How to Grow Halloween Sales, Part 2: Meet The Party Shopper

As part two of a three-week series, we continue to take a look at three Halloween shoppers who may be left in the lurch with the anticipated shortage of Halloween candy and how your business can capture sales by seizing the opportunity to meeting their unique needs. Missed last week? Click here to read it first.

The Party Shopper

Halloween parties are making a steady comeback as COVID-19 restrictions in many communities continue to diminish. This means hosts and guests of potluck parties will be looking to social media for fun and creative treats to WOW party goers!

To capture the attention of The Party Shopper, identify your products that meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Visual appeal | Products with unique shapes and bright colors will appeal to shoppers looking to shock and delight! For Halloween, products can be cute and colorful or even “bloody” and downright disturbing. Think of how to transform a round chocolate piece into a bloodshot eyeball or chocolate-covered pretzel sticks into severed fingers. For more ideas, click the following link to view our blog post: 5 Tricks to Transform Your Existing Treats for Halloween.

• Creative flavors | Strange and unusual flavor applications can be a big draw for consumers—these may be a twist on a seasonal flavor like chocolate pumpkin pie or something as outrageous as a chocolate-covered onion (yep, that’s a thing)! Click here to read more about the RCI member whose chocolate-covered onion attracts customers from all over.

•  Interactive | There is something magical that happens when you offer people an experience with your products. Whether you give customers a hammer and invite them to bash a beautiful chocolate pumpkin or pour warm milk over a hot cocoa bomb, interactive treats continue to draw people in. Interactive products could also include take-home chocolate kits—consider a Halloween-themed gingerbread house made entirely of chocolate and candy. Reimagine ways to weave the interactive element into your product lineup and invite customers to incorporate it into their party plans.

How to Reach The Party Shopper

The Party Shopper is all about the experience! As mentioned in last week’s post, reaching out to existing customers who may not think of your store as a destination for Halloween candy is a great place to start! Capture party planners early and last-minute shoppers in October by sending out themed email blasts to your customer list letting them know of your Halloween selections.

Take advantage of visual media to communicate your Halloween offerings. If your business is not on Instagram or TikTok, now might be a good time to test one or more of these social media outlets. Try utilizing video to demonstrate your interactive products or how show how your products are made.

Next week, we will introduce Halloween Shopper #3: The Gift Giver. Stay tuned for tips and inspiration for how to target this Halloween shopper!

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How to Grow Halloween Sales, Part I: Meet the Trick-or-Treat Treater

With Halloween around the corner, now is a good time to consider ways to capture new customers.

Although this particular holiday is largely dominated by candy mega-brands, consumers’ seemingly insatiable craving for candy will cause unmet demand this Halloween. In recent news, Hershey’s announced they will not be able to fully meet consumer demand due to capacity constraints. For retail confectioners, this may present an opportunity to take on a bigger slice of the proverbial pie…pumpkin pie, that is!

Even if Halloween isn’t normally a big holiday for your business, consider how your business can serve consumers in ways competitors can’t. This season, that may be as simple as having candy in stock. But before you crank production into overtime, identify what products will appeal to Halloween shoppers and how you can get those items in front of interested buyers.

For the coming weeks, we’re identifying three Halloween shoppers who may be left in the lurch with the impending candy shortage and how your business can capture sales by seizing the opportunity to meeting their unique needs.

Halloween Shopper #1: The Trick-or-Treat Treater

Candy for trick-or-treaters represents a HUGE opportunity. Identify the products you sell that are individually wrapped and/or bite-sized and can be purchased in bulk.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but don’t think all Halloween candy must be confined to bite-sizes. There are always the houses known throughout their neighborhoods for handing out full-sized candy bars…if you do one thing this Halloween, think of ways to appeal to and reach those shoppers!

If you do not make products that apply to this niche, think of wholesalers who do. Click here to view RCI’s online Buyer’s Guide for a list of reliable wholesale supplier members (RCI members: Don’t forget to login to access direct contact information).

How to Reach Trick-or-Treat Treaters

Reaching out to existing customers who may not think of your store as a destination for Halloween candy is a great place to start! Capture party planners early and last-minute shoppers in October by sending out themed email blasts to your customer list letting them know of your Halloween selections.

If you don’t have a customer email list (start collecting emails now, so you have one for Christmas), consider reaching existing customers with in-store signage, themed retail displays and social media posts. To reach new potential customers, consider placing ads through social media or partner with a local grocery retailer who may be looking to fill a need for Halloween candy.

Keep in mind, most trick-or-treat shoppers have very specific needs that need to be met—products that are individually wrapped, for individual consumption, available in bulk and all for competitive prices. By no means are we suggesting you lower your prices or work around the clock to crank out individually wrapped treats. If it doesn’t make good business sense to serve these consumers—move on! Your products may be a better fit for the next Halloween shopper…

Next week: We will introduce Halloween Shopper #2, The Party Shopper. Stay tuned for tips and inspiration for how to target this Halloween shopper!

Crave more? Click here to subscribe and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.