Post Categories: Essentials to Engagement

Celebrate with Your Shoppers!

april-2015-essential-cover2This year, April is a great time for celebration. Not only is spring finally on its way, but both the Easter and Passover holidays also fall this month. Passover is a Jewish holiday that lasts April 3 to 11 and celebrates the freeing of Jewish slaves from Egypt. Easter is a Christian holiday that falls on April 5 and celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Both holidays are widely celebrated in the U.S. and generate over $16 billion in retail sales each year. Traditional foods and family meals play an important role in Easter and Passover, meaning Sales Advisors are in the perfect position to help shoppers make this year’s celebrations some of the best yet.

While they occur at the same time, the traditional foods for Easter and Passover are often very different from each other. During Passover, celebrants avoid all leavened foods (items made with yeast) and most other items made with grains, including bread, crackers, cookies and beer. One simple way to check whether a food you’re sampling is appropriate for Passover is to look for a “Kosher for Passover” label on the package. Point these items out to shoppers. Also make an effort to capitalize on any classic Passover foods you’re sampling, such as matzos (unleavened) crackers, matzo ball soup, borscht (beet soup), lamb or kosher wine or grape juice.

While Passover is a time of restriction, for many people, Easter marks the end of avoiding certain foods, such as meat and sweets. In celebration, many families host Easter meals featuring fancy breads and pastries, ham or lamb. Look for products that can work with these traditional items or add a new twist to them, such as a marinade for lamb, a glaze for ham or a rich filling (think custard or cream cheese) for pastries. Also point out shortcuts for shoppers, such as using boxed bread mixes, frozen mashed potatoes or other ready-to-eat side dishes you’re demonstrating as part of their Easter meal. If you’re sampling candy, cookies or other sweets, be sure to mention what great additions they could make to children’s Easter baskets—saving shoppers time and money with one-stop shopping!

Tags: