BIRMINGHAM FOOD & DRINK TOURISM STRATEGY & ACTION PLAN

Request for Proposals

Issued by: Colmore BID on behalf of the Birmingham Food & Drink Tourism Project Board

Budget: Up to £27,000 + VAT

Project Duration: January – April 2026

Submission Deadline: 5pm on 11 December 2025

Interviews (online): 16 December 2025

Submission to: Pippa Caulkin (for City Curator, Alex Nicholson-Evans)

Email: pippa.caulkin@colmorebid.co.uk

Introduction & Background

Colmore Business District invites proposals from suitably qualified consultants and agencies to develop the Birmingham Food & Drink Tourism Strategy and Action Plan.

This is a City Curator project, a role fully funded by Colmore BID. The strategy work itself is funded by a group of private sector partners with a shared ambition to see Birmingham realise its potential as an extraordinary food & drink destination.

The development of the strategy will be overseen by a Project Board convened by the City Curator. The Project Board is comprised of core funders and critical stakeholders (non-financial supporters):

Core Funders:

• Colmore BID
• Central BID
• Jewellery Quarter BID
• Southside BID
• Westside BID 
• Edgbaston Village
• Selfridges

Stakeholders:

• Birmingham City Council
• West Midlands Combined Authority
• Visit Birmingham
• Birmingham Hospitality Collective

Additional funding support has been provided by Legal & General.

With thanks also to Malmaison Birmingham for their in kind support.

The appointed Agency will work collaboratively with the City Curator and the Project Board but will also be required to engage wider relevant stakeholders across the city.

Our Objectives

We want to create a strategy and action plan that delivers on the following objectives:

• Establishes an evidence-based current state of Birmingham’s Food & Drink tourism offer and its role within the wider destination offer.
• Identifies priority market opportunities and competitive positioning for Birmingham.
• Explores connectivity and opportunities for hospitality to connect more deeply with major events (such as upcoming sports tournaments).
• Sets out a strategic vision for Food and Drink Tourism in the city based on these findings
• Provides a costed implementation 36 month roadmap to include:
  • Recommended product development
  • A pragmatic marketing & communications plan
  • Monitoring & evaluation framework
  • Embeds sustainability principles, inclusivity and a critical awareness of the skills pipeline in hospitality

Scope of Work

The Agency will deliver the following in two phases:

RESEARCH / AUDIT / ANALYSIS (2 Jan – 8 March)

Current Situation & Context

The appointed agency will work with our Project Board to develop an evidence base.

• Review city performance indicators (visitation, spend, dwell, seasonality where available), major events, access/transport, and place brand context.
• Summarise existing strategic documents where relevant (tourism, culture, hospitality, place marketing).

Stakeholder Mapping & Engagement

• Identify and map key stakeholders across the food & drink ecosystem, including but not limited to food & drink business owners and operators, event organisers, BIDs, transport representatives, academics, and public sector partners.
• Plan and deliver up to 3 workshops and up to 15 targeted interviews (indicative) with relevant stakeholders including those above
• Provide a concise engagement report (insights, themes, priorities).

Culinary Asset & Destination Analysis

• Produce an extensive but pragmatic inventory of Birmingham’s food & drink tourism assets across categories (restaurants, bars, cafés, markets, producers, cookery schools, breweries/distilleries, food tours, festivals/events, retail, experiences). 
• Uncover Birmingham’s Food & Drink USPs.
• Identify hero products/experiences, gaps, and quick wins.
• Explore how food & drink integrates within the wider destination offer (culture, music, sport, heritage, business events).

Competitive Review

• Identify 3-5 comparator cities for Birmingham’s food & drink tourism offer. Presenting a selection of case studies in the UK/Europe and if relevant, globally that we can learn from.
• Identify Birmingham’s distinctive positioning opportunities.

Market & Visitor Insights (Secondary Research)

• Work with our stakeholders and use other reputable secondary data sources to outline priority origin markets, segments, motivations, and channels.
• Highlight implications for Birmingham’s targeting and messaging.

Marketing & Brand Positioning Analysis

• Assess the current “marketing situation” including channel readiness, content gaps, partner amplification, awards, PR and influencer work.

MAKING IT HAPPEN (9 March – 30 April)

Strategic Vision & Objectives

• Co-create with the Project Board a concise Vision Statement and 3–5 strategic objectives.

Product Development Plan

• Prioritised Culinary Tourism Product Plan (e.g. trails, festivals, neighbourhood clusters, producer/chef showcases, quality & award schemes, packaging with culture/sport
• Light-touch workforce considerations; training partners, hospitality skills initiatives, employer engagement. 

Marketing & Communications Plan

• Recommend a clear food & drink narrative and proof points aligned with the city brand.
• Plan should include target audiences, value proposition, messaging framework, consideration for visual identity and a multi-channel plan (owned, earned, partner, trade).
• Factor in quick-win content and campaign ideas, press/influencer approaches and partnerships.

Implementation & Delivery Roadmap

• 36 month Destination Roadmap: including outlining potential action owners and dependencies.

Monitoring & Evaluation Framework: 

• To include a series of KPIs, sharing current and target data.

Deliverables & Timetable:

The Agency shall provide:

• RESEARCH / AUDIT / ANALYSIS detailed plan meeting 14 January
• RESEARCH / AUDIT / ANALYSIS progress update 10 February 
• RESEARCH / AUDIT / ANALYSIS comprehensive report by 9 March
• RESEARCH / AUDIT / ANALYSIS presentation to Project Board by 19 March
• Draft strategy & action plan  (Full report) by 9 April
• Final strategy & action plan, incorporating any feedback from Draft Strategy submitted by 23 April
• Final strategy & action plan presentation 28 April
• Summary strategy slide deck to share with all parties by 30 April
• Summary action plan slide deck to share with all parties by 30 April

Proposal Requirements

To be considered, please submit an application (max. 5 pages excluding CVs/appendices). We will be looking for organisations who:

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the brief 
• Demonstrate overview methodology for each area of work
• Outline an experienced team with relevant expertise 
• Demonstrable experience within food & drink tourism, destination strategy, place marketing and stakeholder facilitation
• Give consideration to how this project can be fully embedded locally and will support local knowledge transfer
• Budget breakdown

Please use this structure for your proposal.

Submission Deadline: 5pm on 11 December 2025

Interviews (online): 16 December 2025