Best Practices in Meat and Seafood Displays

Procuring quality meat and seafood is only half the battle - your display determines how the everyday consumer perceives your product. What are the best ways to ensure that you always put your best foot forward? Let's take a look.

Contrast Catches the Eye
People naturally pay attention to and prefer color contrasts. With this in mind, organize your display in a way that takes advantages of the eye's proclivity to view contrast as fresh and new. Grocers do this for more than meat and seafood. Notice how the vegetable and fruit sections are organized - carrots next to cucumbers, blueberries next to strawberries.

Invest in Lighting
Meat and seafood are usually a grocer's biggest moneymakers, contrary to popular belief. Progressive Grocers also reports that the perception of the meat display has the biggest effect on their overall brand. Save the best lighting in the house for your meat. Meat cases with ultraviolet or infrared light bring out the best in meat, according to many experts. Seafood works best with a white color spectrum bulb that caters to the hues in the product to be displayed.

The Abundance Mindset
No one wants to be left buying the leftovers in a display. If your display looks empty, then people are more likely to view your fare as old or unfresh. Keep your display full of new foodstuffs without crowding the cases. As you sell throughout the day, introduce new, fresh offerings to keep the display abundant.

Stand Up Displays
One of the most eye catching ways to display butcher class meat is to stand it up on its side rather than laying it down flat. This gives a more lively appearance to the food, and it also allows you to put more cuts on the same tray.

Stock Seasonal Cuts
Different seasons bring different demand for different types of meat and fish. Make sure that you are stocking the appropriate cuts for the season. For instance, during grilling season, the most popular cuts are boneless beef ribeye and top loin. In the off season, beef loin tenderloin takes a top spot.

Cross Promote
If you place small displays of appropriate condiments and spices next to your main displays of meat and fish, people start to get ideas. The more complete you make this display, the less people will have to imagine about how to use your cuts to create the meal of their dreams. You also gain the benefit of the condiments' packaging, which is sure to draw the eye of your customer with nice contrasts and bold colors.

ALCO Designs is your in-store display expert for the highly competitive food and beverage industry. Contact us to discuss your needs. We can help you establish your products with unique, eye-catching displays that speak to the quality of your foods.