If you’re part of the South West’s thriving food and drink scene, you know how fast-paced and demanding things can be.
Whether you’re running a café, managing a pub, or cooking up something special behind the scenes, finding time to share feedback or performance data can be tough.
That’s why the South West Visitor Economy Hub has redesigned its Food & Beverage Tracker – making it quicker to complete, easier to use, and more focused on what really matters for businesses like yours across Devon and Somerset.
Gone are the days of digging out spreadsheets or collating monthly figures just to take part. The updated tracker is simpler, smarter and – most importantly – shaped directly by your feedback. It’s all about focusing on how things feel, rather than demanding sensitive financial data every month.
We’re turning it into a real-time barometer for the South West’s food and drink sector – and your input is vital.
Why We’re Making the Change
The South West Visitor Economy Hub exists to support the region’s tourism and hospitality sector – but that support has to be informed by reliable, relevant data.
In the original version of the Food & Beverage Tracker, we asked for monthly revenue figures – a helpful metric in theory, but one that many businesses understandably found time-consuming or too commercially sensitive to share.
The result? Participation was low, and the picture we were building of the region’s food and drink economy was patchy at best.
That’s not helpful for you, and it doesn’t serve the wider sector either.
This new approach is a direct response to feedback we’ve received from local businesses via the Hub. It focuses instead on how your business is performing and how confident you feel about the month ahead – vital indicators of sentiment that help us, and our partners, understand the challenges, pressures and potential facing South West food and drink businesses today.
What’s New With The Food & Beverage Tracker
From June 2025, the Food & Beverage Tracker will ask for just two short updates each month:
- Business Performance: A quick grading of how you feel about last month’s trading. Was it poor, average, good or excellent?
- Business Confidence: A grading of your outlook for the coming month. Are you feeling optimistic, uncertain, or somewhere in between?
For those who are happy to share a little more, there’s also an optional third field:
- Revenue Data: Still incredibly useful for identifying wider trends across the sector – but no longer required in order to take part.
That’s it. Just a few quick clicks on the South West Visitor Economy Hub each month.
Why Your Input Matters
The food and beverage sector is one of the most dynamic parts of the South West’s visitor economy. From family-run cafés to gastropubs, fine dining to festival caterers, every type of business matters and every insight counts.
When you take 30 seconds each month to complete the Food & Beverage Tracker, you’re not just ticking a box – you’re contributing to a wider picture that helps local authorities, DMOs, industry bodies and other stakeholders make better-informed decisions.
Your data supports:
- Stronger lobbying for investment and support
- Smarter tourism planning and strategy
- Benchmarking tools for businesses like yours
- A shared understanding of what’s working – and what’s not
And because this tracker lives on the South West Visitor Economy Hub, you’ll get access to useful summaries and insights from across the region, helping you stay informed and stay competitive.
How You Can Get Involved
If you’re already registered on the South West Visitor Economy Hub, simply log in at sw.t-stats.co.uk/login, head to the Food & Beverage Tracker, and submit your monthly responses. You can complete it in less time than it takes to make a cup of tea.
If you’re not yet signed up but would like to take part, get in touch via swvehub.co.uk/contact and we’ll help you get set up. It’s completely free, and you’ll be part of a growing network of businesses contributing to a stronger, better-informed sector.
And don’t forget – by participating, you’ll be eligible to receive regular updates from the Hub, highlighting trends, insights and performance summaries from across the food and drink industry in Devon and Somerset.
Everyone who shares their data is also automatically entered into our free prize draw to win a fabulous hamper from Veg Box Fresh, packed with sustainable, locally sourced goodies.
Upload Your Data Quicker With the South West Visitor Economy Hub App
Want to save even more time each month? You can now input your Food & Beverage Tracker data directly through the South West Visitor Economy Hub app – making it quicker than ever to take part wherever you are.
Available for Apple and Android, the app gives you instant access to your dashboard, letting you submit your monthly Business Performance and Confidence data in just a few taps.
It’s ideal for busy business owners and managers who are always on the move – there’s no need to be at a desk or log in through a browser.
To get started:
- Download the South West Visitor Economy Hub app via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
- Log in with your existing credentials from the Hub.
- Submit your monthly tracker responses in seconds.
How Sharing Your Data Leads to A Stronger Sector
The South West’s food and drink businesses are a vital part of what makes this region so special – for locals, for visitors, and for the economy.
By taking part in the updated Food & Beverage Tracker, you’re helping ensure that your voice – and the voice of your sector – is heard loud and clear. It’s a small action with big potential.
