With the summer holidays underway and the heatwave arrived, it is most definitely the time to get outdoors, roll out the picnic rugs & enjoy the sunshine (or a cool shady spot, perhaps!). Summer eating is all about no-cook meals, sharing with friends & family and enjoying time together with good food & drink.
We’re big picnic fans here at Curd & Cure and have all the essentials needed to pull together an impressive spread with minimum effort; perfect whether you’re looking to create an enticing farm shop or deli display or putting together a picnic box to be enjoyed in the pub garden or as a takeaway add-on to a café or coffee shop offering.
We’ve pulled together some of our favourite products with a few of our top tips to get the most out of picnicking over the Great British summer:
1. It will come as no surprise that the first thing we reach for when it comes to prepping for a picnic is cheese! Try to pick a variety of different cheeses; cheddar style, blue, soft and goats, for example, to give a range of tastes & textures to suit all palates. When displaying in the chiller or cheese counter, why not curate an example picnic board to sow the picnicking seed and give customers a quick & easy way to pick out cheeses that would complement one another.
2. Cured meats give a more continental feel and by being creative with presentation (think prosciutto piled high, salami ‘flowers’ and chopped chorizo) this is an easy way to begin to build the spread. Alternatively, add a slice or two of Gala pie, traditional home cured ham & salt beef for a very British picnic.
3. Simple snacks add additional flavour with minimal hassle. Kent Crisps’ range all showcase Kentish landscapes & landmarks on their pack fronts, and so look attractive served as an open pack for everyone to dig in, or for something a little different, Snackling comes in two flavours, sea salt & smoked bacon, and is sure to be a firm favourite!
5. Stay hydrated – in the summer heat it’s easy to forget to drink as much water as is needed. Make sure the fridge is well stocked and drinks are chilled and ready to go! Kingsdown’s presses are our go-to drink for when the mercury starts to rise. Made using lightly sparkling natural Kentish spring water blended with real fruit juice, their refreshing range includes Cloudy lemonade (serve with ice & a slice) and Elderflower sparkle (truly the taste of summer) to name just a couple. For those looking to support a business with purpose, Karma Cola’s range comes in cans – great for on the go – as well as glass bottles and each sale gives something back to the Cola growing communities in Sierra Leone. Place paper straws alongside your drinks chiller, giving a nod to the ever-growing demand for more eco-friendly products and creating an upsell alongside colourful paper plates in a farm shop setting.
6. Summer means salad! There’s little better than a crisp salad made using fresh Kentish produce. Add instant flavour by drizzling with a little Olive Branch Olive Oil, or pouring over Harrington’s strangely addictive Benenden Sauce. Our new range of dressings from A Little Bit are all made using fresh herb and will add instant flavour, making it easier than ever to make even the simplest salad a little bit special. Top off with some edible flowers to take your salad to the next level!
7. Picnicking without the preparation… Our range of Deli Tubs provide a quick & easy way to add coleslaw & potato salad to the mix, without having to spend hours making them. Red cabbage coleslaw adds instant colour, whilst potato salad will always be a crowd pleaser. Serve straight from the tub (which is resealable too, not that there’s likely to be anything left over!) or decant into a bowl to give a more homemade look. For foodservice, our Luxuryslaw is available in 1kg tubs, and provides all the flavour without any fuss.
8. Carbs, carbs, carbs. There’s no getting away from it, there really is no better vehicle for cheese & meats than a good chunk of bread. Slather with butter (Netherend individual portions are the ideal size for a picnic box) and pile it high! Our bakery section offers all the options you could need, including Italian ciabatta & tomato focaccia as well as more unusual Schioches; supplied frozen and ready to bake fresh to order.
9. Last, but by no means least, dips & toppings are a must. Me too! hummus is available with 20% off throughout August and comes in 6 delicious flavours, great on bread or as a dip for crisps. We’re loving Olive Branch’s tapenades, packed full of flavour and delicious as mini mouthfuls on top of GB Biscotti’s Jalepeño & Cheddar savoury biscotti, whilst England preserves’ Pear, Date & Ale chutney is a real taste of the English countryside and makes for a delicious accompaniment to cheese.
10. Presentation is everything. It’s well known that customers buy with their eyes, and so by creating in-store displays which both are eye-catching but also prompt the thought of picnicking, you’re far more likely to inspire picnic themed purchases. Group items together to encourage add-on buys – such as positioning cured meats adjacent to the cheese selection already mentioned, deli tubs and hummus in the same section. Use prompts as the customer moves around the shop “Perfect for picnics”, “Enjoy al fresco”, “why not try x dip with your crisps”. Also make sure the whole team are fully on board – identify some key products which would be good to upsell alongside one another and give customers recommendations. People buy from people too!
From a foodservice point of view, it’s important that people understand what they are going to get – use visual prompts or perhaps display a sample picnic box. Use of inventive names will also encourage buy in; “The Great British picnic box” or “Kent summer picnic hamper” will sound more attractive than just a “takeaway picnic box”. Little touches will make all the difference; include some information on the products, package in a specific box or tray or if making a picnic to eat on-site, make sure that it’s presented attractively when served. In a day where social media is such an integral part of day to day life, people are constantly looking for shareable moments and ‘instagrammable’ images. The hastag #picnic has over 6.3million uses on Instagram, whilst #picnicking has 16.4k uses, so make sure you are making the most of the opportunity that the exposure this sort of offering can bring!
For more help on choosing the best products for your picnic offering, our team are always on hand and will be more than happy to help pull together the perfect picnic selection for your outlet. We always love to see your Curd & Cure displays, so don’t forget to share them with us on social media tagging @curdandcure.
01580 212949
orders@curdandcure.co.uk
Find the products mentioned on the following pages in our Spring/Summer 2019 brochure:
A Little Bit: New listing – please get in touch for more details
Bakery: 59 & 114
Benenden Sauce: 12
Cheeses: 47-56 (retail), 64-87 (deli), 98 (foodservice)
Charcuterie & sliced meats: 43-46 (retail), 93-94 (deli), 100 (foodservice)
Deli Tubs & Luxuryslaw: 37 (retail), 112 (foodservice)
England Preserves: 19
Gala pie: 93
GB Biscotti: 27
Hummus: 39 – special offer page 7
Karma Cola: 32 & 106
Kent Crisps: 23 & 109
Kingsdown Pressés: 31
Netherend Butter: 98
Olive Branch: 16 & 103
Snackling: 21 & 109
