7 opportunities to boost profits as hours extended for World Cup

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This week, the UK Government announced a further adjustment to licensing laws to accommodate evening kick-offs during the World Cup for the England and Scotland games.

Major sporting events like the World Cup offer a unique revenue opportunity for pubs and bars. Longer opening hours, higher foot traffic and more engaged customers create ideal conditions for growth. But simply staying open later isn’t enough to maximise profits. Success relies on how well operators leverage technology to meet demand, improve efficiency and enhance the customer experience.

Here, we outline 7 tips on how pubs and bars can leverage technology to improve efficiency, directly impact profitability and increase GP without incurring extra admin and labour costs.

#1. Turning food into profit

Food should not be an afterthought! During major sporting events, many pubs and bars underutilise their kitchens, focusing heavily on drinks and missing out on high-profit margins from bar snacks, picky food or simple pie and chips!

F&B software enables operators to design match-specific dishes such as sharers, chicken platters and small plates (capitalising on the rising 2026 trend of small plates and fried chicken).

What’s more, F&B software helps you identify the top-performing menu items during live events and allows you to push targeted offers for pre-match food, half-time refueling or late-night snacks!

#2. Reduce staff pressure

Here, menu engineering comes into its own!

With busy match nights demanding speedy service, complex menus slow down kitchens, reduce output and reduce profits.
Menu engineering software enables hospitality operators to analyse dish margins and popularity to identify ‘star’ items that are both profitable and quick to produce, helping you to streamline menus for peak ordering windows.

By simplifying the menu to a core set of high-performing dishes, hospitality operators can significantly improve kitchen efficiency, reduce wait times and serve more covers, boosting revenue.

#3. Avoid loss of sales

Nothing harms profits and reputation more on a busy World Cup night than running out of essential food and drink items. Similarly, overstocking can lead to revenue loss due to waste.

Inventory management, or stock control, allows pubs and bars to track stock levels in real time, notify management when stock is running low and forecast demand based on match schedules and historical data.

This ensures that the best-selling items remain available while preventing over-ordering that erodes revenue margins.

#4. CUT your silent profit killer

When preparing for unpredictable demand, such as World Cup nights, hospitality operators often fall into the trap of overordering or overproduction, which leads to spoilage and waste – an immediate revenue hit!

F&B software helps operators reduce waste by analysing live sales data and forecasts, highlighting slow-moving items and providing post-event insights into overproduction.

Even small reductions in food waste can result in significant profit gains.

#5. Data-driven decisions in real time

The difference between a good night and a great one often comes down to how quickly operators can react. Live reporting enables teams to track sales, identify which food items are driving the highest margins and adjust promotions or menu visibility mid-service.

For example, if a particular sharing platter is outperforming expectations, it can be promoted more prominently to maximise revenue.

#6. Smarter promotions drive profits

Blanket discounts erode margins, but with the right F&B software, hospitality operators can trigger offers based on timing and bundle slow-moving items with best-sellers. The goal is not just to sell more, but to sell more profitably!

#7. Improve communication

Building a connected hospitality tech stack leverages F&B software to link customer demand to operational processes, enabling seamless communication between front- and back-of-house teams.

Integrating ordering and EPOS systems with kitchen workflows, inventory, and menu engineering tools allows pubs and bars to facilitate accurate, real-time communication, streamline operations, reduce errors and ensure a consistent, quick service.

This is especially vital during peak busy times when teams are under pressure. What’s more, it boosts staff morale.

To conclude, the World Cup guarantees footfall, but profitability depends on you, the operator. Pubs and bars that leverage these opportunities will turn every extra hour into measurable profit.

If you’re looking to adopt these capabilities, Kitchen CUT can help. Contact us for more information or to request an online demo.