5 Jan 2022
Many things change, but the role of sweet goods on Valentine’s Day is not one of them. February 14th is a fantastic opportunity to win your customers over and boost your sales.
This day is the best excuse for consumers to exchange vast quantities of sweet baked goods and patisserie creations. Everyone is looking for something unique to treat their loved ones. In recent years, we have seen that Valentine’s Day is no longer just for significant others, with the concept increasingly expanding to friendship groups and family. What an excellent opportunity to make your business stand out as the go-to place for the perfect gifts!
Ahead of this busy period, we prepared 5 tips and tricks to help your turn this Valentine Day’s season into a very successful one:
1. Offer your customers some new and unique Valentine’s Day creations.
Taste Tomorrow consumer research revealed that 59% of consumer agrees that food that looks good to the eyes is tasty. Consumers are increasingly looking for fun, quirky and Instagram-worthy treats for their loved ones on this special day, which means thinking beyond the usual hearts and flowers theme. Delight your customers with unique and creative sweet goods and expect them showing your creations off on social media.
Of course, taste remains the key motivator for consumers when purchasing patisserie and sweet bakery goods. In 2021, 60% of consumers are keen to try a new taste or combination of unusual tastes, which is a small but notable rise from previous years. However, insights also reveal that when trying new types of food 67% of the consumers would like to still have a familiar element in it. Texture is another important factor to take into account here. 2 out of 3 consumers globally would like to try out food with new and different textures.
What is the recipe for success and how to satisfy today’s consumer? When innovating, look for a twist on an old favourite and reinvent something consumers think they already know well. It’s also a perfect time to dress up your classic creations and incorporate new textures.
Looking for recipe inspiration? Discover some Valentine’s Day recipes developed for you by our Puratos team.
2. Online presence to help your customers in finding the best sweet treat
With the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for online purchases and home delivery services went through the roof. This shift, which perhaps started from necessity, has quickly changed into a continuing expectation. 2 out of 5 consumers had already ordered their pastry, cakes or fine patisserie online at least once last year, with a similar number expressing interest in doing so in future. Today like never before, it’s extremely valuable for your business to have an online presence and for you to offer online ordering and delivery services.
Lots of people start online searching for Valentine’s Day gift ideas weeks ahead. 47% of consumers like to get inspired by product offers of local shops they spot online. Don’t miss the chance to promote your beautiful seasonal bakery goods and patisserie creation well in advance! Allowing your customers to place their orders online might as well set you apart from the competition. And for the forgetful, last-minute people and the procrastinators, your social presence might be crucial in helping them find their last-minute Valentine’s gifts.
Looking to start selling online and don’t know where to start? Discover many insightful tips in this article. Also, check out Bakeronline, a technology that allows bakers to create a personalized web shop, making it easy for you to sell your products online.
3. Attract more Valentine’s Day shoppers by decorating your bakery
Seasonal merchandising is a great way to take advantage of increased traffic, drive incremental profits and create an image of a special occasion hot spot. Putting in a little extra effort on the visual display, seasonal decorations and purposeful packaging can pay off big time.
Decorating your store well in advance will also remind your customers to place their orders with you on time.
To help you with store decoration for Valentine’s Day, we’ve prepared some beautiful posters, stickers and much more.
Download store decoration for Valentine’s Day here for FREE:
4. Help your customers turn Valentine’s Day into a special day
Craftsmanship and personal approach are main motivators for people shopping with artisans. And although more people buy online, 77% of consumers do not want physical store to disappear. Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to go the extra mile to show how much you care about your customers. Here are some ideas:
- Tie elegant red ribbons around your boxes and add simple Valentine’s tags that can also be used as cards. The last-minute rushing buyers will love you for this one.
- Work together with your neighbouring flower shop and cross-sell you offerings. Why not offering their roses for sale in your bakery? With sweets and flowers in their hands, your customers will be forever in love with your shop when they score some points coming home to their loved ones!
- Share your personal story behind your Valentine’s Day seasonal patisserie and bakery creations. Maybe you can inspire your customers with a romantic story when gifting that sweet baked good to their significant others.
Make it personal that day and have your customers come back for more. Need inspiration for Valentine’s Day cards?
Download a template we created for you!
5. Add more occasions to celebrate love!
Perhaps the most important relationship in life is the one you have with yourself. Valentine’s Day is not a reason to forget about your single shoppers. Encourage them to be good to themselves on a day they otherwise might dull. Or jump on the trend of Galentine’s day, which is celebrated on February 13: a day for women to celebrate their friendships with their lady friends. This way, you create more opportunities to promote and sell your sweet baked goods.
We hope to have inspired you with some ideas and wish you a great preparation for the upcoming Valentine’s Day.
If you have any questions or need support, feel free to reach out to one of our Puratos Representatives.
