In 2023, Future Food was commissioned by Vikings Club (Canberra) to conduct a comprehensive review and provide strategic guidance for their existing six club locations and two forthcoming developments. The primary objective was to formulate a diversified hospitality strategy aimed at securing the Club's position as the leading Food and Beverage (F&B) provider in the region. This strategy aimed to ensure a sustainable F&B business model, considering the evolving economic landscape, which is progressively less reliant on revenue from gaming and Electronic Gaming Machines (EGM).

Our proactive engagement with this forward-thinking organization involved an on-site hospitality review and a stakeholder engagement session. The initial scope of work aimed to identify immediate opportunities within their current operational framework for quick wins. Simultaneously, it sought to comprehend any long-term strategies and challenges the Club might consider undertaking.

Following the completion of this initial strategy, aligned with a thorough analysis of key competitors, Future Food presented Vikings with a diversification strategy. This strategy enabled each club in the portfolio to differentiate itself, catering to various customer needs and demographics specific to each location. Some clubs were tailored for a family demographic, while others were geared towards a senior membership bias, and some attracted a youth and student audience.

Moreover, the Club was in the process of transitioning all its assets back to an internally operated F&B model after several years of outsourcing catering services. This transition presented several challenges, including managing controllable costs related to both labor and goods. Future Food provided the Vikings clubs with benchmark operating costs and recommended performance standards. These standards could be incorporated into the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) structures of senior club managers, thereby incentivising best practice performance.