Go Green & Prosper

Is going green here to stay? According to Shari Waters at About.com, “retailers who think ‘going green’ is just another fad or marketing ploy should think again. Consumers are becoming more aware of their overall impact on our communities. Shoppers have developed more of a green attitude as a way of life and retailers need to be there to meet their needs.”

The most noticeable green initiative for a retailer is to discontinue the use of plastic bags. To offer a low-cost green solution, consider selling reusable bags at cost. Print your store logo on the reusable bags and encourage your customers to use them for all their shopping. Your customers feel good about doing their part, and that bag serves as an advertisement for your confections! Not only will potential customers become aware of your brand, they will also remember you as an environmentally friendly retailer.

Take your green initiative one step further by delivering your confections in 100 percent recycled Kraft boxes. Tap Packaging Solutions offers a growing selection of Kraft paperboard packaging options. In addition to our exclusive 2 and 4 piece Wine Hangers and three sizes of our exclusive Cello Caddy, Tap also offers the standard auto bottom Kraft boxes in four sizes and the latest addition to our Kraft line include a Kraft Apple box and three sizes of Kraft Cupcake boxes.

All Kraft products can be foil stamped with your logo to further strengthen your brand. Once you have made the move to green, make sure to make an advertising splash to announce your initiative. Create a window display highlighting your earth-friendly packaging, complete with branches, leaves and/or sand and consider offering a special discount to customers who purchase and use your reusable bags.

To learn more about earth friendly, Kraft packaging for your confections, visit our website http://confectioner.tap-usa.com/search.aspx?find=kraft

How to Get the Biggest Bang for Your Buck at Trade Shows!

The RCI Industry Expo is one of the largest Confection Shows in the country.  RCI shares some helpful tips to help you make the most of your trip to the show.  Hope to see you there!

In light of our upcoming 93^rd Annual Convention & Industry Expo, this week’s tip is to save money by placing orders at industry tradeshows.

In addition to seeing new product innovations and meeting suppliers and fellow confectioners face to face, you can save money on items such as packaging, machinery and ingredients by attending industry tradeshows. Many exhibitors will provide show specials just for those who take advantage of placing orders while at the show. For example, you could secure a reduced shipping rate, free product samples, or deep discounts by placing the same order you were going to place when the need arose a couple months from now. Note that most suppliers will allow you to place an order and arrange for later shipping dates so you could even place your Christmas order and know it will arrive at a later arranged date.

Who will you meet at our upcoming Industry Expo?   View the floor plan here, including exhibiting company descriptions and show specials to plan your orders! And make plans to be at the RCI Industry Expo in Cincinnati, June 25 and 26!

Keep The Ideas Coming!

We all know the importance of diversifying and branching into new markets in order to grow a business.  As confectioners, we are afforded the opportunity to introduce new ingredients to our staple products.  Today you can find almost anything you can think of covered in chocolate.  Nuts lead the way with pretzels, potato chips, popcorn and even bacon as strong contenders.  The success of the chocolate covered cherry opened the door for the strawberry, apple, grape and many others fruits as well.  Although it is difficult to determine which actually came first in the long line of chocolate covered fruits, the extensions have all proved quite profitable for many candy shops.

Some insightful chocolatiers have even branched into incorporating the hype associate with the “Super Foods” into their chocolate covered line ups.  The highly publicized benefits of chocolate and wine have opened up even more avenues, allowing chocolate shops to partner with wineries and wine stores to grow their business.  Our most popular product, the Wine Hanger, was born after discussions with a customer working with a hospital on a study using dark chocolate and red wine! Recently, I learned of the latest creative twist for chocolate ~ edible chocolate play dough now marketed by a European company.  The opportunities are endless.

Our previous posts have discussed the fact that chocolate is recession proof, heart healthy, mind healthy and of course irresistible, but we still need to continue to come up with creative ways to keep our customers engaged and to command more of their disposable income.  Keep the ideas coming and let us know what packaging solutions we can create to deliver your next big idea!

