The 54th annual Fancy Food Show will be held in New York, June 29 - July 1, 2008. This is NASFT’s largest show ever, with over 200 exhibitors. According the Specialty Food Magazine, there will be an “unprecedented number of natural and organic products shown throughout the show”.
Go to the NASFT web site for registration information, exhibitor list, educational programs, and hotels and travel.
If you’re unable to make this show, think about attending the Winter Fancy Food Show to be held in San Francisco, January 18-20, 2009.
June 10th, 2008 at 08:18pm
Lorie Obernauer
In these days of high gas prices, consumers are making fewer shopping trips than ever before. Coupled with increased demands on our time, we, as consumers, are looking for more services that will make our shopping experiences easier and more efficient.
Consider adding a “Personal Shopper” to the list of services that your business offers to customers. Think about assigning one of your salespeople this new role. This person needs to be up to date on all the trends in the gourmet and gift industries. Reading industry magazines such as Gourmet Retailer and Specialty Foods will be helpful in this respect. Rave Reviews Magazine is perfect for seeing the latest trends specific to the gift basket industry. And of course, this person needs to be very knowledgeable about the products that you carry.
When a customer calls your Personal Shopper, he/she just needs to explain what the gift is for, how much he/she wants to spend, and a little about the person who will receive the gift. Then, the Personal Shopper can take it from there. If your Personal Shopper can create a reputation as a “life-saver” for your customers, this will go a long way towards building a loyalty among your shoppers and will help you acquire many new customers in your area.
June 3rd, 2008 at 01:42pm
Lorie Obernauer
Do you have an on-line store for your gift basket business? If the answer is yes, you need to make sure that your customers have a positive experience while shopping on your site.
Keep in mind that shopping at your on-line is much like shopping in a brick and mortar store. Think about a store that you like to visit. It is probably clean and well organized. Merchandise is displayed attractively and in a sensible order. At your local department store, women’s clothing is probably grouped on one floor. Then, departments that feature sportswear are separate from evening wear. If you’re shopping for a gift for your mother, it is fairly easy to find what you want once you get to the right floor. At a really well organized store, accessories that can be worn with sports wear or evening wear would be shown near-by. This can result in add-on sales: the buyer may purchase something she didn’t originally intend to buy once she sees how it all can work together.
In the same way, your web site should be organized so that customers can easily find what they want. Obviously, birthday baskets should be displayed separately from baskets designed for corporate buyers. But within the birthday basket category, you can go further by showing baskets for children, then baskets for women, for men, for sports enthusiasts, etc. If you sell other gifts on your site, make sure that they are displayed where they’ll have the most impact. For example, spa products may be shown on your site in a separate area, but also in the section that show gift baskets for women. Don’t be afraid to display your products in more than one section of your site.
Some final tips: make sure that your home page is appealing and invites the shopper into your store. Check all your links and make sure that they work correctly. Try to educate the shoppers who come to your store: why should they buy your products? Include product information (eg. a specific list of items included in each basket) or suggestions about other items they might like (eg. customers who bought this item also bought _____).
Visit other web sites and think about what appeals to you. What makes it easy to shop at other web sites? If you shop on-line, spend time at that web site and consider what you like about it. Then go ahead and make your site the best it can be for your customers.
May 25th, 2008 at 09:23pm
Lorie Obernauer
I was just browsing though the May issue of Deliver Magazine, published by the US Postal Service. An article about “cause marketing” caught my eye. According to author Linda Formichelli, “Co-marketing (or cause marketing) your business with a charity helps not only the cause but also your business…87% of Americans ages 13 to 25 would switch brands if one were associated with a good cause” (assuming the brands are comparable).
How can a gourmet gift basket business owner incorporate cause marketing into day to day business planning? The author gave some suggestions about how to go about starting this type of program. First, you need to think about your own values and how these mesh with your business objectives. In other words, ask yourself: What do I stand for? What is important to me? From this, you can logically come up with a cause to support.
For example, if you only use all natural, organic foods in your gourmet baskets, you might pledge some money from each gift basket sale to an organization that supports “green businesses”.
Or you might support a cause that is related to a more personal issue. A gift basket business owner that I know has a nephew with Down Syndrome and at holiday time, hires part-time workers with Downs Syndrome to help with tasks such as packing, putting bows onto baskets, etc. She also donates part of her holiday sales to the national organization.
These days, when people are being more careful about where they spend their money, you may be able to create a win –win situation for your business, the particular cause you support and your community.
Are you interested in “going green”? Check out the new Envirosax Reusable Shopping Bags at Apex Gift Foods. These colorful satchels can be used for packing your gourmet baskets or you can insert one in your basket as a gift.
May 17th, 2008 at 08:19pm
Lorie Obernauer
Every month in Gourmet Retailer Magazine, a promotional calendar lists special events and holidays for upcoming months. Create and send your own calendar to your customers by email or direct mail so that they are aware of your creative promotions.
Here are some interesting and fun promotional ideas that you can use to spruce up summer sales.
June 9th is Donald Duck’s birthday. How about a newborn baby basket that includes duckie toys, bibs, cups, and other baby gifts? A cartoon video for older brothers and sisters would also be appreciated!
