4 Ways to Increase Online Sales With Prepared Foods

With the limitations on large event gatherings and justified concerns over sharing food in public spaces, large catered events are restricted for the foreseeable future. This is changing the way prepared food orders at grocery stores are being prepared, packaged and offered for purchase.

These new challenges don’t change the fact that people want to celebrate as they did before, but do not have the time to spend cooking a special meal. New behaviors are driving change and justify adding family-focused meal offerings and custom cakes to personalize the experience. 

Store departments that prepared foods for larger organizational and office meetings are now shifting to handle smaller gatherings and family celebrations - adding convenience and choice to online shopping.

With the Freshop eCommerce platform, you can showcase these new offerings, re-engage your kitchen services team and meet the new customer demands created by the pandemic.

1. Holiday Meals
   Create customized meals specific to the holiday season and the size of the gathering. Offer full meals or your signature sides to enhance any table during your customers’ holiday celebrations.
    
2. Bundled Meals
   Include a limited daily menu of complete meals on your website so customers can add them to a regular shopping order. This brings convenience to the customer by eliminating an extra stop for takeout orders at a secondary location.
    
3. Catering for Business Events and Parties
   It’s a great time to take that tri-fold brochure and add those signature items to your website. Creating an updated menu of your catering items on your site allows your customers to plan ahead for their event on their terms and time schedule by creating a separate event and party shopping list.
    
4. Cakes
   The party must (and will) go on. It may be smaller, but offering cakes continues activity in the bakery area while providing your customers with a personalized focal point for their party.

Less than a year ago, adding catering, cakes, and prepared meal options to your website would have been considered an aspirational luxury. It has now become an incredible opportunity to increase online sales and differentiate one’s business while providing better service for customers. It can also prepare your store for what is to come in the post-pandemic era for the grocery business.

Freshop has built the ability to add and manage these products into its online grocery shopping platform. Contact us for more information.

What does it look like on the website?

Here are two examples of how our customers have added these types of prepared food items to their eCommerce websites.
 

Catering Items at Buehler’s Fresh Foods