July 15, 2024
TF #056: Top Fall Food Trends for Heat-and-Eat Meal Delivery Services
You’re a major part of consumers’ lives—your meals are hitting their tables daily. But, given the nature of heat-and-eat businesses, there’s often little to no face-to-face consumer engagement. Your subscribers browse and order online and, likely, only reach out when they need help. It’s a seamless relationship, but, at the same time, there are countless perks to meeting and engaging subscribers and prospects. And tasting events can be the solution. Here’s how to get started with these in-person experiences and maximize your business benefits.
You need to know who they are before you can engage and activate customers. For starters, ensure you’ve done your homework and developed meaningful personas that highlight demographic makeup, preferences, and dietary restrictions. This will help you curate a menu that appeals to them, ensuring your tasting event is a hit.
Venues set the tone for a tasting event. You can host it in various places depending on your brand image and audience. Upscale restaurants, local parks, community centers, or even pop-up event spaces in shopping malls or other high-traffic locations can be ideal. Just be sure the venue reflects the ethos of your brand and can accommodate the expected turnout.
Partnering with local businesses can elevate your tasting experiences—and offer a simple way to reach area consumers. A local bakery, for example, might provide fresh bread to accompany your dishes, or a local winery or wine store could offer pairings. Such collaborations can widen your reach, introduce your brand to a new audience, and enhance the overall experience. Lean into partners’ social media and email reach to maximize awareness and engagement.
Themes can make your tasting event stand out. Whether it’s “A Night in Tuscany” featuring subscriber-favorite Italian dishes or “Farm-to-Table Fresh” with local ingredients and pairings, a thematic approach can help connect consumers to your events—and can help create a more immersive experience across messaging, décor, and promotional materials.
No two subscribers are the same—especially regarding tastes and preferences. To ensure everyone has an amazing experience at your tasting event, ensure your menu showcases a broad range of food. This is your chance to highlight bestsellers and introduce new dishes—and the more variety you can share, the more consumers you’ll win over. A good way to do that? Consider offering bite-sized versions so attendees can sample as many options as possible.
Tasting events shouldn’t be passive experiences. Engage with your guests, gather feedback, and answer questions. You can even incorporate interactive elements like cooking demonstrations or Q&A sessions with chefs. This will enhance the experience and give you valuable insights into customer preferences.
Integrating strategic social media touchpoints is a great way to expand your event reach and get people talking long before and after. Create event pages, share behind-the-scenes preparations, and encourage attendees to share their experiences using a unique hashtag. Post-event, share pictures, and thank attendees for their participation. This can extend the reach of your event, attracting potential customers who didn’t attend.
To convert event attendees into subscribers, offer exclusive deals or discounts for those who sign up during or immediately after the event. This creates an immediate call to action and incentivizes attendees to commit.
Post-event, send out surveys or feedback forms to attendees. This helps you gauge the event’s success and gather insights for improvement. Honest feedback can guide future events and menu changes.
The food industry thrives on innovation. Regularly host tasting events with new themes, dishes, and experiences to keep your brand fresh in consumers’ minds.
Done right, tasting events can be more than one-off food sampling—they can be comprehensive and high-converting brand experiences. When executed effectively, these events can transform attendees into brand ambassadors, spreading word-of-mouth recommendations. As a “heat and eat” subscription business, embracing these events can amplify brand awareness and boost subscriptions.
In today’s competitive market, it’s essential to differentiate your brand through the quality of your meals and unique customer experiences. A tasting event can be your ticket to securing a loyal customer base and growing your market share. Consider your audience and what they’re looking for, craft a diverse menu and immersive, memorable theme, and find partners to help spread the word—and once you’ve perfected your event format, keep expanding into other markets and formats.
