Speciality-Food-Magazine-November-December-2024

6 @specialityfood Experts from delis, farm shops and garden centres across the UK share their experiences and advice to help make your festive selling season a success 17 essential Christmas tips for retailers insight to the producer, builds a relationship. Nicole Ewer-Woodley The Goat Shed Make yourself aware of what your customers are experiencing during the Christmas period and understand the ways in which your business can appeal to them and use this across your messaging. They could, for example, be hosting Christmas and looking for a quick and easy way to make sure they have everything needed for Christmas Day lunch. Our solution is an order formwhich allows them to pre-order, avoid the busy supermarkets and collect with confidence knowing that they have everything that they need to host the most delicious Christmas. Use your social accounts and create content that relates to your customers. Have fun during this time of year, showcasing your team and your seasonal offerings. We’re very proud of our social engagement and take a lot of inspiration from bigger chains such as M&S who create fun in-store content with their teams. Mel Wythe, Secretts Careful and meticulous planning is key. We start liaising with producers in June and we like to buy in early to avoid a last-minute rush. We buy in bigger/bulk products too so our customers can stock up on the core things without having to do repeat visits - an essential if you have a table of 20 to feed at Christmas! Lawrie Chandler Bison Hill We encourage passers-by who are interested but not acting on their purchase to take a photo of an A-board where we have with the products displayed. It's better than a business card because it's on their photo reel, which may prompt them to visit and buy when they scroll through their photos. Laura Roberts Laura’s Larder Christmas is the time for customisable hampers. Gone are the days of rigid, unchanging hampers. Customers now revel in choice and the ability to tailor gifts to their loved ones’ tastes. Ensure you have a diverse range of items to cater for all types of shoppers – from gourmet treats and fine wines, to artisanal condiments and festive snacks. Having a variety will allow customers to build the perfect hamper for their loved ones. Many shoppers are seeking products with minimal packaging, and Christmas is a time when non-eco-friendly packaging can really go overboard. Including eco-friendly wrapping options and sustainable product choices could be a significant draw. Experiential gifts are gaining popularity. Cater for that with vouchers for experiences like wine tasting sessions or other events you might host. Stefano Cuomo Macknade If you have space, consider product pop-ups. There may be some lines you don’t want to stock (esoteric, higher price point, niche) but which could provide good animation for the customer experience. Adopt a model whereby the producer can come in with stock, do tastings, sell through your tills, and then take away all remaining stock and invoice for what was sold. This helps with the customer experience, creates marketing opportunity, de-risks the shopkeeper by not having stock left on the shelf, gives valuable Food wholesalers urged to “Buy British” Love British Food has written to a number of wholesale industry leaders to urge them to add a British food category to their operations. The letter states that while there is a growing appetite from consumers and the foodservice industry for more British-made food on menus, there is a “blockage” caused by supply chain logistics. The letter called upon wholesalers to establish “Buy British” categories to simplify the procurement process, boost domestic economic growth, lower environmental impact by reducing carbon emissions, and promoting Britain’s cultural food heritage. Aswe navigate this period of transition, one thing is clear: the decisionsmade in these earlydays of Labour's tenurewill shape the future of Britishagriculture for years to come. The stakes are high, but so too is the opportunity formeaningful change PRESTON WALDON, 100 DAYS IN: ASSESSING THE GOVERNMENT’S IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE