Food and Beverage (F&B) Management

Food and beverage (F&B) Management describes the sub-segments of the hospitality industry that are involved in the provision of food and drink away from home. F&B management encompasses an incredibly diverse range of strategies and operations by an entire business ecosystem that includes all stakeholders that produce, distribute, store, process, cook, serve and spare food and drink. This ecosystem involves several sectors such as agriculture, logistics, storage, manufacturing, catering, and waste management. It incorporates complex problem solving, innovation and creativity. We can utilise a simple input-output model to analyse the functions of F&B management in hospitality as illustrated in Figure 1. From developing a concept to the management of employees, production, service, control, purchasing and storing, marketing and quality management each F&B function is a link in the chain of this tourism and hospitality sector. F&B management occurs in a multitude of operations such as accommodation providers such as city and resort hotels, restaurants, pubs, bars and nightclubs, catering companies and event operators. Catering F&B operations also cater to businesses, educational establishments such as schools and Universities, airlines, cruise ships and rail companies. Organisations such as hospitals and health care establishments, the armed services and prisons also include F&B operations and the list is not exhausted (Davis et al, 2018).