Adventure Island Case Study

Adventure Island, one of the UK’s favourite leisure destinations, will cater for up to 10,000 guests when at its busiest in the summer of 2008, and catering for that many visitors is no simple task.

Adventure Island relies on four main eateries – Jungle Jive Café, Pizzas of Eight, Adventure Island Food Bar and Traditional Fish & Chips form the basis of the food offering within the park. However, for those guests looking to eat on the go, there is a host of smaller outlets that provide more casual dining solutions – and in the summer of 2007 Adventure Island put their hot dog contract out to tender.

Westlers approached Adventure Island with far more than just a better hot dog. What impressed most was their ‘total solution’ approach to the account. James Gibbs, senior catering manager, comments: “When we saw Westlers about the hot dog offering within the park, the thing that I remember more than anything was the attention to detail. This was demonstrated right through from the initial ordering of the product, to onsite merchandising and consumption. In addition, the level of support in terms of the equipment on offer, and the branded POS that goes with it is completely unmatched within the industry.”

The most important addition to the Adventure Island food offering supplied by Westlers is a brand new purpose built kiosk. James continues, “The bespoke kiosk that Westlers has supplied us with is in a class of its own in terms of practicality, functionality and usability. The kiosk comes complete with running water, electricity, ten bain-maries, a hot dog steamer, and nacho warmers, giving us a stand alone quick service snack bar that serves hot dogs and nacho portions. In addition the kiosk makes the most of vibrant branding via the overhead illuminated menu panels, and displays a cold beverage offering through a glass-fronted fridge. Security is kept tight through a fully lockable roll up security shutter.”

The kiosk is in operation at the weekends, all year round, and daily during peak times such as the Easter holidays. Available from the kiosks are five different serving solutions put together by Westlers, to cater for the diverse needs and preferences of visitors to Adventure Island. The Original, The Big Cheese, The Hot Shot and The Meat Feast, are topped with onions, cheese, Jalapeno peppers and chilli respectively, while The Big Daddy is Westlers foot long hot dog option. Each is Westlers’ Premium Pouched Hot Dog – made up of 87% pure pork with no MRM or GM ingredients that is manufactured in the UK. “The serving suggestions offered by Westlers have given us yet another fantastic opportunity to increase revenue”, comments James. “We can up-sell to options like The Meat Feast which commands a higher price point, and in turn generates in excess of £70 extra revenue alone on a busy day – just by offering a topping!”

Westlers’ nacho solution has also been instrumental in bringing in increased revenue at Adventure Island. Despite being a snack growing in popularity, nachos have previously been a tricky product to get right within the leisure sector, where the right balance between quantity and portability can be hard to find. However, by taking Westlers’ nacho solution for the cinema sector, and applying it at leisure venues like Adventure Island, that balance has now been struck. The nachos are served on a tray that also comes complete with a combination of salsa, cheese sauce and jalapeno peppers. In this way, Westlers has finally managed to offer this contemporary snack in a format that is suitable for a sector crying out for an easy to share, portable snack.

These new serving suggestions, coupled with Westlers’ high impact branding and cutting edge equipment, has meant that sales of hot dogs and nachos have risen this year.

“So far in 2008, we have seen the sales of hot dogs and nachos from Westlers’ kiosks and carts exceed those from last year. This is even more important when you consider that sales across our other catering solutions have fallen from last year. The quality of Westlers’ product and the level of sophistication in the equipment they supply has contributed enormously in driving uptake, something that is increasingly hard to do in the current economic climate,” comments James.

Finally, and perhaps the biggest testament to how Westlers’ branding can boost sales, is the re-brand of the hot dog bar at Adventure Island.  “We have had the hot dog bar at Adventure Island for around eight years, but when Westlers came on board, it was starting to look tired and worn out. Westlers then set about re-branding the bar, sales from which have since stabilised and are now on the rise,” continues James. “I think this demonstrates how a food outlets appearance can easily sway consumers likelihood to spend money. A food destination that is freshly branded, clean and vibrant will inspire consumption among visitors and increase revenue.”