DINNER parties may be on the up and up. But it’s also clear that many Big Nights In, perhaps especially those involving sports watching, are often closely linked to convenience foods.
And convenience foods specialist Kepak, which owns the Rustlers brand, reckons micro snacks that can be prepared in minutes offer retailers major opportunities for night-in sales.
“When it comes to the Big Night In, consumers are time sensitive. They want food and drink that can be prepared and served quickly and conveniently and that’s where micro-snacks such as market-leading Rustlers come into their own,” said Angela Daulby, channel director of Kepak Convenience Foods.
“Growing numbers of retailers are now using Rustlers as an integral part of a Big Night In meal deal, particularly around major sporting events that are guaranteed to attract large, in-home TV audiences.
“It’s easy to boost the Big Night In spend by offering customers hot or cold snacks and drinks as part of meal deal. They’re easy to manage, guaranteed to increase sales and offer shoppers the value they’re seeking in the convenience channel,” she said.
• Dr Oetker the company behind Chicago Town and Ristorante pizza says Chicago Town sales are showing 3% growth and the brand, in value sales, takes more than 30% of its market, with Ristorante taking 12.5%. The firm has a series of tips for c-store retailers who want to use convenience meals to gain Big Night In sales
• Merchandise frozen pizza with other products such as chips and ice cream, to encourage dual purchases. Creating a meal deal with frozen and ambient products also grabs an opportunity to promote Big Night In favourites
• Stock the recommended range of category best sellers to maximise sales.
• Make customers aware of your frozen foods range by highlighting it in point-of sale-materials placed around the store.
• Merchandise well, to make it easy for customers to find the goods. Make sure products are front-faced, ensure lines showing sales growth are well represented and place best-selling lines at eye level
• Stock and highlight products in price-marked packs as shoppers see them as providing good value for money.
