With just weeks left to go before Chinese New Year, we spoke with Brian Yip, director of leading Chinese and oriental-food wholesaler Wing Yip about generating customer interest in-depot
“Ten years ago, no one even celebrated Halloween – but now it’s a big event” says Mr Yip, “It just shows you how important it is to make the most of seasonal opportunities.” And here are just a few ideas that wholesalers with catering customers can try.
The power of fortune cookies – “These are great, especially with children. We give a few out to kids, but fortune cookies also work well as part of a deal. Why not offer a free case to customers who spend a certain amount?”
Enter the dragon – “We employ a dragon dancer to bring good luck for the year ahead. Our customers like a bit of theatre and it’s important to use every seasonal occasion to generate excitement in depot.”
Free traditional sweets – “We have a small table at the front of the depot offering complimentary red melon seeds, traditional dried sweets and small oranges, which are particularly popular with children. We keep topping it up throughout the day.”
Decorate the depot – “Our depot is decorated with Chinese tinsel, which looks like red ribbon, and traditional lanterns. People think that the celebrations are all over after Christmas and New Year has passed, but for our customers, it’s still going.”
For more information on Wing Yip, visit http://www.wingyip.com/
If you’d like to see your Chinese New Year celebrations on our website, send your images and videos to elit.rowland@newtrade.co.uk
