Inspiration for your Deli and Bakery Displays

Bored with the same-old, same-old? We’ve got some ideas to spark up your food presentation skills in bakery and deli displays.

Got a selection of lush salads, cured meat, cheese, deli goods, and bakery items? You need to make them look so good, no-one can resist buying them. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to make yummy food look great, and most Kiwis are a sucker for some treats. Whether it’s some fancy cheese or a no-effort dinner of a rotisserie chicken, bread rolls, and some deli salads, you can make your deli and bakery display solutions inspiring and mouth-watering.

Be Decadent with Cake Stands

Cake stands can introduce height to displays, they can be used with cake covers, and they are not only for cakes. Almost anything will look lush when styled nicely on a cake stand, whether its cheese, dessert, or deli meats.

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There are a few different ways to do this. Try:

And don’t forget the cake stand cover to protect against sneezes and to add a touch of elegance.

Add a Flourish of Green

To break up a display of things that are the same colour or texture, some fresh green plants can really liven up a display. Of course, real plants aren’t necessarily safe or hygienic, so you need some fronds you can throw in the dishwasher or wash with bleach.

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From grapes to lettuce leaves, box hedges to the classic parsley sprigs, it can really elevate a display.

Use Height

Any designer, whether it’s for architecture or a website, knows that the use of height and space is vital to create a pleasing aesthetic. Sometimes, it’s great to have pastries piled up into some kind of lush mountain, other times, it’s great to have a regular and orderly look. Not only do height differences create visual appeal, but it’s also highly functional, so customers can easily see everything. It’s also simple economics; retail space is expensive, make the best use of it.

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We have a selection of risers to choose from. From 40mm high, 80mm high, 120mm high, or in three-step sets.

Natural and Rustic Displays

While this doesn’t work for everyone, a beautiful natural affect can look really enticing- especially in a bakery department.

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Our range of wicker baskets in NZ are food safe, super hygienic, and look fantastic.

Vary the Surface of the Chopping Board, Plate, or Tray

There are so many different options for displaying food on a plate or tray. It’s not just plain white plates and bowls (although they can be super effective in making the food the star of the show).

Timber, coloured, and different sized plates, bowls, and platters really spice up tired displays.

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Things to Think About When Displaying Food

You also need to meet various food compliance laws, and ensure that veg and non-veg are well separated; same for pork and non-pork items. As NZ becomes increasingly diverse, both in culture and how we eat, this needs to be recognised in the variety of food, and how it’s displayed.

For example, dropping a pork or beef item on a vegetarian dish renders it inedible for vegetarians, vegans, Muslims and Jews (no pork), and Hindus (no beef). A dairy-based sauce dripped on a dairy free item can spell havoc for the stomach of someone allergic to milk. Or, gluten-containing items snuggled up to, say, macarons, renders them inedible to someone with coeliac disease.

Managing these risks happens in a variety of ways. Think about:

  • Not topping up salad bowls while in the serving area
  • Having easy to clean bowls and plates with no crevices for food to get stuck into
  • Having barriers between bowls or plates so items don’t mix

You can totally do this in a beautiful way and make your food displays look incredible.

Labelling Laws in NZ

A retail food item doesn’t need a label if it doesn’t have a package, is made on premises, and is packaged up in front of the customer. Essentially, this means most delis and bakeries in NZ. What you must do, however, is display any health and safety information, and make relevant product information available to the customer.

This information could include:

  • Allergens
  • Best before information
  • Date it was baked/ created
  • Advisories or warnings
  • Religious or dietary choice information

This means that you need a way to display food information in an attractive way that doesn’t interfere with the display, or adds to the charm of the display. This could include:

The label holder must be appropriate for the item, for example a chalkboard isn’t appropriate in a refrigerator. It also must be easy to clean to meet commercial standards.

Create Deli and Bakery Displays with Swag

If you want to make an impact with your customers, you have to up your game. At Mills, we’ve got years of experience in the industry, combining technical skills and functionality with modern design trends and flair. Contact us for advice, ideas, and products that can turn your ho-hum displays into hype

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Poster Display Ideas That Will Improve Your Sales

 

Who learns about the benefits of a product or if a new exciting product has been released, unless you tell them?

Poster displays are one of the best forms of in-store marketing. They are right in front of your target audience at the right time. After all, what’s the best time to market a product when people are shopping for it, looking at the display of the product?

Why Have In-Store Poster Displays?

Time is scarce, most decisions are made fast without any real thought or research, and customers are fickle.

