Is your shop BBQ ready?

According to the last NCB Big British Butchers survey the BBQ season is second only to Christmas in terms of footfall for butchers around the country. But do butchers prepare for BBQ season in the same way they would for Christmas? Craft Butcher spoke to NCB North West Executive Councillor and BBQ aficionado David Gigli to find out how he prepares for this important trading time.

Plan your BBQ range – try to cater for different types of barbecuer and ring the changes with different flavours and marinades. If you don’t make your own NCB corporate members will have plenty of ideas. Lucas Ingredients for example have launched three new flavours in their Butchers Classic range:

• Smokey IPA Style Sausage Mix with the taste of an IPA but no alcohol involved!
• Dill Pickle Style Burger Mix an authentic American-style burger
•  Bengali Style Burger Mix with aromatic spices, coconut, onion and more

Stock up on charcoal, skewers, woodchips etc Make it easy for customers to get the basics they need for a BBQ in one stop.

Offer BBQ tools and equipment This is for the serious barbecuers – think temperature probes, basters, tongs, and even syringes for injecting liquid such as apple juice into slow cook BBQ joints. You don’t need to buy many but it’s great to have them to offer to the barbecue enthusiasts.

Build a display of BBQ seasonings They make an easy additional sale, look attractive and are great ‘by the till’ impulse purchases.

Dress your window to attract the BBQ crowd  I have my windows painted seasonally by a local artist and it really draws attention to the shop. For Easter I have bunnies and chocolate eggs. I’m planning the BBQ window now, possibly we’ll have some sizzling sausages to amuse and attract the customers!

Fill your shop with appetising imagery  There’s nothing like appetising BBQ imagery to get customers in the mood for a weekend barbecue. National Craft Butchers have some brilliant poster available for members to download on the NCB website. Also consider adding your own branding or a QR code that can direct customers to your website. I find countertop POS is also a great way to put information literally underneath customer’s noses.

Plan your social media feeds  Make a folder including some of your best BBQ product photos and a list of suggested social media posts to go with them. Plan specific posts around key dates like National BBQ Week (29 May-4 June) and Father’s Day (18 June). National Craft Butchers have also produced an NCB Digital BBQ Pack to make it even easier. Members can download the pack here: Social media & print packs – National Craft Butchers

And finally… Keep an eye on the weather forecast!