5
SALES & MARKETING
BUSINESS TIPS
ways to maximise summer sales (that work)
Five fine food retailers reveal their hottest tactics for increasing sales over the summer
HALEY & CLIFFORD
Who they are: Delicatessen based in Leeds. Summer marketing tactic: Picnic hampers are a helpful additional revenue stream in the summer months, with orders from customers who are planning days out or going to festivals like Proms in the Park. Bigger orders from corporate customers entertaining their clients at the cricket or the races can be complex to organise, but are well worth the work. Why it works: It builds customer relationships and is a way for the brand to showcase its high quality foods.
PAPADELI
Who they are: Café-deli with a catering arm in Bristol. Summer marketing tactic: Offering picnic hampers for weddings and events, as well as individual picnic bags for office workers who might want to pop up to Bristol Downs for lunch or students hanging out in the park. Why it works: The picnic hampers and bags are easy: customers go in, choose a salad box, fruit, sandwich, cake and drink, and take their meal out into the fresh air. It’s also very visual, so appeals to social media users.
CHEESES
Who they are: Cheese specialists in Muswell Hill since 1982, selling farmhouse and artisan cheeses. Summer marketing tactic: Summer is a quiet period for Cheeses, so they put a lot of effort into social media. They also do free cheese tastings which are a fantastic way to get customers through the door. Why it works: If they post a cheese on social media in the morning, they usually have five or more customers in the shop for that particular product in the afternoon. www.farmanddeliretail.com
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COCOA WONDERLAND
Picnic hampers are a helpful additional revenue stream in the summer months, with orders from customers who are planning days out or going to festivals like Proms in the Park
Who they are: Café and chocolate shop in Sheffield. Summer marketing tactic: We always try to think of families and how to target them in the summer holidays, as they’re usually at a loose end and desperate for something to do – hopefully something fun that involves treats. Last year we ran an offer where the kids would get free ice cream and an activity sheet if the adults bought a cup of tea and some cake. Why it works: During the summer, children often find themselves with too much free time, and parents worry about the mischief and resulting headache that can bring. Cocoa Wonderland sold an experience that filled a timely need – one of the most basic yet often overlooked marketing concepts.
DELILAH FINE FOODS
Who they are: Nottingham-based café and bakery, also selling fine wines. Summer marketing tactic: At Delilah, summer is about aspirational eating. They try to make their menus and retail displays evocative of a time and place which people want to experience. For example, they sell fresh local strawberries pre-, during and post-Wimbledon, and do tapas-style dining just before and after the main holiday period – in addition to gin and prosecco cocktails, refreshing ice lollies and ice creams with a twist, and BBQ dishes. The ‘hire-a-picnic’ hampers are a great product to promote in the period leading up to summer, to get the idea into people’s minds before summer itself arrives. Why it works: They appeal to people’s ideas of what summer happiness is, and then bring it to them in the form of summer drinks and seasonal foods that evoke those particular experiences. Farm & Deli Retail • April/May 2017
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07/04/2017 11:56