5 Ways to Celebrate National Popcorn Poppin’ Month
Generate sales by celebrating with popcorn!
Move over Halloween… there’s another reason to celebrate in October. It is National Popcorn Poppin’ Month! This is a great time to reach out to your customers and encourage them to join in the celebration. How can you make the most of this month? We share five ideas that should help get your creativity going!
1. New Flavors
This is an ideal time to try out new flavors and gauge your customers’ response. Introduce a special new flavor each week and hand out samples. The one with the most sales can become a regular addition to your menu. What are some of our favorites? For savory, Mediterranean Herb is a blend of garlic, basil, rosemary, and other seasonings that complement Greek and Italian flavors. Or for a taste that’s on the sweeter side and easy to make right in your popper, try Vanilla Latte Glaze Pop®. And for the kids, they will love the bright and colorful appearance of Birthday Cake Popcorn. For more inspiration, just visit our Recipes section.
2. Gift Baskets or Tins
Gift baskets or tins aren’t just for the holidays. Paired together with some of your favorite creations, they can offer an attractive and high-quality option for customers to share with family and friends. Mix and match a selection of flavors, make up a movie night basket, or try any of these fun popcorn gift basket ideas. Include a coupon in your baskets to encourage future purchases too.
3. Coupons or Specials
Giving customers an extra incentive to buy can really pay off. Customize your offers to what makes sense for your business. To upsell, try “Buy 3 Bags, Get 1 Free!” Or make a dollar amount your goal and offer a discount like, “$10 off on orders of $50 or more!” You can create package deals such as “$4.99/each or 5 for $20!” Or focus on moving specific products, “Order a gift basket and get a free small bag of any flavor of your choice.” Another option is to create a special product, like a “Mystery Flavor” and offer it at a special price. Promote your specials in-store on signage, coupons distributed with each purchase, on your website and social media, and via email marketing.
4. Contests
Get customers involved in the fun by hosting a contest. This can be something as simple as having a jar in your store filled with popcorn and customers guess the number of kernels. Or you can have your customer base help you to come up with a name for a new flavor. Other contest ideas include social media. For example, set up a display in your store and ask customers to take a photo with it, tag your business, and share it.
5. Social Media
We’ve already mentioned social media in some of the suggestions above. It truly is an important way to market your business, communicate with your customers, and maintain a top-of-mind presence. Post pictures of your latest creations, promote specials, make a demo video, and ask your fans to share their favorite flavors. Follow other local businesses and share each other’s content. Find fun ways to create engagement with your audience. Remember not all posts should be sales-oriented. If you’d like to learn more about taking your business online, read How to Get Started with an Online Food Business.
We’d love to hear your ideas for celebrating National Popcorn Poppin’ Month! Stop by our Facebook page and let us know.