With kids back in school and families busier than ever, September is the perfect time to bring everyone back to the dinner table with National Family Meals Month! Many retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) vendors will be participating in this industry-wide movement, promoting family meals through social media, coupons and special offers. In-store sampling events are another great way retailers and CPGs can spread the word and encourage families to cook and share more homemade meals together.
Sales Advisors can help get shoppers interested by sharing the benefits of regular family meals. For example, eating three or more meals with their family each week can help children maintain a healthy diet and a healthy weight. Regular family meals can also help kids do better in school and have higher self-esteem. Parents can benefit, too—eating at home can save money and help everyone eat healthier.
Once they have shoppers’ interest piqued, Sales Advisors can encourage shoppers to commit to making at least one more family meal at home each week by using the item they’re sampling as part of an easy meal solution. For example, Sales Advisors can make suggestions for pairing deli-fresh salads and sides with quick proteins like black beans or turkey sausage for a fast weeknight meal. They can also share easy recipes to go along with staples they’re sampling, such as a tasty herb marinade for fresh or frozen fish, or kid-friendly fillings for rolls, pitas and flatbreads.
Sales Advisors can also encourage shoppers to eat more family meals by sharing ideas for stretching a single cooking session into multiple dinners. For example, when sampling a pasta or sauce, they can suggest making a double batch to enjoy leftovers later in the week. Meats, beans and rice can also be cooked in larger batches and reused for different meals—or even frozen for another time.
Last but not last, Sales Advisors can encourage shoppers to spread the word and get others excited about National Family Meals Month by posting on social media using the hashtags #raiseyourmitt and #familymealsmonth.