June 13th is the only Friday the 13th in 2008. Offer a 13% off sale on some of your newest basket designs.
Strawberry season starts on June 22nd. Design a basket that include all of your strawberry flavored items: tea, hard candies, cookies.
One hundred forty nine years ago, on June 27th, the “Happy Birthday to You” song was composed. Offer special pricing on all your birthday baskets during the last week of June.
One last note: June is Effective Communications Month. This might be a good time to have a staff training session that focuses on learning new customer service skills.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:34pm
Lorie Obernauer
Are your email campaigns successful? Do you get orders? Are you attracting new customers? Are established customers responding to your emails? Periodically, we need to ask ourselves these questions and think about what we can do better.
Here are some simple, yet helpful tips from Target Marketing, May, 2008.
- Do you know what your email looks like when received by your customer? Before you send an email to your customers, send it to yourself. Is the format attractive? Is the font readable? Are the graphics or photos that you included clear and sharp? Are the colors used appealing? You might also send it to some friends to give you some feedback about these questions. They don’t need to understand your business or have in depth knowledge about your products to be able to tell you whether your email piece is appealing.
- Do your recipients immediately know who the email is from? Your name should be right at the top of the email with contact information easily found. Have you ever scrolled up and down an email to find a phone number or other way to contact the company? Frustrating to say the least! If you have a logo, you might want to incorporate this at the top of every email so that your customers recognize your brand.
- Is your offer clear? Have you offered solutions to problems relevant to your customers? Talk to your best customers and find out what “problems” they experience most often? Are prices too high? Are they looking for products that will save them time when designing? Are they looking for products that appeal to a certain audience? Your marketing campaign can then explain how your products or services will address these particular needs.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:09pm
Lorie Obernauer
I saw an ad in Gourmet Retailer Magazine about a new item for gift baskets: Gourmet Herb Garden Kits. These would be great addition for a gift basket with a “cooking” theme.
Go to Gifts That Bloom to learn more. The complete in-door gardening gift kits are a perfect gift for avid gardeners and beginners alike. In addition to the Herb Garden Gifts, the company offers over 250 gifts including kits for flowers, plants and trees. “Just add water and sun!”
April 27th, 2008 at 06:41pm
Lorie Obernauer
In January, I posted an article in this blog about bans on plastic bags and reusable totes. Well, the gourmet food industry is going green!
Now, at Apex Gift Foods, you can purchase Envirosax Reusable Shopping Bags and spread the environmental message with style.
Lightweight polyester, portable, waterproof and weighing just 1/4 oz., Envirosax Reusable Shopping Bags can hold the equivalent of two supermarket plastic bags thanks to reinforced seams.
Envirosax Reusable Shopping Bags, printed with exciting, trendy graphics, are a perfect gift idea and can easily be included in your gift baskets. Each bag rolls up into itself and snaps shut and is small enough to stow in a handbag or glove compartment.
Or, build your basket in one of these 19.5″ x 16.5″ bags and do your part for our environment.
Go to Apex Gift Foods for more information.
April 21st, 2008 at 09:04am
Lorie Obernauer
The All Candy Expo is the largest candy, confectionery, cookie and snack show in America. This year, the event will be held May 20-22 in Chicago, Illinois.
The gourmet marketplace will feature confectionery and snack products including premium gourmet items and all natural and organic products. “The confectionery, biscuit, and snack categories combined are a $70 billion category in the United States.” Join over 5000 buyers to see the newest items in the marketplace. Go to the All Candy Expo web site for more information.
If you sell housewares products, the 2008 Gourmet Housewares Show will be held May 6-8 in Las Vegas. This year, the focus will be on the environment and new product launches. If you can plan a last minute trip, go to The Gourmet Housewares Show for information.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:10pm
Lorie Obernauer
In the past, I have written posts on this blog about attending trade shows and how you can make the most of that experience. But, have you ever considered setting up your own booth at a trade show in order to sell your products?
I just read an interesting article “Escaping the Trade Show Money Pit”, that offers excellent advice on this topic. Granted, participating in trade shows as a vendor can be a very expensive and time consuming endeavor. But if you prepare correctly, you can make the most of this opportunity to get your product line in front of buyers.
- Set the Right Objectives. Keep in mind that your trade show experience offers more than just a way to market your product line. In addition to connecting with potential customers, do your homework before the show to find out what other vendors will be participating. You may find new suppliers for your own business. At the gourmet shows that I attend, I meet vendors who sell insurance, equipment, computer software and other products that can help me run my business better.
- Pick the Right Show. Make sure that the buyers who will be attending the show comprise the market that you want to reach. Contact the trade show management to get names of other vendors who will have booths and have participated in prior years. Make a few calls to those vendors and inquire about the types of buyers who attended past shows. Also, ask your current “good” customers which shows they attend and why they like to go to those shows.
- Do Some Pre-Show Marketing. You may be able to get a list of registered buyers from the trade show management. Contact potential buyers through email, direct mail or telemarketing to let them know that you’ll be there. Include your booth number and a short description of the products you’ll be showing. Consider offering a special promotion or giveaway to buyers who come to your booth.
Read the full article to learn more ways to make your trade show experience a success!
April 10th, 2008 at 09:42am
Lorie Obernauer
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