Packaging Gives Products Personality

According to Kacey Culliney, from foodproductiondaily.com, “packaging design is a crucial investment for premium chocolate firms in an overcrowded marketplace, as it gives a product personality, which is essentially what a brand should be.”

Confectionnews.com spoke to Mark Salisbury, director of graphic design agency Solid Block about the role of packaging design in premium chocolate products:  “Communicating brand is first and foremost a priority in packaging.  Consumers are a lot savvier nowadays about who they buy from; they buy from companies they like.  So for chocolate firms it’s about ensuring you are not a faceless company and about building a relationship with your customers.  Packaging design gives personality which is essentially what a brand should be.  Confectioners should look to fill a void in the marketplace.  Their product needs to be something special, either in terms of packaging, ingredients or the story behind it.”

You have heard the concept of differentiation several times in our blogs.  The key to success in any business is setting yourself apart from your competition.  At Tap Packaging Solutions, we pride ourselves on providing uniquely creative packaging solutions that do just that.  Our Wine Hangers and Cello Caddies, both exclusive designs fromTap, offer you opportunities to not only visually impact your store, but also to branch out into new avenues by partnering with wine stores, gift shops and vineyards.  Our products set us apart from other packaging suppliers. Whether you custom stamp a stock product or work with us to design a one of a kind custom box, Tap products lend personality to your brand by making your products stand out. 

Your success depends on the uniqueness of your product offering and packaging plays a major role in that presentation.  Challenge us to help set your confections apart with uniquely, creative packaging!

Creative Ways to Boost Mother's Day Sales

What Will You Do Differently This Mother’s Day?

 

PS Print Resource Center offers some great ideas to make your May a huge success!

 

 

Off-the-Wall Mother’s Day Marketing Strategies

in Holidays and Special Events, Mother's Day

Mother’s Day usually consists of the tried-and-true themes that attempt to convince customers that a particular product or service says “I love you, Mom” better than the next. Naturally this is the emotion that Mother’s Day buyers want to express, but you can best the competition by marketing with more flair. If you want to instantly boost Mother’s Day business, increase customer loyalty and brand your company to the masses, you should consider staging a publicity stunt this Mother’s Day.

For sure, the term “publicity stunt” carries a negative connotation. Call it what you will – an event, a customer appreciation day, etc. – but the bottom line is that publicity stunts are engineered to attract the attention of media and your target audience to increase sales. Successful publicity stunts offer unique experiences, whether it’s through good prizes or entertainment, and thus earn free press coverage. To pull greater profits and leave your competitors in the dust this May, try one of these off-the-wall Mother’s Day marketing strategies.

Break a world record

The Guinness World Records website isn’t just a tool for finding novel feats and facts – it’s a springboard for powerful marketing events that generate free press and boost revenue. Search through world records to see if you can identify any that are relevant to your business and to Mother’s Day, then decide whether there are any you might be able to break. A florist might decide to try to break the record for world’s tallest bouquet, for example.

Mom makeover

Mothers spend countless hours doting on their children and helping them look their best. They match outfits, comb hair and clean faces despite all the whining and resistance as their children grow. Now, it’s time for Mom to be pampered!

Partner with complementary yet non-competing businesses to give away free or discounted makeovers for moms, including a new hairstyle, makeup and wardrobe. If you’re not in the beauty business, no problem: You can still hold a mom makeover event if you choose the right partners. Promote your mom makeover event by printing postcards, flyers, posters, banners, and by contacting local news outlets to generate free publicity.

Lovable landscaping

Flowers represent some of the most popular Mother’s Day gifts, and you can help someone make their Mother’s Day exceptionally special with a free home landscaping package. Hold a contest where competitors write in why their mothers deserve the landscaping package, or – better yet – hold a game show-like competition where mothers and son/daughter teams compete against one another to see who knows the other best. You can do this very simply by inviting your teams to shop at your store in the week preceding Mother’s Day. When they make a purchase, have them instantly fill out forms printed with your questions. Tally the results and award the winner on Mother’s Day! If landscaping and flowers are not relevant to your business, give something else away that is.

Host your own Tasting in your Chocolate Shop!

