From Tuesday 26 August 2014, some of the food and drink prices in our cafes, bars and restaurants will be going up, and there will be changes to the way in which our discount schemes work.

Prices in our outlets have largely remained unchanged for the last three years. However, costs associated with delivering food and drink, such as suppliers, operational and worldwide food, transport and energy costs have increased. These costs have increased to the point where we can no longer afford to offer the same high levels of customer service and product range at current prices that customers have become used to and now expect.

How Warwick Retail compares

When looking at our pricing strategy we benchmarked against other food and drink outlets at Warwick,
catering outlets at Russell Group universities as well as several high street chains to ensure our prices are competitive.

Item	Outlet	New Warwick Retail price	Outlet	High street price
Latte	Warwick Retail	£2.10	Costa	£2.15
Americano	Warwick Retail	£1.75	Starbucks	£1.95
Flat white	Warwick Retail	£2.00	Starbucks	£2.50
Bottled water	Warwick Retail	£1.20	Costa	£1.35
Muffin	Warwick Retail	£1.75	Starbucks	£1.85
BLT	Warwick Retail	£2.75	Costa	£3.35

Discount schemes

From 26 August there will also be changes to the way in which our discount schemes operate:

• Meal Deal – buy main meal, add side dish and large dispensed soft drink for £1 extra
• Sandwich Meal Deal – buy an sandwich and get a packet of crisps/piece of fruit free
• Coffee loyalty card – buy 10 hot drinks and get 11th free
• 10% discount off all food and drink when using an Eating at Warwick card.

The above schemes will continue to run, but 'double discounting' will no longer be valid when making a purchase. So for example, if you buy a meal deal you would not receive an additional 10% discount if you use your Eating at Warwick card. In this particular example, you may still pay using your Eating at Warwick card but the till will work out the best saving for you and apply that.

Please also note that:

• Eating at Warwick 10% discount scheme cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer
• When purchasing a hot drink, you can either get your loyalty card stamped or use your Eating at Warwick card and get 10% discount
• In order to receive a discount at Costa, you may either use your Eating at Warwick card and receive 10% discount or pay full price and collect points on a Costa Coffee Club card
• As part of Financial Regulations, loyalty cards cannot be stamped if purchases are made using a department charge card.

Greater range of products

As part of our ongoing commitment to offer quality products at affordable prices, we listen to customer feedback and regularly review our product offering to try and offer a broad range of lines that represent value for money. This includes new products that will appeal to a wide range of customers and current demand.

Improvements made to cafes, bars and restaurants

As customers will know, we’ve made many improvements to our cafes, bars and restaurants over the last 12 months:

• Better quality food and drink – we’ve introduced a greater variety of value for money food and drink lines to our cafes including hand crafted coffee, freshly baked pastries and cakes, handmade artisan rolls, juices and soft drinks
• Longer opening hours – we’ve extended the opening hours of our cafes, bars, restaurants and shops including early morning opening in most cafés (8am), weekend opening in Café Library and University House atrium coffee bar and vacation opening in Cafes Social and Humanities
• Innovative ways to meet local demand – our vintage Citroen H van now resides behind Maths & Stats serving artisan coffee, sandwiches and pastries
• Student 'heat your own food' facilities – there are now three designated areas at Westwood, University House Atrium and Rootes where students can heat their own food. We’ve supplied microwaves, hot water boilers, bins and cleaning materials. These are the only places on campus where these facilities exist
• Ethically sourced products and better choices for people with food intolerances – all our cafes, bars and restaurants now serve free range eggs and Fairtrade coffee, tea and hot chocolate. We have also introduced a larger range of gluten and dairy free, vegan and vegetarian products including sandwiches, snacks and cakes.

Warwick Retail has also supported the wider University community in the following ways:

• Farmers market – now a regular event in the University’s calendar
• Refurbishments to Café Humanities, Café Social and the atrium coffee bar at University House, with new counters, new furniture and state of the art coffee machines installed. All now sell premium food and drink offers including hand crafted coffees made from Widescreen coffee beans and freshly made cakes, pastries and artisan rolls
• 'Belle' on the piazza. Our latest mobile catering outlet, set up to support big screen events and selling premium burgers, craft beer and cider
• Outside seating installed at Cafe Library, Café Gibbet Hill, Café Humanities and on the piazza
• Table tennis available in Rootes bar, outside the Arts Centre and Westwood Café
• New service style – regular diners at University House restaurant or Cafe Gibbet Hill will have noticed that they no longer have to clear their own tables. It's just a small change on our part to make customers’ dining experience more enjoyable.