How do you merchandise gourmet products in your store?
Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 2/1/2001
Sandra Allison, Allison Wonderland Cape May, NJ
Cross-merchandising does not work with gourmet. I shelve it together in little rows like soldiers. People like to think of their food as fresh, clean, and neat. Sometimes they're afraid to buy food in a gift shop because they don't know how long it's been there. We do cross merchandise within the food section: We put tea tins and infusers with tea, and cookie cutters with scone mix. People love to buy things out of baskets, and to see what they're buying: our loose tea is in glass jars and labeled clearly. We serve samples often, and keep a kettle on the boil all day so they can have any one of 12 varieties for free. Gourmet is a hard sell. Grocery stores have such variety that people don't want to pay for extravagant high-end products. Good packaging matters, and hard-to-find items will always sell. I have a terrible time moving premade gift baskets, though my custom baskets do well.
Tony Falcone, Fast Buck Freddie's Key West, FL
We really concentrate on foods that represent our region. We have a freestanding display that pyramids up to about six feet. On top is a Caribbean plaid mannequin decorated in all sorts of tropical fruits and floral fabrics. She's very inviting, and cascading down from her are all the various different products that reflect Key West. We don't look to trends as much as what applies to the island experience. So while there are wonderful tapenades, we probably would not bring them in. We stress the flavors from Jamaica and the Caribbean islands, like jerk spices. We also use local people who create products that we call "Floribbean." They represent the combination of the Caribbean and Florida ingredients, like Key Lime Curd and other lime- and mango-based products, or dried tropical fruits.
Daniel Hill, Botanicals on the Park St. Louis, MO
Gourmet business is third and fourth quarter business at Botanicals on the Park. Merchandising products at the point of sale generates sales due to its impulse nature. Gourmet products are purchased for gift-giving as well as for individual customer use. We also merchandise gourmet products within our other product groupings, such as Hanukkah candy with the Hanukkah display. Sampling gourmet items also generates sales in the stores. The market has become very saturated, so we try to carry exclusive gourmet products to stand out from other retailers. Also larger varieties of gourmet products are available, just as we are seeing in the gift industry. Trends from one carry over to the other: If we are seeing butterflies selling, we carry and sell chocolate butterfly candy.
Judi Tewell, Los Osos Rexall Drug & Gift Store Los Osos, CA
In our store we have a gourmet section where we carry several different lines of product. By displaying these products in a similar area with kitchenware, picnic baskets, and wine merchandise, the items move quickly. Many times, we sample our food throughout the week and especially during store promotions and events. The product that is being sampled becomes the most popular item of the day. Olive oils, pastas, and bread dippers have been very popular lately. I feel it is very important to make sure all employees have tasted the products so that they are able to share their true opinions with the customers.
