Prepare for Holiday Charcuterie Shoppers: Tips for Deli Display Cases

The holiday season is an extremely busy time of year for gatherings. And, with many party hosts looking for relatively easy, tasty foods to serve their friends and loved ones, cheese and charcuterie boards are among the top of the list when it comes to fun and festive snacks.

This presents a seasonal opportunity – from mid-November through New Year’s Eve – for food retailers and brands that sell products in the deli.

The following shares how store managers, deli departments and manufacturers can find creative ways to showcase charcuterie items to maximize sales.

Understand Your Customer

According to Bay Food Brokerage’s Director of Fresh Meat & Private Label Nicki Crespo, it’s important for stores and manufacturers to understand their shoppers’ preferences when it comes to charcuterie.

“At some stores, customers will want more basic cheese board options, such as pre-cut cheeses, salami, gherkin pickles and almonds – the old-school favorites,” Nicki said. “Other shoppers want more sophisticated options, such as imported cheeses, with gourmet crackers, fresh honeycomb and fancy jellies.”

Store and deli managers can create a display – or multiple displays – with items grouped based on price-point and/or the taste preferences of their shoppers.

“Store managers can be as simple or as fancy as they want when considering these displays, based on what their customers are drawn to,” Nicki said.

Build Displays that Suggest Specific Charcuterie Boards

After stores understand what types of cheese and charcuterie boards their shoppers will find appealing, they can group items that pair well into displays. This works particularly well with items that are on promotion.

Not only does this type of charcuterie-suggestion display make it easier for customers to shop and save money, but it also can increase sales for retailers. When presented effectively, these displays give customers cheese board ideas they may never have had otherwise.

“During the holidays, retailers can consider suggesting displays for themed charcuterie boards,” Nicki said. “For example, promoting items that come together on the board in the shape of a jack-o-lantern for Halloween or a holiday wreathe, or items that are all imported from another country, like Italy or Portugal. You can even present kid-friendly cheese board ideas, like mozzarella sticks and apple slices.”

Nicki also suggested retailers look to Pinterest and social media influencers for creative charcuterie ideas, as well as suppliers and brokers.

“Retailers can get really creative in building this one-time-shopping experience for customers,” Nicki said. “But display logistics is also a consideration. For example, some store and deli managers would rather create entirely new, temporary displays rather than re-arrange existing cases for displays.”

Cross-Merchandise with Items from Different Departments

 In getting creative with displays for charcuterie boards, retailers can take it a step further by cross-merchandising.

“Some charcuterie items might pair really well with a certain varietal of wine or a type of beer,” Nicki said. “Retailers can consider including items from other departments in the deli display showcasing charcuterie items to make shopping even easier for customers.”

Other examples might include items like dark chocolate, flavored popcorn or fresh fruit and vegetables. 

Leverage Your Broker’s Retail Team

As mentioned previously, a good place to start with a charcuterie-suggestion display is for store managers to ask what deli items are coming up on sale. If the deli manager doesn’t already have good visibility into upcoming promotions, a food broker’s retail team should be able to communicate what’s going to be on sale for the next four to six weeks for the products they represent.

Store and deli managers can tap their broker partners for information on upcoming promotions and ideas for products to build a charcuterie-suggestion display around. Like many things, the more notice and time to plan and build these displays, the better.

And, working on behalf of their manufacturer clients, brokers can proactively suggest creative charcuterie display ideas that include their clients’ products to store managers.

According to Nicki, another benefit a brokerage’s retail team can bring to retailers and suppliers is making sure product signage is correct in the stores.

“Having all the info correct and visible and working with deli and store managers is what our retail team does best,” Nicki said. “They’re another set of eyes and ears that help to ensure products are properly displayed and tagged.”

 If you’re looking for a retail food broker that can offer creative ideas to maximize visibility and sales for your products, contact us today to learn more.