Now that you have learned the ins and outs of pairing wine & chocolate, turn what you know into profits for your store by hosting a tasting party at your store.  Make sure to highlight your best selling and most unique products in your displays.  Have them sign in on a guest book to capture their mailing and email information for future promotions!

What’s More Fun Than A Party To Taste
Chocolate & Wine? content provided by The Nibble

What good is sitting along in your room, even with several box of chocolate and a few bottles of wine?  We NIBBLE editors have done it more than a few times—it’s a long, lonely night but it’s part of our job. You, on the other hand, can be surrounded by friends who will talk about your event for years, by hosting a chocolate and wine pairing.

We’ve done all the planning for you. Just follow the steps below and a week from today you could be listing to the pairs singing at your own chocolate and wine cabaret.

Setting Up

Step 1: The Menu

• After reviewing our article on Pairing Chocolate and Wine, think about what you’d like to serve at your first party.  We think the best way to start evaluating pairings is to start with plain bar chocolates—bittersweet, dark, milk, and white—and a dozen wines. 
• A more festive approach is to try different flavored truffles and bonbons and contrast wines with the different fillings—classic chocolate ganache (chocolate and cream), praline (ground nuts), and fruit-accented ganache or fondant (bonbon filling).
• The biggest challenge for both you and your guests is to group chocolates by category—plain bar, fancy bar, fruit-filled, mint-filled, enrobed nuts, caramels, and toffee or buttercrunch.
• Plan to taste up to 12 pieces of chocolate and 12 wines. Check out some of our favorite chocolates to try at your tasting, or ask for recommendations at your local chocolate store. After you’ve selected your chocolate, use our wine pairing chart and work with your wine merchant to find the best assortment of wines in your budget range that will let you compare and contrast.

Step 2: The Setting

• Decide when you want to hold the tasting. The best times are mid-afternoon or mid-evening. The timing should be one to two hours after you’ve had lunch or dinner and are no longer hungry, but have had ample time to digest and are ready to taste.
• Assess available facilities. You’ll  need a table large enough so that everyone can have a space for wine glasses, a plate of chocolate, and a rating sheet. If you have a choice, a rectangular table works better than a circular table. 
• The room should be bright enough so that participants can enjoy the visual nuances of the chocolate and wine as well as the flavors and aromas.

Step 3: The Invitation Plan your guest list. A group of six to eight is a good basic size for interaction and discussion; although if your guests are experienced wine tasters and you have room at the table, a dozen can work. With a larger group, be prepared to direct the discussion by asking someone to lead off with comments.

Truffles from Chocolat Celeste.

• If your goal is to learn about pairing chocolate and wine, then invite people who are like-minded. It’s fun, but it also takes concentration.  Those who don’t really have an interest in exploring flavor nuances—who just want to drink wine or eat chocolate and have social conversations—are better invited to a different event where the agenda is only social.
• You can mail invitations (we’ve bought greeting cards with photos of sumptuous chocolates on the cover and blank insides); or create your own e-mail invitations.  Remind your guests to ideally finish lunch or dinner two hours before they arrive for the tasting.

