Friends of Branded!
Happy Saturday, and I hope you had a great week.
The race is on and while there is no official finish line (b/c this race will go on forever), the leader board is constantly being watched and is always changing.
First, why does this race have no finish line? As one of Branded’s LPs likes to remind me whenever we discuss our respective investing strategies, unless something will go forever, it will end. And I like to remind him, that the food & beverage industry will go on forever b/c people will eat & drink, every day, for the rest of their lives. How they eat & drink, of course, is always changing, and that’s one thing that makes the hospitality industry such an interesting one to be part of, b/c it will go on forever (cheers to you EF).
Second, words matter, so for the purposes of this week’s Top of the Fold (and also for Branded Hospitality), let’s make sure the word “hospitality” is clearly defined. I’m not the judge or jury when it comes to defining anything in the public domain, but according to the Oxford Dictionary, “hos·pi·tal·i·ty” “is the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.”
For Mr. Brandon Barton, the CEO at our portfolio company Bite and the H^2 subscriber that loves my digressions the most (sarcasm intended) I’ll add that the word comes from the Latin word ”hospes,” meaning host, guest, or stranger (so there you go).
For Branded’s business, we embrace the second definition of the word, or “the business of providing food, drink, and accommodation for customers of restaurants, bars, etc. or guests at hotels.”
To those outside the hospitality industry, please note, the restaurant, hotel and foodservice industries don’t own or have any exclusivity over the word “hospitality” and every business, at least ones that engage with guests, visitors or strangers, have the ability to be offer “hospitality” or be “hospitable” (and if you elect to engage with your guests, visitors or strangers in a hospitable manner, I think you’ll find it will elevate your business).
But I digress (again), so let’s get back into it (into “what?!?” you ask! I know, it took a moment to get here). 😊
If I’m writing about a race, Brad Pitt might get the image above the title, but Cannonball Run gets to be part of this.
