4 Event Ideas To Build Community And Sell More Meals
This week, I’m going to talk about how to use in person events to grow your meal delivery business.
In our last coffee chat, we heard how Foxtrot used live events to cultivate a brand experience. These IRL events contributed to increased digital engagement across the web and their branded app.
“We had weeks of events before store openings. We were very thoughtful about who we brought into the store to become embedded in the community,” noted Sarah Sitz, an early team member and eventual VP of Marketing at Foxtrot.
Here are 4 event types you can use to promote your food brand.
Gym pop ups
For many healthy food brands, this is the bread and butter event. Pitch a gym or ask a partner gym if you can do a pop up during their busy hours. Don’t be afraid to go beyond sampling. Health assessments, nutrition consults or mini-coaching on site are all great ways to engage a potential customer.
Pop up at a local race or fitness event
Align your brand with events that embody your ethos, such as local races or fitness challenges. These types of events are a great way to boost visibility in your community. Bonus points if you participate in the event itself.
Artist collabs
Whether it's a food-centric art exhibition or a pop-up at an art event, these partnerships can add a layer of cultural depth to your brand, appealing to a broader demographic. This event type is dependent on your brand tone and voice - but is a differentiated way to break into your community
Concierge medicine “ask me anything” style chats
Personalized medicine is an emerging trend worth following. In person AMAs with preventative health physicians are valuable learning opportunities for your customers. Host an event where you interview the physician and they share best practices with your community (offer free food and have your customers bring friends!). Bonus points if you can get the physician to bring their patients to the event.
Of Interest
Crumbl, the country’s fastest growing food franchise known for weekly cookie drops, announced a new concept on LinkedIn this week. The group acquired Crust Club, a Utah based dinner concept, in December and just released the new franchise this week. Read more here.
We really like the team over at Bluestein Ventures in Chicago. So we were happy to see they raised $45M for its third fund focusing on the business of food. Check it out here.
On Deck
Our next coffee chat will be on Tuesday, March 5th with Hava Volterra, CEO and Founder of Parsley Software. Hava is a former meal prep entrepreneur that is an expert on all things food production.
We’ll be discussing tactical tips about food costing, recipe management, inventory and purchasing. This should be a very tactical conversation (Hava works with big names like Factor and GoodEggs). Mark your calendars for 3/5 at 3pm ET. Looking forward to seeing you there!