Step 4: The Preparation

• Create a sheet for notes. Set up a table on an 8½" x 11" page horizontally with ½" margins. You will need 4 columns and as many rows as the chocolates and wines you are tasting, plus a “header” row. The headers of the columns from left to right are: Products, Appearance/Aroma, Taste, Comments. In the first column, make a row for each of the products to be tasted, and number each row, so you can refer back to “chocolate number 3.” Allow enough width in each row for people to write notes.  If you are tasting a dozen of chocolates and/or pairings, your table may continue to three sheets.
• Prepare a tasting template. At professional tastings, templates are pre-printed on paper place mats instructing tasters and servers where to place item number one, item number two, etc. If you have access to a printer that uses 11" x 17" paper and are handy with a design program, you can create one.  Otherwise, you’ll have to devise your own system to keep track of the chocolates and wines. One way is to line up two rows of glasses with the chocolate in front of each. If you’re tasting chocolate only, you can put them on a plate starting clockwise at 12, which enables everyone to be in sync when you say, “Let’s move on to chocolate number 3”; and to refer back to their notes sheet.
• It’s also helpful to prepare a sources sheet so everyone can have a record of the chocolates and wines they are tasting. Include the places where the products can be purchased, and the prices. Distribute this after everything has been tasted, since prices can color perception of the products. (So can names, which is why we prefer blind tastings, knowing products only as “chocolate number three” and “Port number 1” until after the tasting.
• Select palate cleansers. In addition to water, to cleanse the palate between comparisons you should have a supply of water biscuits like Carr’s or other bland, salt-free crackers. Unsalted matzoh is essentially the same product as water biscuits; most grocery stores carry unsalted Saltines. Baguette and plain white bread work, but are more filling. Strange as it may sound, a tart green apple like Granny Smith works. Cut it in very thin slices so people don’t fill up. After consuming the palate cleanser, complete the process by drinking some water or seltzer (not club soda—it has salt).
• A snifter or container of unground coffee beans is helpful to clear aromas from the nose (90% of taste is smell).
• On the day of the event, set the table. Each guest needs a water glass, at least 4 wine glasses, a sharp knife for slicing chocolate if you’re serving truffles or bonbons that can be cut in half, an evaluation sheet, and a pen or pencil. Wine glasses should always be clear so you can see the color of the wine. If you don’t have enough glasses, get 8-ounce hard plastic beverage cups.
• You’ll also need to set the table with napkins, a pitcher of water to refill glasses, and, if people won’t have a separate glass for each wine, a “dump bucket” so wine not consumed can be tossed to make way for new wines.  An extra pitcher or a vase can be used for this purpose. Whatever you use, be sure it’s deep enough so that when you carry it to the sink to dump out, wine doesn’t slosh over the side.
• Now you’re ready to prepare a plate of chocolate for each guest. Use large dinner plates or chargers. They don’t have to be white—as long as the beauty of the chocolate isn’t lost, you can use colors, and mix and match for a festive look.
• If you’re serving individual pieces of chocolate like truffles or bonbons, each guest should have one piece.  If you are serving bar chocolate, divide the bar so that each guest gets the equivalent of 2 ounces.

Step 3: The Invitation Plan your guest list. A group of six to eight is a good basic size for interaction and discussion; although if your guests are experienced wine tasters and you have room at the table, a dozen can work. With a larger group, be prepared to direct the discussion by asking someone to lead off with comments. In any tasting, start with the mild tastes and conclude with the stronger ones.  If you do the reverse, your palate is conditioned to the stronger tastes and when the more delicate tastes are presented, they pale in comparison.

• You or one of your guests may wish to act as sommelier and pour all of the wines; or if the group is small, you can pass the bottle around the table. Each person should get a pour of about 1/3 glass (3 ounces).  You can get about 12 pours from a bottle of wine.
• You should pour the wine in flights of three or four wines at a time. Depending on what you’re serving, they would be poured in this order (as with chocolate, from the mildest to the most robust): champagnes, then white wines, then light and medium reds, then robust reds, then dessert wines. 
• If you are tasting a number of different wines and don’t own (or want to rent) many glasses, consider buying plastic tumblers. People can drink their wines from regular stemware, but save their extra wine in a plastic cup instead of dumping it. This enables everyone to keep all of their wines throughout the tasting, referring back to earlier wines to make comparisons.
• Start with the white chocolates or; if you’re not tasting white, with the milk chocolates; and with the champagnes and white wines. Move to the light and medium reds when you are still tasting milk chocolate; and build to the dark and bittersweet chocolates with, robust red wines and ports.

