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.
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Why are seasonal and limited-edition offerings a good idea for boosting sales and building excitement? molded dark chocolate in the shape of pumpkins. We've also found that our holiday Peppermint Hot Chocolate sells better than our year-round beverage as seasonal items are more attention-getting and giftable. For Hanukkah, we've always done kosher Milk Chocolate Coins, but gelt is for adults too! So, this year we are offering an organic dark kosher chocolate version with gold wrap and Hannukah packaging on the front. An interesting limited-edition item we do is for the Burlington Jazz Festival—but the concept could be applicable to many things. The jazz fest has been around for almost as long as the company and we've been a big supporter for 20 years. But five or six years ago we decided to make a limited-edition bar. The idea was to create a bar with a more innovative flavor profile and packaging than we'd normally do. The bar is only in our stores and online for about 15 days and has been great for us. It generates excitement in the com- munity as people wonder what we are going to do next. And it gives our R&D department an opportunity to test new flavors. Our Moka Fleck Organic Chocolate Bar began as one of our festival bars and was so popular we put it in the year-round line and it just won a sofi 2017 Silver Award for Best New Product. Kristina Richens, minister of commerce, The Republic of Tea The Republic of Tea just started to ship the Autumn Teas, such as the Hot Apple Cider and the Pumpkin Spice Black Tea. These blends sell out every year so we know many of our Citizens, those who sip The Republic of Tea, cozy up in the fall with these flavors. Citizens enjoy the seasonal teas because each limited offering complements and is special to only that time of the year. For exam- ple, as the leaves start to turn, Citizens sip Pumpkin Spice Black Tea and Hot Apple Cider. As Thanksgiving approaches and holiday parties begin, the beautiful tins also make for perfect, memorable gifts. Many Citizens tell us of how they look forward to a seasonal tea because they have a tradition around it, like wrapping gifts together while sipping a tea, such as the Comfort and Joy blend which The Republic of Tea has offered for over 20 years. In just a month, we will begin to ship the Holiday Teas, like organic Peppermint Bark Herb Tea and the new Sip and Be Merry, which is a blend of cardamom, caramel, vanilla, and black tea. We also offer a variety of stackable tin trios for the seasons. Susan Segrest is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine. Q: Scott Livengood, CEO, Dewey's Bakery Our seasonal holiday cookies, as well as our product offerings for Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, and Easter, have become something that we're known for. Our customers look forward to the moment they see these products on store shelves, and that inspires significant brand loyalty, as well as incremental sales. Also, as a small-batch bakery, our limited-edition offerings enable us to work directly with retailers to develop cookies that resonate most closely with their shoppers. This has helped us build new partnerships that often expand into additional year-round offerings. Our holiday-shaped Salem Baking Co. Chocolate Enrobed Moravian Sugar Cookies topped with crushed peppermint have been a favorite since we introduced them six years ago. The fes- tive gable-box packaging is attractive to customers shopping for gifts or those looking for a special treat to share with family and friends at holiday celebrations. Our spring shortbread collection has grown to include five f lavors—Meyer Lemon, Raspberry, Wild Blueberry, Blood Orange, and Key Lime (new this year)—as a result of increased consumer demand for seasonally inspired treats. That said, our holiday-inspired treats are our best-selling limited-edition offerings due to increased consumer spending and their desire for festive treats during the holiday season. This year we're also introducing new gift tins under our Dewey's Bakery brand that feature Moravian Cookie Thins in Ginger Spice, Sugar, and Salted Caramel. We're excited to bring the holiday treats that our Winston-Salem, N.C., bakery has been known for to retail this year. These gift tins will be offered along with our new line of Dewey's Bakery home-style cookies and crackers. Meghan Fitzpatrick, PR and communications, Lake Champlain Chocolates We have lots of seasonal products with special packaging. Our chocolate coins, for example, are in our year-round line, but in the fall, we do them in relevant colors. We do Halloween items such as "Our customers look forward to the moment they see these products on store shelves, and that inspires significant brand loyalty, as well as incremental sales." article bug FALL 2017 85