2001 Best Merchandising Ideas: Blenders

When it comes to kitchen equipment we can't live without, blenders are sure to top the list. From blending drinks to pureeing sauces to creaming soups, blenders are one of the most versatile culinary tools. But as with many good things in life, we tend to take blenders for granted. We forget all the things a blender can do to expedite meal preparation and whip up delicious drinks in no time. Maybe it's time you reminded your customers.

Blended Families

Getting the whole family to agree on something has always been tricky. But with today's blended families of his, hers, and ours, it can seem impossible. Unless, of course, the subject is blenders.

Blenders offer something for everyone in the family from babies to bachelors. Promote this fact with a special Blended Families Event that offers customers a month-long look at all the things that can be made in a blender. Before your promotion begins, create a calendar of blender events for the month. Consider having this calendar printed on postcards and mailing them out to your customers.

Through demos and cooking classes, you can appeal to everyone in the family. Start with a class on making homemade baby food. More than ever, health-conscious parents are concerned about what they feed their babies. A class on the proper preparation and storage of nutritious homemade baby food is sure to be a hit with these customers.

Appeal to older kids next with a Milkshake Demo. Show kids and their parents how easy it is to make delicious, creamy milkshakes and whipped fruit-and-ice drinks in a high-quality blender. Then serve up samples to the kids in the crowd. Consider setting up extra blenders to allow kids to make their own creations under the supervision of your demonstrator.

Active teens and their parents would love to know how to make nutritious, energy-boosting smoothies. Host a Smoothie Demo to show teens how to turn fresh fruits and vegetables into delicious and decadent drinks. Teens will love how these fresh fruit drinks taste and parents will love that you've turned them onto an alternative to sugary sodas. Be sure to pass out recipe cards of your healthful concoctions for the kids to take home.

The whole family may love pasta, but they probably can't agree on a sauce. No matter — your cooking demonstration will show mom and dad how to whip up sauces in a flash for the clan. Pesto, marinara, alfredo — virtually every sauce is a snap with the right blender. Another cooking demonstration sure to please the whole family would be on soups. Here's your chance to show customers the many quick and luscious creamed soups that can be made in a blender.

These cooking classes and demos are also the ideal time to discuss the features and benefits of your blenders, such as commercial-grade motors that crush ice in no time, not to mention the ease with which your better blenders can be cleaned.

Cocktail Hour

In recent years, something remarkable happened to the high-end blender category. This kitchen essential, this workhorse of the hungry household was suddenly sexy. Sleek metallic looks, pretty pastels, and vibrant colors changed the look and feel of this category in a way few of us imagined was possible. No longer banished to a cupboard, blenders are now an appliance to be shown off.

Take advantage of the great looks and fabulous function of today's blenders with a Cocktail Hour Promotion designed to hook these small electrics up with your style- and quality-conscious customers. Choose a weekend for your Cocktail Hour and plan to host it on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday evening. For the event, gather all of your barware from hip martini glasses to sleek stainless shakers to cocktail trays and napkins. Merchandise all of these bar accoutrements around your best blenders. If you carry a recipe book for blended and frozen drinks, you'll want to feature it prominently as well.

For one hour (or more) on each day of your event, serve up a bevy of virgin frozen and blended drinks. Have some of your sales staff walk through the store with drink samples and hors d'oeuvres on trays. Employ several demonstrators to act as bartenders. While they blend drinks and deftly crush ice, they can explain the features and benefits of each blender.

Snapshots

wHost a Blended Families Event that shows customers how to prepare food and beverages in a blender that appeal to the whole family.

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Conduct an in-store cooking class on making homemade baby food in a blender for the health-conscious moms and dads who shop your store.

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Use demos to teach kids and their parents how easy it is to make milkshakes and smoothies in a blender.

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Host a Cocktail Hour in your store to show off the hot looks in your newest blenders and how they add flair to any barware collection.