Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/68592
should serve a purpose and pique customer curiosity, not just try to add a coolness fac- tor. Manufacturers should make sure to test codes' functionality, have the ability to change the content behind the code without having to actually change the code, and even offer a direct download for the code reader on the company's mobile site to give cus- tomers new to QR Codes a hand to access content more quickly. Pacific Natural Foods wanted to ensure a valuable experience for the con- sumer—that the content would be some- thing customers were actually going to use. "You want to create an experience that your customers will benefit from at the time of scanning—otherwise you can create a disconnect for the consumer. Pick the right message for the right medium," she says. For example, a five-minute video is great but may be better suited for at-home viewing, rather than on a mobile device. As far as tracking results, the company is using only web analytics to see how many hits its mobile site is getting. In March, it garnered more than 2,000 hits in a six- month period. In the future, the company plans to offer a mobile coupon that custom- ers can scan in-store as a way to measure its sales. "The catch," says Herrick, "is that the merchant has to be up to speed and able to scan a mobile device; if they are not, it won't work." So far, Pacific Natural Foods' custom- er feedback regarding the QR Code technol- ogy has been positive. "It is still very new for us," Herrick stresses. "The jury is still out on whether or not it will be truly successful." Gilt Taste: A New Kind of Online Store An online magazine and market for food and wine lovers, Gilt Taste (gilttaste.com) is a site where customers can shop for high- quality, artisanal foods. On board are such heavy-hitting food professionals as former "There is a lot of positive reinforcement by being on Gilt Taste—we are surrounded by other artisan brands and by association it helps to elevate our brand." —Scott Norton, Kensington & Sons (continued on p. 177) Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 823 40 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com