Summertime — and Cooking is Hot!
Last week was one of the first glorious summer-like weekends in San Francisco. So I spent Saturday and Sunday gardening blissfully. It was time to open the sun umbrella over the table on the deck, fire up the grill to cook up some burgers, and sit back with a cool glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade.
With the skyrocketing cost of gas and food, expect consumers to be entertaining at home in their own backyard instead of going away on vacations and dining out. And why not, with more consumers building outdoor living spaces that make staying home a summer pleasure?
HomeWorld Business, in its current issue, points out that consumers are making lifestyle choices by building and enjoying outdoor kitchens and outdoor living areas, and home furnishings catalogs are contributing to the trend. Catalogs can highlight photos of appealingly idylic settings that invite the viewer into the space and increase the desire to purchase. Bricks and mortar retailers, with limited space to merchandise outdoor furniture, can’t tell as vivid a story.
What does it mean for food? If more people are going to be spending more time outdoors at home, ingredient product marketers should be stepping up their outdoor promotions, big time. Whether it’s recipes for alcoholic and nonalcaholic summer drinks from citrus growers or new grill recipes for meats from the beef industry, what used to be the traditional seasonal PR effort is likely to gain more traction this year. But you can go further. Barbecue tools and accessories companies are coming up with ever more ways to grill food, such as beer can chicken devices and grill racks for potatoes. Why not tie in with these manufactuerers for joint promotions either through public relations efforts or at point of sale?
Outdoor grill makers, grill accessories manufacturers, magarita makers, grill book publishers and outdoor tabletop producers are all trying to get in front of consumers. Forge an alliance by providing your food product for their in-store demonstrations and using their products in yours. And, since catalogs rule, why not see if you can get your product featured in home furnishings catalogs for summer 2009? If beautiful furnishings are motivational, mouthwatering fare could be, too. Offer to pay for a food stylist so that outdoor table being featured will look even more appealing with some beautiful, inviting food — yours!
