7 Food Pairing Strategies to Enhance Product Sampling Events

We know product sampling is an effective marketing strategy for food and beverage brands —  who doesn’t like free food? But a lot of brands do sampling campaigns. How can you differentiate your products in a crowded marketplace?

One way to increase the impact of your sampling campaign is through thoughtfully executed food pairings — serving your product with other foods or beverages to maximize their impression on consumers’ palates. Food pairings significantly enhance the perception of a product and increase the likelihood of purchase. Here’s are 7 ways to use food pairings to elevate your sampling campaign:

1. Research Classic Flavor Combos

There is science behind food pairings; research it, and understand your product’s primary and secondary taste profiles so you can create pairings that work. Explore both expected and innovative food combinations that complement your product’s flavors.

Remember that there’s more to pairing than just flavor combos; texture, weight, and consistency can make or break a pairing, too. “In addition to flavor, note how heavy or light your food is,” says a recent blog post. Consider whether you want the paired items to complement or contrast with each other.

If feasible, engage a chef, food/beverage influencer, or celebrity to curate your pairings and develop recipes. This approach not only improves the quality of the sampling experience, it also creates content and cross-posting potential for social media and your website and expands brand awareness and social media reach.

2. Explore Cross-Merchandising

Cross-merchandising is a broad category of retail strategies designed to entice shoppers with “one-stop,” convenient arrangements of foods and/or beverages commonly used together. But the tactic can also be used to suggest creative pairings that range from traditional to quirky to sophisticated. One of cross merchandising’s benefits is that it can help retailers educate consumers about how to use products, says an article on delibusiness.com. Incorporate this concept into a sampling event, whether in-store or elsewhere, by featuring complementary products by your own and like-minded brands.

3. Educate Consumers

Increase the impact of cross merchandising by training staff or brand ambassadors to lead sampling and provide information on different combinations of products. “People will be a bit more open to trying and exploring some products when there is someone there to help them and offer it to them,” said Jim Anderko, sales/marketing for Venus Wafers.

In addition to offering visitors a chance to sample your product paired with other items, add value to the experience by sharing recipes that feature the product and suggest additional pairings. Encourage consumers to experiment with their own pairings, then share on social media. Create a platform for sharing recipes and discovering new pairings.

One real-world example: Food and beverage brand Knorr promoted a new liquid format of its chicken bouillon by serving it up in chicken tacos. This approach not only let consumers taste the product, it showed them one great way to use it.

4. Tailor Pairings to Your Target Audience

Research your audience, and build personas around characteristics of your ideal customers. Consider their cuisine preferences, which may be regional, trend-based, or tied to a particular season or holiday (such as tailgating foods during football season or Mexican fare for Cinco de Mayo).  Align your choices with not only customers’ favorite foods and beverages but also their lifestyles, dietary habits, and health concerns. For example, a fitness-conscious audience might not be interested in high-fat or simple carbohydrate-based pairings. If feasible, personalize the sampling experience by offering pairing options to cater to diverse tastes. Make sure your pairings include vegan and vegetarian options. Be clear about allergens and ingredients that might break customers’ religious traditions.

5. Create a Memorable Sampling Experience

Use elements of storytelling to develop a multisensory experience around the products and the pairing to set a mood and give attendees cues about your brand’s values and culture. An example: Kettle & Fire, a leading bone broth brand, hosted a pop-up that was part consumer education, part sampling/pairing event. The brand created a six-part journey that walked attendees through issues within the U.S. food system; the journey began with a product sample and ended with recipes for a wholesome, healthy Thanksgiving meal made with Kettle & Fire products.

6. Incorporate High-Low Snacking

Brands looking for new ways to delight visitors to their pop-up shops and activations are exploring high-low snacking, which mixes upscale or gourmet food items with classic or popular mass market snacks. The iconic pairing of caviar and Pringles is just one example, but potential combinations can mix price points, familiarity levels, and flavor combinations. When the flavors play well together, high-low snacking can intrigue customers and create a more memorable event.

7. Merge the Novel with the Familiar

To promote its mushroom-based meat alternative, Meati prepared classic, familiar entrees that used its products. By staging the event as both a sampling opportunity and a blind taste test, Meati simultaneously showed consumers how to pair its product and encouraged them to taste it. The brand also gathered loads of feedback from potential customers, some of which shaped future product decisions.

By carefully selecting food pairings and creating a memorable sampling experience, you can significantly increase the chances of converting sample recipients into loyal customers.

Promobile Marketing is a dynamic experiential marketing agency based in New York City. For over a decade, Promobile Marketing has collaborated with a range of brands—from budding startups to major CPG brands—on immersive marketing campaigns. Get in touch to discuss your next project.