Why You Should Offer Gourmet Popcorn at Your Winery
Why Gourmet Popcorn Works for Wineries
You want every guest who enters your establishment to have an enjoyable experience. Are you thinking about how to enhance other aspects of the visit than the wine itself? Make sure to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and consider what a tour and tasting is like for them. One addition you can make that is easy, appreciated, and won’t add much to your tasting room cost is gourmet popcorn. Here’s why it works for wineries.
- You can make new wine drinkers more comfortable. When you are brand new to wine tours and tastings, the experience can be intimidating. Your first-timers may not be sure how or what to order, or even what questions to ask. They may feel out of place and wonder if they fit in. But the aroma of fresh popcorn is likely to put them more at ease. Offering popcorn upon their arrival gives them something to do with their hands and a place to focus. They’ll relax with the familiar snack.
- It’s surprising, and novelty is great for business. Every winery serves wine. Many offer cheese plates or other expected bites. Dare to be different and give your customers something they haven’t seen at other vineyards and get them talking. Start with this pairing guide.
- Popcorn is an easy and inexpensive way to get something in those empty stomachs. Especially when it comes to amateur tasters, people often end up sipping more wine on vineyard tours than they expect to. If you don’t have a kitchen, encouraging guests to munch on some popcorn helps combat over-imbibing.
- If you do already offer menu items like breads and cheeses, gourmet popcorn can enhance your flavor options. Suggest a gouda along with Mediterranean Herb popcorn with your Merlot and a Brie alongside Garlic Parmesan popcorn for Chardonnay, for example. Guests love options, so they’ll appreciate having two items to pair with any given wine sample.
- Private label popcorn can help extend guests’ experience and create more memories. While they may buy a bottle of wine from you and open it weeks later at home, their experience at your winery will not be as fresh in their minds. If they purchase your popcorn, however, they’re free to dig in and indulge in it on the way home, keeping the memory of their visit strong. It’s also handy for customers to purchase gift baskets of popcorn and wine for friends and family, thus helping you spread the word about your wine business.
You’d be surprised at the profits gourmet popcorn can generate, and the initial investment costs are not significant. Why wait? Delight your guests with fun and unique flavors to complement your wines.