Artisan Essentials 2025

Shoppers’ budgets may be slim, but by offering added value fine food retailers could be in for a bottom line-boost @specialityfood 22 HOWTOBOOST BASKET SPEND milk from cows who graze two fields away, which pairs beautifully with a fruity chutney and smooth and buttery white wine. By educating your staff about the products in your range, their enjoyment and interest in what they are selling becomes palpable and a valuable selling tool. Upselling tools When it comes to ramping up excitement, nothing beats in-store theatre for connecting shoppers with your produce. Matt Hopkins, founder of IND!E suggests live baking, cheese- cutting demonstrations or meet the producer events to create engagement and encourage spending. Selling local or otherwise tricky to get hold of products can also reap rewards. “A great example of this came from a Forest Holidays Pop-Up, where they struggled to sell cans of Coke – customers knew they could buy them 10p cheaper at Tesco. Yet, they had no problem selling bucket loads of locally made ginger beer at three times T he cost-of-living crisis may still be playing a part in consumers’ purchasing decisions, but it’s not a simple case of price equals value in 2025. Independent retailers are well placed to offer a holistic idea of value – think experience, story, provenance and self- gifting credentials – that mean that despite tighter belts shoppers are still willing to treat themselves to fine food and drink and are open to an upsell. First things first: arm your staff with the knowledge and passion they need to create new sales opportunities. A block of cheese can be so much more than a cheese; it can be a locally- produced artisan cheese made using