Products have three seconds to catch the eye of potential customers. 30,000 new products are released every year, and 95% of them fail. People spend a maximum of 90 seconds looking at a product, reading only eight lines of writing the entire time they are in the store.

Visual stimuli in a store is vitally important for marketing purposes. Not only do you already have a soft sell, with someone in the store, but they are ready to spend money. They are primed to buy a product, and you need to take advantage of it.

How to Improve Your In-Store Poster Displays

You need to catch the customer’s eye and draw them in to pick the product up. Once that’s done, the battle is won – once they have touched the product, they are far more likely to buy it. So, how can in-store poster displays be super effective?

Use Colour

About 75% of purchase decisions are based purely on colour. That’s right, people don’t read anything, or engage their brains, they think ‘oh nice colour’ and buy the product. How can you use this to your advantage?

  • Use one colour in various gradients
  • Use two bold opposing tones, like yellow and purple
  • We know green is natural, and purple is royalty. What are your colours saying about your product?
  • If your product wants to be the Next Big Thing, the colour needs to be on trend

Have a Glorious Product Image

When you’re at the supermarket, shopping for dinner, and hungry, an attractive image of a meal is going to make you buy that product.

Having a fantastic product photo might be enough to draw that customer in and get them to put that product it in their cart.

Stock Photography Sucks

There are some stock photo models that are so familiar, they could go in a family photo album. Don’t be the business that uses straight stock photos without making them your own.

Don’t Be Scared of Empty Space

Empty space isn’t an enemy. Use space as part of the design, ensure everything is easy to see in that three second glance, and avoid clutter and confusion.

Immerse Your Customer in The Product

Make an evocative poster to take the customer to where you want them to be. Maybe your customer is wanting to buy a new swimsuit, having a photo of that swimsuit on the beach, or surfing, or sunbathing, is going to help tip the scales and get them to buy it.

Give a Clear Call to Action

While CTA’s are more commonly spoken about in terms of the internet, they are effective on posters too. Telling people what you want them to do next is incredibly effective. ‘Try this today’ is a simple option, or maybe mix up the action with the USP, like ‘Buy the comfiest top you’ll ever wear’.

Get it On Social Media

If you make the poster interesting or interactive, people will take a photo and put it on their social media. This increases your reach hugely, is free, and will target your intended audience.

Keep the Display Solution Flexible, Easy to Use, and Attractive

The hardware you use to display the product is important. It should be portable, be able to be used portrait or landscape, and allow flexibility with placement. How these posters are displayed makes a huge difference to how consumers perceive them. At Mills Display, we have a wide selection to choose from.

If you want poster display ideas, contact us. We have a huge range of products in different styles, sizes, and for a variety of different scenarios. While the design of poster is up to you, we can make sure it’s seen in the right place, at the right time.

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10 Ways to Make Your Retail Store More Sustainable

NZ shoppers are demanding environmental accountability. How can you make your retail store more sustainable?

Consumers want their brands to be sustainable and are walking away from companies that are not. 44% of customers are more likely to buy from brands that have a clear, genuine commitment to sustainability. From big corporates to small bricks-and-mortar shops, the revolution is here.

In response to these changing attitudes, businesses are innovating and altering their practices. For example, Coca-Cola have said they’ll recover 75% of the bottles they introduce to market. J&J are determined to get a third of its energy needs from renewable energy sources. What is your business doing to become more sustainable?

Consumers want ethical, earth-friendly practices, and organisations that dismiss their concerns will find themselves with declining market share and poor social media. So how can you start making your practices more ethical, sustainable, and transparent?

1. Source Sustainable Products

This is arguably the most important thing you can do. Ensure the products you are selling are sourced from ethical companies. Make an effort to stock sustainable goods and highlight the product’s story in your display.

Some of the most well-known producers or distributors are not sustainable, so you’re going to need to do your research. You can search for sustainable brands on SPOT (sustainable product database).

It’s not just what you sell, but how you do it. Think about local providers to reduce the miles too. Even the most sustainable brand can become an eco-disaster if it’s flown into NZ.

2. Reduce Energy Use

By reducing your energy use, you’re not just cutting down on electricity bills, but you’re also reducing the need for power generation. Even in NZ, where most of our electricity is sourced from clean renewable sources, we shouldn’t be using more than we need. Install LED lighting, turn off electronics at the wall when not in use, and use low-power refrigerators and air conditioning.

3. Ditch the Use of Planes

If you have a larger business, it’s likely you’ll be flying staff and executives to various locations. Airmiles are incredibly bad for the world; make it video call whenever possible.

4. Reduce Waste

There are multiple forms of waste you can cut down on or manage better.

