The olive and antipasti bar is an in-store destination that holds the promise of freshness, customization, exploration, trial, and innovation. FOODMatch is harnessing its impressive portfolio to help retailers maintain the excitement of this store feature.
“The pause on self-serve food bars during COVID-19 was a challenge, but it was also an opportunity to reimagine the concept,” says Brandon Gross, Vice President of Marketing for FOODMatch and Divina. “Ultimately, we know the demand exists for food bars; specifically, the olive and antipasti bar that caters to snacking, entertaining, and meal preparation. The key was getting foot traffic back to a level that would reinvigorate the interactive and theatrical experience of making grocery shopping engaging.”
As retailers continue to strategize inventive ways to bring shoppers back to stores, the perimeter of the store has become more important than ever. As FOODMatch highlighted in a recent release, deli will continue to be a driving force in creating quality differences and experiences that keep shoppers excited and delighted.
“As COVID-19 restrictions lifted, we took bringing the bars back very seriously. We worked with our retail partners to optimize product assortment, schematic, and more,” Gross continued. “We got into stores with our field sales team and retrained the new staff on the benefits and quality of a Divina program. And more recently, we’ve heavily leaned into demos and other in-store sampling opportunities to widen the customer funnel and show consumers that the bars offer additional product exploration beyond what we (or any manufacturer) can offer in packaged products.”
Beyond creating in-store experiences and encouraging product trial, the bar has other key benefits for retailers and consumers; retailers often provide #1 plastic, recyclable, or compostable containers for shoppers to use, and shopping bulk/self-serve bars naturally use less plastic and overall packaging.
Today, most successful bar programs offer around a 50/50 mix of olives and antipasti, FOODMatch shares.
For more insights from the specialty supplier, click here. Revolutionize your olive and antipasti bar with the help of FOODMatch—you won’t regret it.
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