space in fridges, cellars and under bars, where a bottle of gin, takes the space of less than three cans of coke. Coke arrives in cases of 24 cans.

I don't know with a captive audience if pubs will change, if we're there on our own and they only have water or diet coke we can walkout, if we're with friends, and one person doesn't really like what they have are the other 5 going to walk out as well?

Traditionally, pubs have changed when it fits in with them, not before or due to customer demand, unless generated by the drinks manufacturers e.g. alcopops, J20 etc.

Not sure how we force change here...

 

[mikep1979]

With real ales, people will go to specific pubs because they have guest drinks each week, spirits, well typically there are a lot, but often on single malts are stocked in multiple varieties. Spirits tend not to have a use by date as they are only going to evaporate, so the cost can be recovered over a year, two, perhaps more.

Soft drinks may only have a 6 or 12 month life cycle, if they aren't sold they go in the bin. Also, cans or bottles of soft drinks take up a lot of space in fridges, cellars and under bars, where a bottle of gin, takes the space of less than three cans of coke. Coke arrives in cases of 24 cans.

I don't know with a captive audience if pubs will change, if we're there on our own and they only have water or diet coke we can walkout, if we're with friends, and one person doesn't really like what they have are the other 5 going to walk out as well?

Traditionally, pubs have changed when it fits in with them, not before or due to customer demand, unless generated by the drinks manufacturers e.g. alcopops, J20 etc.

Not sure how we force change here...

i wouldnt like to think we will. it is gonna be something if we did tho.

 

[rossi_mac]

Everything Einstein says make a hell of a lot of sense, I guess apart from a national campaign the other answer which no one will particularly like is to wait.

Tastes do change and deamnd changes and pubs will eventually see that, maybe a little late, we're not the only group that would appreciate a wider range, but for example you can now have a nice tea or coffee in a pub. Also from my personal view I'm sure that more youngsters, by that I mean 18 (or under tut) to early twenties are going to pubs and not drinking. I'm not saying there aren't those that do nothing but booze but i think there are more t-toallers that frequent pubs who are young that there were say 10-15 years ago. So given time they will maybe along with us and other groups of people force some establishments to stock a grater range of stock, so long as they have the space for them.

just a thought!

 

[Einstein]

Everything Einstein says make a hell of a lot of sense, I guess apart from a national campaign the other answer which no one will particularly like is to wait.

Tastes do change and deamnd changes and pubs will eventually see that, maybe a little late, we're not the only group that would appreciate a wider range, but for example you can now have a nice tea or coffee in a pub. Also from my personal view I'm sure that more youngsters, by that I mean 18 (or under tut) to early twenties are going to pubs and not drinking. I'm not saying there aren't those that do nothing but booze but i think there are more t-toallers that frequent pubs who are young that there were say 10-15 years ago. So given time they will maybe along with us and other groups of people force some establishments to stock a grater range of stock, so long as they have the space for them.

just a thought!

The issue is for young and non-diabetic drinkers there is so much they can mix with lemonade, lime, orange, blackcurrent and wham four drinks are availabe - lemonade is on tap, cordials by the bottle and they use enough of it all to get by.

Tea and coffee, well, the base materials, equipment and you're in business, you don't need whole amounts of real estate to stock it in.

I am stumped on how it changes - unless they go diet lemonade (I dont' think there is any taste difference between diet and non-diet lemonade, cordials the same gives us the same options and choices as the non-diabetic drinker.