It’s either raining or snowing, or if not, it’s cold and bleak – there’s no getting away from the fact, this is a grim time of year. Then again it’s the perfect time for your independent retailer customers to highlight the products they have for a Big Night In, to beat the winter blues and bring in the extra sales!
The rising cost of eating out is providing a significant boost for the British Big Night In. As young adults spend more time at home in the evenings, many are eating micro-snacking products while watching movies, playing on games consoles or spending time online. People enjoying a night in, whether enjoying a few drinks with friends, watching a film or playing the latest computer games, want tasty, filling snacks that don’t interrupt what they’re doing. That’s where ‘Hot, Quick & Tasty’ micro-snacking products like Kepak’s Rustlers, Quick Serve Microwaveable meals, Micro Pastry and Chilled Soup really come into their own. One of the advantages of these products is that they can be cooked in less time than it takes to boil a kettle. To increase sales, encourage your independent retailer customers to keep these best-selling products in stock 100 per cent of the time, and merchandise their chillers so the shoppers can find them easily.
There are plenty of excuses for a party in 2014, and for cash ‘n’ carries and delivered wholesalers to encourage the independent retailers they serve to get into the mood, with a full range of drinks and snacks. The Eurovision Song contest – the prompt for plenty of fancy dress parties – is in Copenhagen on Saturday 10th May. And the FIFA World Cup 2014 starts in Manaus, Brazil on Thursday June 12 and ends on Sunday 13 July. Before that, Tuesday March 4th is Pancake Day, and the excuse for a Mardi Gras carnival in your cash ‘n’ carry, with staff in fancy dress!
Just why is the Big Night In so popular? First, thanks to the last few years of squeezed incomes, higher food prices and less cash available there’s been a shift to entertaining at home. Second, thanks to Jamie, Nigella and the Bake Off crew, home cooking has never been more popular – including food for home entertaining. As a nation we’re healthier now, reading product labels, eating our 5 pieces of fruit and veg a day and watching what we drink, but that doesn’t mean the end of the line for those Big Night In stalwarts, alcoholic drinks and salty and sugary treats. They’ve been joined in the shopping list by healthy snacks, imaginative adult-oriented soft drinks and herbal teas, so be sure to offer those to your independent retailer customers.
As habits change, it’s all part of the modern Big Night In! Cheers!
Comments are closed.