Why Sell Merchandise in Your Restaurant or Cafe
Selling merchandise in restaurants and cafes can provide a supplemental revenue source for businesses in the restaurant industry. Branded promotional products, such as custom logo mugs, company hats, and uniform T-shirts, are a fun and familiar way to increase profits while also connecting with your customer base.
Food is not just something we eat for many of us, it is a lifestyle and a part of our identity — especially if we are special diets, health-conscious, happen to love a good BBQ, or like to eat a certain cuisine that represents our heritage or culture. Cafes, bakeries, and coffeeshops similarly offer customers elements to identify with: sourdough bread, gluten-free baked goods, the best hummus around, or our favorite roast of coffee. As humans, when we connect to a certain cafe or restaurant, it’s more than just to fill our bellies.
Loyal customers will connect and identify with the ethos and culture of a place, not just the food. The same can be said for bars and breweries, where your loyal customer base will surely come again and again for the local microbrew on tap or your famous martini. Either way, humans like to feel a part of something bigger. And this goes for how we choose to eat and drink too. When you choose to sell merchandise or promotional products that are reflective of your brand or ethos, loyal customers and tourists alike will be happy to buy and wear something that makes them feel like a part of the family.
Supplemental Revenue
As mentioned above, selling merchandise at your restaurant, cafe, or another hospitality establishment is a way to bring in some extra supplemental revenue. If you have a large base of loyal customers, selling branded merchandise could even become a major source of added income for your business. Some kinds of merchandise are cheaper to produce than others, so it’s important to do some research and choose options that meet your needs while aligning with your budget. There are also some ways to save costs when you source your branded merchandise. For example, separately buying plain t-shirts and iron-on labels can make the perfect logo shirts while cutting costs and increasing profits.
Being A Part of the Family
As also mentioned, humans like to be a part of a tribe or herd. When you give your loyal customers the option to be even more a part of your business, the customer typically commits to your brand even more. This commitment has long-lasting effects that are good for business. Not only will the customer think about your business every time they come across your merchandise, but it solidifies their opinion of and love for your establishment. For example, every time they reach into their cabinets and gaze lovingly at your promotional mug when looking for a place to pour their coffee, they will be reminded of your business again and again, which may even spur them to pay you a visit sometime soon.
Spreading Your Brand
One of the most mentioned benefits of merchandise for your restaurant or cafe is that it’s virtually free marketing. While you could spend a fortune on professional marketing, simply investing in some swag is a great way to utilize some grassroots marketing. Consider your brand ethos and customer demographic when considering what merchandise will have the best marketing effect on your business. For example, if you are a brewery, having branded pint glasses for sale is a good choice. If you are a Michelin-starred restaurant, perhaps opt for delicately branded wine glasses instead. If you are a trendy vegan cafe, perhaps try selling custom logo work tote bags.
Additionally, carefully choose what image or wording to put on your merchandise. You want to put just enough for people to recognize and learn what your brand is all about. But don’t put so much that the merchandise looks too busy. It needs to be effectively informative, aesthetically pleasing, and cool to use or wear.
Being a Topic of Conversation
Merchandise is a grassroots marketing strategy that works so well because it becomes propelled by word of mouth. People wearing or using your business’s merchandise are going to be complimented or asked questions about it. You can always rely on your happy loyal customers to do all the word-of-mouth marketing for you to a potential customer. To get people inspired to ask the right questions and learn more about your restaurant or cafe, choose bigger items like branded t-shirts instead of hats. Potential customers are more likely to notice and ask questions about a t-shirt someone is wearing rather than what’s on a hat.
That being said, baseball hats and beanie-style hats are also great places to stick your logo. Regardless of what avenue you choose to invest in merchandise (remember, it’s important to consider what your customer base likes to wear and look at!), word of mouth is a great way for your loyal customers to do the marketing legwork for you to bring you in new customers.
Many restaurants, cafes, and other hospitality industry establishments have moved in the direction of creating and selling merchandise to their customers for the reasons mentioned above. If you are a restaurant or cafe owner and are looking for a way to spice things up, perhaps generating some cool merchandise is a great place to start.