  • Ensuring all plastic and cardboard are recycled correctly is a great start. Many councils also offer composting schemes which can be taken advantage of.
  • Cutting back on water wastage is getting more and more important as water will become a scarcer (and more expensive) resource. If you use water in any part of your manufacturing and cleaning processes, ensure they are as water- minimal as possible. Make sure all taps and plumbing systems are maintained and not leaking.
  • Food waste, particularly from food retailers, needs to be managed well. When food goes to landfill, it produces methane gas which is 28 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. Up to 10% of global gas emissions are related to dumped food, with around a third of all produced food wasted every year.Dump as little food as possible by having short-dated food items sold at highly discounted rates. Investigate if it’s possible to send to food banks if it’s not expired. Food that is expired should be removed from packages and sent to composting rather than degrading inside plastic in a landfill.
  • Clothing stores contribute a lot to our environmental decline too. Deadstock fabric, sale samples, and unsold stock—find a positive use for them. Don’t dump them. Can they be re-used in some way that doesn’t devalue your brand

5. Eco-Positive Delivery

How you package deliveries is important, but also how things are shipped. For long-distance shipping, choose a low emissions way (not air). For last-mile deliveries, using AI to create routes to ensure more efficient distances are travelled and in the most cost-efficient way.

6. Go Paperless

Ditch the reliance on pulping trees. Digital menus, signs, receipts, and electronic communication whenever possible.

7. Cleaning Products

While not the biggest or most glamorous step to take, it’s an easy switch to choose green cleaning products. While bleach will still be legally required for food preparation areas, there are earth-friendly products for everything else.

8. Empower Your Customers to Offset Their Impact

People don’t want the end of the world. And if they can do lots of little positive things, it all adds up. If you help them, it reaps social media rewards- and repeat customers. A café that encourages use of KeepCups. A store that says they are going to plant a tree for every X number of sales. Maybe you’re a clothing brand that takes your old, worn-out clothes and recycles them into something cool (need a dump-bin for the old clothes?).

9. Make Plastic, Fantastic (and Tell Your Customers Why)

Plastic is versatile, safe, and cheap. It’s not going away. And for most reasons, it’s the most viable and environmentally friendly option. Compostable packaging or cardboard is something that has to be sourced, manufactured, and then it’s… thrown in the rubbish.

What a waste.

However, if you use plastic, you can help close the recycling loop. Some types of plastic are infinitely recyclable, giving it a lifecycle that never ends, ensuring the plastic is used again and again. Use recyclable plastic rather than non-recyclable (for example, food containers being polypropylene and not Styrofoam).

You can also help by using plastic that already contains recycled matter. This could include carpets in the fitout, the fabric used for employee uniforms, or crates. If you’re looking for shopping baskets in NZ that are made from recycled matter, contact us to find out more.

If you produce plastic in some form, you must enable all plastic to be recycled. While this looks different for each type of organisation, you must find a way to capture all plastic waste, and ensure it is cleaned, separated, and recycled.

10. Make Sustainability Part of Your Brand

Above all, make sure to tell your customers that you’re sustainable. Your content on your social media, the in-store narrative, everywhere and anywhere. Be honest, transparent, and also truthful about the future and what you have to do to improve (and the steps you’re taking to get there).

The flow-on effects of this are fantastic; you’ll attract quality staff aligned to your ethics, you’ll have loyal customers, and you can feel a bit better about the impact you’re having on the planet.

 

 

 

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POS Merchandising Guide: How To Display Merchandise The Right Way

Got loads of customers in your store but sales are down? It’s time to amp up your POS merchandising.

There’s some big sales numbers associated with merchandising. Consumers enter the store with some ideas of what they want to buy, and the packaging and presentation of the product influence the outcome hugely—up to 95% of the time, Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman found. It’s not about price, or individually comparing brands—it’s in-store marketing.

If you can learn and implement some basic strategies, you can maximise these techniques in your POS merchandising, you can turn slow moving stock into swift sales.

The average monthly impulse purchase spend is the USA was $182.98 in 2020; are you taking advantage of fickle consumers and providing display solutions that give them opportunities to shop?

1. Get Into the Customer’s Mindset

If you’ve ever booked a tropical holiday in the midst of winter, you’ve needed to pack summer clothes, and even buy a new swimsuit. But it’s hard to think about being so hot outside when it’s frosty outside and you’re wearing three layers (plus a blanket).

What does this mean for your POS merchandising? Generally, you’ve got a captive market while they wait in queue or while their transaction is processed, and you need to think about what they want in this moment. In a supermarket, they’re likely hungry or thirsty, so you can leverage off that, providing sweets and snacks (especially healthy ones if there are kids around). If they are looking forward to seeing their pet at home, then maybe a new pet toy or treat.

