How to upsell savoury biscuits

Unlike sweet treats, savoury biscuits and crackers are primarily big sellers during foodie occasions – you’d be hard-pressed to find a British Christmas spread without a cheeseboard complete with crackers and accompaniments.

But according to Matt Hodgetts, speciality manager at Peters Yard, retailers shouldn’t just focus on these big days. “There’s a demand for savoury biscuits and crackers throughout the year beyond Easter and Christmas”, he tells Speciality Food.

“Our range of sourdough crackers, crispbreads, flatbreads and bites can be recommended as a light lunch or snack option using various toppings like smoked salmon, avocado and cream cheese.”

When it comes to upselling savoury biscuits outside the big occasions, pairing is paramount. As Matt explains, “We would always advise retailers to place savoury
biscuits as close to the cheese counter as possible to encourage impulse purchase. The cheesemonger can also recommend and upsell certain cracker flavours to suit different cheeses.

“To assist cheesemongers and retail staff with this, we’ve created an interactive ‘Peter’s Yard Pairing Wheel’ which customers can use to match cheese with different cracker flavours.”

Daniel Smith, sales and marketing manager at Stag Bakeries agrees, “When Stag are in the process of creating our savoury biscuits, we always imagine how the biscuit might lift whatever accompaniment consumers look to pair with it. Pairing suggestions for the different flavours of crackers on offer can be a huge help in this sense, as we find that providing consumers with some ideas on how they could use the crackers as a base for all sorts of toppings fires their imaginations.”

With the rise of cheese, charcuterie and butter boards on social media, there is increased interest in pairings and a key opportunity to upsell savoury biscuits for these occasions. “The great thing is that consumers are so educated and interested in cheese now that it becomes all about offering a spread of crackers that can pair up with them”, Daniel tells Speciality Food.

“Variety in flavours, textures, shapes, and colours are what consumers seem to be looking for when creating their cheeseboards, so there is more scope than ever now to stock a broad selection of crackers to provide plenty of options.” Of course, to further help demonstrate these pairings, indies can try their hand at sampling.

According to Dawn Reade, director at Island Bakery, “Allowing customers to try before they buy is one great way of stimulating sales. Independent shopkeepers could combine a sample of our oatcakes with one of their best pates and showcase two products in one mouthful.”