Emmerdale’s Woolpack is the cheapest pub in TV’s top soaps, while regulars at the Queen Vic in Eastenders pay most for a pint.
Emmerdale’s Woolpack is the cheapest pub in TV’s top soaps, while regulars at the Queen Vic in Eastenders pay most for a pint. Those are among the messages in some creative new research from CGA, which maps the locals of our most popular soaps onto their closest Trading Index category of pub or bar. The data shows that a pint of standard lager in an East End of London community wet-led pub like the Queen Victoria costs an average £3.52—64 pence more than the £2.88 average for Yorkshire Dales village pubs like the Woolpack. Drinkers in the Rovers Return Inn on Coronation Street can expect to pay £3.28. Among other TV soaps, those at the Icon Bar in the Doctors series—which fits CGA’s category of Birmingham suburban wine bars—might pay even more for a pint of lager, at an average of £3.92. Regulars at the Dog in the Pond in Hollyoaks pay £3.40. The data also reveals the differences in prices of other drinks favoured by those propping up the bar in Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale. Those in the category of pubs like the Queen Vic might expect to pay £6.48 for a large glass of white wine, for example—more than drinkers at the Woolpack (£4.80) and Rovers Return (£5.73). Regular measures of gin cost £4.37 in the Queen Vic, but only £3.19 at the Woolpack and £3.66 at the Rovers Return. CGA’s numbers highlight the wide variations in the cost of drinks in different parts of the country, and the need to establish the right price points—in real life as well as in fictional pubs. “It’s fascinating to see how much our favourite soap characters are paying when they visit the UK’s most familiar locals,” says CGA client director Andy Dean. “There are some serious lessons for everyone in all this though—not least the importance of making sure that pricing strategies suit local markets. The price that drinkers are willing to pay can vary substantially from region to region, town to town and even street to street, and operators need to be sure their charges are appropriate right across their estates. Suppliers have a big role to play here too, by helping their customers understand target markets and find the right balance of competitive pricing and healthy margins.”
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