Step 6: The Process

• Take half of the piece of chocolate. Look at the color and smell the aroma. Take a bite. Chew it slowly and note how it feels. Read more about this process in our article, How To Taste Chocolate, and see The Flavors & Aromas of Chocolate. Take notes.
• Take a bite of the chocolate. Chew it several times and let it slowly melt on the tongue. Is it smooth, velvety, creamy, soft or gritty? It should not be waxy or hard to melt. Savor the chocolate—roll it around on the tongue to taste the many flavors. (The tip of the tongue senses sweetness, the front sides sense sour flavors, the back sides of the tongue taste salty flavors, and the very back of the tongue detects bitter notes.)
• Swirl the wine in the glass and sniff the aroma (the “nose”).  Note the scents. Take a sip and swirl it in your mouth so it blends with the chocolate. How does it impact the chocolate flavors?
• Cleanse the palate by eating an unsalted cracker and taking several sips of water. Take another bite of chocolate and try a different wine.  How is this pairing different from the prior ones?
• Repeat this process until you have gone around the plate.  Then discuss conclusions and vote for your favorite pairings.

 And then...give your guests  a tour of your store.  You want your guests to take away not only the positive experience of the event, but you want to give them something to remember where to come for all their chocolate & gift needs.  Why not send them off with a couple of your favorite truffles in a Wine Hanger!

Content Provided by:  KAREN HOCHMAN is Editorial Director of THE NIBBLE.
The Nibble:  The Magazine About Specialty Foods

Get the most out ot the Easter season!

Get the most out of the Easter season! 

The PS Print Resource Center offers some great ideas to boost your Easter sates.

http://www.psprint.com/resources/easter-direct-marketing-ideas/

Direct-Marketing Ideas for Easter

Once reserved for kids and candy, Easter has become one of the most profitable holiday seasons of the year. The March/April market rush makes sense, too, since spring is in the air, and people are out and about armed with pleasant attitudes – and often, tax return money. This season of rebirth and renewal is a good time for you to kick-start your marketing campaign to boost your company’s profits.

Here are a few direct-marketing ideas you can use this Easter:

Launch a new product

Everything about Easter symbolizes rebirth, whether it’s in the form of religion, Easter eggs or the appearance of green leaves and bright flowers. In the same spirit, this is the perfect time to launch a new product or service, or take an old product or service and re-brand, or re-name it, to give it a fresh look and appeal to your prospects. Of course, this leaves plenty of creative marketing ideas open for your advertisements. Imagine your new product hatching out of a pastel egg on your next postcard mailing. Make sure your new product or service launch includes a great sale to attract high potential prospects. You might also want to consider putting a coupon on your direct mailers to drive consumers to your door, which doubles as a great way to track the success of your campaigns.

Hire the Easter Bunny

One of the quickest ways to get your products and services in front of people is to bring them to your business through an in-house promotion. Second only to Christmas, Easter provides an excellent opportunity to do that. Hosting an Easter egg hunt for the kids or hiring the Easter Bunny to spend the morning or afternoon at your store attracts droves of children – and their parents. Since you’ll have the parents milling around while their children search for eggs or stand in line waiting to meet the Easter Bunny, this is an excellent opportunity to have an entertaining, attention-getting product display or demonstration. You could also try filling plastic Easter eggs with coupons and have one egg with a slip for a free product or service – the grand prize – to get adults into the mix. Make sure you have take-home flyers or brochures available.

Advertise

Whether you’re considering launching a new product or hosting an Easter-related event, the key to success is advertising. You’ll have a lot of competition for your audience’s attention this time of year, so make sure you do it right. Hire a graphic designer or use attractive templates to design your postcards, door hangers, flyers, sales letters and posters and launch an effective direct-mail campaign beginning several weeks before the event or product launch sale so your audience is blanketed – and reminded. Postcards are a very efficient and inexpensive way to do this and can work hand-in-hand with other marketing efforts such as newspaper advertising. You could advertise in a newspaper several weeks before your event, for instance, and send a postcard the week before the event, and then hang door flyers the day before the event to maximize your return on investment. A well-rounded campaign that takes advantage of the opportunities and resources available to you can do wonders for your Easter profits.

Product launches and bunnies aren’t the only ways to promote springtime sales. Try to think outside of the box when planning your Easter promotions. Each year marketers come up with new ideas to bring new customers in the door and keep loyal customers coming back. Above all, make sure you get the word out and market to the right audience to achieve the maximum return on investment.