Tip #292: 5 Ways to Celebrate American Chocolate Week

Our favorite time of year is just around the corner -- American Chocolate Week! A whole week of chocolatey celebration, Sunday, March 17 through Saturday, March 23! Here’s a few of our favorite ways to celebrate with consumers!

Interactive Experiences

Wilmar Chocolates' "Mix It Up!" bars are made to order!

Celebrate American Chocolate Week by creating an interactive experience for customers. This could take the form of a unique tour of your candy kitchen, a class on the origin of chocolate or a hands-on chocolate making class. Any of these options are sure to give your customers a greater understanding and respect for your products. RCI member, Wilmar Chocolates, invites chocolate lovers to work with expert “baristas” to create their own custom chocolate bars.

Secret Choco-Code

Create a new chocolate-themed secret password each day that customers can only find via social media; if they use the secret password while visiting your store, they could get a prize, plus a coupon towards a future purchase--which will encourage them to come back again.

Chocolate to Keep. Chocolate to Share.

If you find that your customers are more often buying chocolate for someone else, remind them to enjoy American Chocolate Week themselves too. Offer shoppers a “Buy One, Get One” deal and encourage them to buy chocolate to keep as well as to share.

Sweet Trivia

Think of the holiday as an opportunity to educate your customers with a fun chocolate trivia question each day in store or on your social media pages. Anyone who posts the correct answer could be put into a drawing for a free pound of chocolates.

Pitch Your Story

Utilize your relationships with local media and pitch an American Chocolate Week story, based on your store, of course. A well-drafted press release is a powerful tool to create exposure and enrich your customer base. If you haven’t had success with press releases you’ve submitted in the past, click here to see if you’re guilty of one of the 5 most common mistakes businesses make when writing a press release.

Have fun celebrating a holiday so sweet we need a week to celebrate! How will you be celebrating American Chocolate Week? Share in the comments below. 

Next week: Check your temper! Learn two fool-proof methods to ensure your chocolate is always in good temper.

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