You want to sell physically small items that don’t have a big dollar value; you want them to just add it to their cart, no thought involved.

2. Use Their Idle Time

Use of interactive technology is becoming more commonplace, especially as everyone seems to have a smartphone 24/7. Using QR codes can lead the potential customer to a website that provides information, allows entry into a competition, or gives them access to a game.

If they’re sitting in a queue while waiting, give them something to do that leads to more sales. Or, give them your socials and a prompt; get some free social media updates while they’re there. Use ticket frames or other display solutions to provide information, QR codes, and socials, and keep people busy while they wait.

3. Touching the Product Increases Sales

Touching something gives the consumer a feeling that they own the item, and that it has value. It’s harder to put down, and therefore it makes the person more likely to buy whatever it is. Especially if an item is in enclosed packaging, it could be useful to open one and have it on the retail display. This encourages people to touch—and buy. Things like a koosh ball or slap band are highly touchable, cheap, small, and great to have at the POS.

4. Keep It Seasonal

Refresh and rotate the products placed at the POS. Halloween, Christmas, and seasons will all dictate what’s displayed, but also new product launches, or unusual purchases. Love heart chocolates and roses for Valentines, pine tree scent diffusers for Christmas.

5. Cross-Sell

The onion soup packet is sold next to the reduced cream. Marshmallows next to the hot chocolate. Purchase of one item increases the purchase of others—even tangentially related items. Buying a shirt? Maybe a necklace or sunglasses in a dump bin next to the customer while they queue.

In fact, use a checkout line as a shopping alley, keeping wandering shoppers in line while tempting them with lines of dump bins. At the POS, things like corkscrews at a booze shop, suede shoe cleaner at a shoe shop, things that they might not have remembered to buy earlier.

6. Make the Retail Display Look Great

Because the POS area is usually small, you have to be creative and efficient with space. Hangsells allow you to display lots of small items in a confined area, which is easily accessible to all customers.

It’s important to remember that shopper confusion is real phenomenon; information overload can negatively influence shopper intentions. Cluttered, messy, and confused stores result in irritation and inefficiency of shoppers.

It’s striking that balance of attractiveness and helpfulness, and overload and chaos.

At Mills Display, we have all the retail display solutions you could imagine (and more). We also have plenty of experience helping stores fit out their interiors, and we can help you choose what’s going to work for you. Contact us at +64 9 634 5962 or sales@millsdisplay.co.nz to find out how we can amp up your POS retail display.

 

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How to Create a Beautifully Stocked Fresh Produce Section

How to Create Beautiful and Enticing Fresh Produce Displays

Attractively presented produce makes it impossible to resist. Fresh, colourful, and varied fruit and vegetables can inspire delicious meals.

On some psychological level, vegetables and fruit can be boring. They’re healthy, we should be eating 5+ a day for optimal well-being, and it can feel like such a drag. But there is absolutely no need for this; with a beautiful produce section and a bit of innovation, you can encourage consumers to buy more.

Keep Your Produce Fresh

The first concern should be the freshness and quality of the produce. No-one wants soggy celery or bruised apples. While a lot of this is down to handling, the display is important too. For those fruit and vegetables that need refrigeration, produce matting not only cushions the produce from the bin base and surroundings, but also helps with drainage of any water and stopping slimy or rotting produce.

A herb display tray keeps asparagus and herbs looking crisp and fresh, with their feet wet and their heads bushy and alert. Coriander and other herbs can rot quickly, and they look slimy (not to mention smell awful) unless displayed correctly.

Keep Produce Accessible

Produce topper trays and separators work to keep items displayed attractively, while giving easy access to shoppers. Use of height creates attractive displays, makes use of available space without over-crowding, and allows shoppers to identify the items they want to buy without having to pick everything up and discard the ones they don’t want.

Make it easy for customers to buy by providing bags (i.e. for mushrooms) in dispensers.

Produce Should Be Presented Beautifully

While taking collapsible crates and stacking them in the produce chiller is easy and a robust solution, it’s not always the most attractive. There are a few different options for those wanting to create a beautiful, enticing vegetable and fruit display.

Display stands that use wicker baskets take advantage of vertical space and give a ‘fresh’ farmhouse vibe. We have:

For wicker baskets without stands, our range of baskets include slanted ones, ideal for storing produce in refrigerated areas. Our wicker is 100% food safe polypropylene and safe from mould, mildew, or warping in damp conditions. They are easy to clean.

