5 Proven Strategies to Increase Sales for Event Concession Stands

Organising a successful food festival or a large-scale culinary event, such as French GourMay, is a significant undertaking. The lifeblood of these events is, without a doubt, the quality and variety of the vendors. Attracting the best chefs and food entrepreneurs is one part of the puzzle; ensuring they are profitable is the other. When your vendors thrive, they return year after year, and their success stories become your most powerful tool for attracting even more talent, making your event bigger and better.

The question is, how can you, as the organiser, create an environment that actively drives sales for your concession stands? It requires a strategic approach that goes beyond simply allocating a space. Here are five proven strategies to help your vendors maximise their revenue.

1. Engineer the Environment for Spending

The physical layout of your event space is critical. Don't leave it to chance. Consider the natural flow of foot traffic and design the layout to guide attendees on a journey of discovery.

• Create Themed Zones: Grouping vendors by cuisine type (e.g., a dessert alley, a street food corner) can create enticing focal points and make it easier for attendees to find what they’re looking for.

• Optimise Visibility: Ensure clear, high-quality signage throughout the venue. A well-placed map can be invaluable. Every vendor should have an equal opportunity to capture the attention of a curious crowd.

• Strategic Seating: Place seating areas strategically, but not directly in front of just one or two stands. Dispersed, comfortable seating encourages people to stay longer, relax, and invariably, go back for another round of food or drinks.

2. Eradicate Queuing Fatigue

Nothing kills sales faster than a long, slow-moving queue. In the world of events, speed and efficiency are paramount.

• Mandate Clear Menus: Encourage or require vendors to have large, simple, and clearly priced menus. Customers who can decide what they want before they reach the counter will speed up the entire process.

• Champion Cashless Payments: Insist on vendors having reliable contactless and mobile payment options. This dramatically reduces transaction times and caters to modern consumer habits.

• Pre-Ordering Systems: For larger, more established events, consider a unified pre-ordering system via a mobile web app. Attendees can order from their phones and simply collect when ready, a feature that significantly enhances the visitor experience.

3. A Strategic Approach to Marketing Your Event Concession Stands

Your event's marketing should be a tide that lifts all boats. Proactively promoting your vendors is a crucial part of the service you offer.

• Vendor Spotlights: In the run-up to your event, use your social media channels to spotlight individual vendors. Share their stories, showcase their signature dishes, and build anticipation. Tag them in your posts to leverage their existing online following.

• Create a 'Must-Try' List: Curate a list of "Top 10 Dishes to Try" or create a "Foodie Passport" that attendees can get stamped at various event concession stands. This gamifies the experience, encouraging attendees to explore more widely than they might have otherwise.

• Live Social Media Coverage: During the event, have a dedicated person capturing high-quality content. Live videos, interviews with chefs, and real-time photos of customers enjoying the food create a vibrant online buzz that can attract more visitors.

4. Foster a Collaborative Vendor Ecosystem

Encourage a sense of partnership rather than pure competition among your vendors.

• Promote Pairings: Work with vendors to create recommended pairings. Suggest that the craft beer stall team up with the gourmet burger stand, or the wine merchant with the artisan cheese maker. These simple cross-promotions can introduce customers to new stalls and increase the average spend.

• Shared Intelligence: After the event, facilitate a feedback session. What worked? What didn't? Sharing insights on best-sellers and peak times can help everyone plan more effectively for the next event.

5. Unify the Experience with a Smart Loyalty Solution

The ultimate goal is to create a seamless and rewarding experience for the attendee, encouraging them to spend more across multiple vendors. Traditional loyalty methods fall flat in a dynamic, multi-vendor event environment.

This is where meed's loyalty platform offers a transformative solution for events. Imagine a system where attendees can join a single event-wide loyalty program with a simple QR code scan—no app download is required. They can then earn rewards and stamps as they spend at different stands, all managed from one place on their phone.

For vendors, this is a powerful tool to drive sales. They can create compelling offers, such as "Buy from any five stalls and get a free drink," fostering a truly collaborative and high-spending environment. For you, the organiser, it provides invaluable data on attendee behaviour and spending patterns, allowing you to refine your strategy for future events. Meed transforms your event from a collection of individual stalls into a unified, connected marketplace, giving consumers more reasons to spend and vendors the tools they need to sell more.

If you are hosting a fair or event with concession stands, please contact us via the form on our homepage to learn how we can assist you.