PG 'tips' on tea sales

PG tips launched a website last year as a tool to arm operators with advice and tips to make the most out of their tea offering. The website features a new three-step process to enable operators to drive tea sales. The three steps include brand visibility, merchandising and promotions. Charlotta Oldham, marketing manager tea, said: "We know that coffee is a profitable hot beverage as it has dominated the high street over the last decade. However, some operators may be surprised at the profit opportunity that comes from selling tea. So it's important that caterers spend time marketing and promoting their tea offering, rather than overlooking it. "The new PG tips website is even easier to navigate around and use. So, whether you are an operator wanting to calculate how much profit you could make from tea, or on the lookout for POS material to generate brand visibility – you'll find everything you need to know to help maximise your tea offering with our revamped site." Oldham continued: "For foodservice and hospitality operators, getting your tea offering right is just the beginning. Retailing the brand, making the communications visible front of house and using simple promotions to encourage repeat purchase are all ways to help drive sales." Brand Visibility Visibility and presentation of your tea offer can be crucial in helping consumers make a decision, especially with so many options to choose from on where to eat and drink out of home. Oldham said: "Recent research shows that 51% of customers would be more encouraged to purchase tea out of home if they saw their favourite brand at point of sale. Additionally, 78% of customers look for their favourite brand when drinking tea out of home. Serving familiar and trusted brands like PG tips and Lipton will reassure your customers of the quality of your foodservice offering." Merchandising Merchandising your product correctly can also be another quick win to help operators grow sales. Charlotta added: "Investing time to merchandise your tea products correctly, so customers know that you are selling quality brands, will help raise your profitability as well. We work closely with foodservice operators and caterers to ensure they have the correct point of sales material and merchandising solutions, so customers know exactly what they are drinking. "Operators must listen to what their customers want and work on providing an attractive offer to meet their demands and expectations. We provide appealing PG Tips point of sale material and merchandising solutions to help operators promote the right tea offering to consumers." Promotions "Operators should offer incentives and promotions to encourage repeat purchase from customers. Loyalty cards are popular with coffee, but sometimes get overlooked for tea. It's important for operators to retail their total beverage offer to drive sales, and not just focus on coffee. Together with great brand visibility, you can keep your customers loyal by offering them a simple price incentive, such as a PG tips loyalty card."