It is also great to consider our natural wooden barrels for non-refrigerated items. We have four sizes of these attractive, timber barrels. They have robust and long-lasting powder-coated steel handles.

Provide Food Information

These days, customers are becoming increasingly interested in their food miles. Clearly display the price, origin, and any other relevant information like varietal or storage information. Metal blackboards give a rustic look and can be changed quickly as required, making them versatile.

Provide Serving or Recipe Ideas

To make your produce truly irresistible, provide delicious meal and snack ideas. This is especially valuable for those feeding kids; a constant challenge for parents is finding vegetable dishes for kids that they love.

You can ask customers to give their favourite recipes, ask staff to volunteer ideas that worked for them, or simply search the internet for recipes.

Present these either in printed paper for customers to take away, in a format where they can snap a photo on their smart phone, or provide a QR code where they are directed to the recipe online.

Contact the Experts in Produce Displays

At Mills Display, we have years of experience in creating beautiful, enticing fresh produce displays. Using our range of produce merchandising tools such as wicker baskets, we have helped NZ retailers maximise their sales, and we can help you too.

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What Sells Best During Inflation? How You Can Keep Sales Flowing in a Financial Drought

As consumers tighten their belts, it’s retailers who feel the pinch. If the recession is biting into your sales, there are some things you can do to ease the pain.

While people might have a little less cash to flash in a time of inflation, there’s still money out there. There are eight things that people still buy, even when the economy is looking gloomy.

  1. The essentials
  2. Long-term goods
  3. Low-cost items
  4. Local products
  5. Bulk products
  6. Second-hand items
  7. Substitute products
  8. Long-term subscriptions

You may be able to use this information to help your ailing sales, leveraging on what people want.

The Essentials

People still need petrol, medicine, clothing and food. These are all the best sellers during periods of recession and inflation, because they are necessities. Present these attractively, using display accessories to highlight the price, making it easy for consumers to compare items and choose which is best for them.

Long-Term Purchases

It might seem a bit counter-intuitive, but some people anticipate more inflation in the future, so they make big purchases. Things like cars, furniture, and appliance sales can increase as people decide to make big-ticket purchases before more potential price increases occur.

Low-Cost Items

Because life is hard, and people aren’t going on their overseas holidays, or spending lots on their usual splurges, they might self-soothe with a bit of low-cost retail therapy. This could mean some cheer-giving fashion buys, a new video game to ease the boredom, luxe at-home coffee options to replace café-brought, or even chocolates and sweets.

As a retailer, you want to create attractive displays with touches of luxury, for a lower price. Using our hang-sell range or other display accessories, you can present products beautifully that catch the eye of people looking for a cost-effective treat.

Keeping it Local

When imported pineapples are skyrocketing in price, the classic Central Otago apple suddenly looks more appealing. Inflation affects imported products more than local ones, as there are less transport costs. Also, psychologically, people want to support their local producers rather than some international brand.

Display your local options prominently, and use ticket frames and pop clips to show people the local options. Clearly describe the origins of the product, NZ-made gets you paid.

Buying in Bulk

Buying in bulk is an economical option for long-lasting products like nuts, dried fruits, canned goods, and dry foods like flour.

The use of dump bins with multiple offers (such as three for the price of two) can help to sell products. You’re not only offering bulk buys for a special price, but the dump bins do give an illusion of finding a great deal.

Second-Hand Items

For environmental friendliness, pocket-kindness, and an all-round dose of endorphins from finding a great bargain, consumers love second hand goods. Whether it’s consignment shops for designer threads, or the local Sallies to find a second-hand cast iron Le Creuset for a cool $5, Kiwis love sniffing out a great bargain. Times of inflation just make it even more popular.

Substitute Products

Money saving cheaper alternatives are the go; whether it’s replacing meat with beans, or brand name with in-house generic product. If consumers can save $10 from their grocery shop, they’ll do it.

Offer generic products, or cheaper alternatives to the standard options. Provide giveaway recipes for plant-based food (use menu or brochure holders), or upsell a product that has re-usable packaging.

Long Term Subscriptions

When people see looming price rises (and increasing interest rates), they may try to lock down subscriptions at a lower cost. Longer term subscriptions sell better than the short-term options, at least until inflation slows down.

Retail Displays Make a Difference

Even when finances are tight, utilising your display accessories and being thoughtful about the products you promote can make a difference to your bottom line. It’s important to remember that although inflation has made goods more expensive, you can help consumers buy products that provide good value, and longevity. Contact us at Mills for all your shop display requirements

 

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