Why Are Some UK Brands Scared Of Food Sampling?

Food sampling has been a go-to for many brands looking to get their products into the hands of eager taste testers. It’s a great way to get people excited about your product, to discover it for the first time or to spread the message about your brand to their circle. But it might surprise you to know that not all UK brands have some reservations when considering sampling events. Here’s why some might hesitate before diving into this strategy.

The Price Tag

Let’s face it, food sampling isn’t cheap. It’s not just handing out a few bites to people passing by. Brands need to factor in a number of expenses when working out the costs – everything from producing the samples, transporting and storing them safely, promotional materials and staffing the event itself. For smaller brands or those working with tight budgets, these expenses can quickly add up. It’s a big investment, and it’s not always clear if it’ll pay off. That being said, the price tag shouldn’t be something that puts brands off. There are plenty of ways to keep the costs low while still getting all the benefits you would traditionally get through food sampling – it’s all about being smart with your strategy.

Worries About Waste

One downside of food sampling is the potential for waste. In today’s modern world, it’s something most brands want to avoid as much as possible. Not every sample will lead to a sale, and depending on the footfall of your chosen spot/shop, you might not even get to give everything out. Leftover products can end up being thrown away if they’re not viable for sale or any other uses. Sustainability is a hot-button topic at the moment, and brands are increasingly aware of their environmental impact. Managing food waste responsibly is part of that, and can make some brands hesitant to try sampling. Here at Fizz Experience, we work with brands to identify the sample sizes and produce detailed product briefs for our brand ambassador teams to follow which reduces any wastage and minimises the cost of product.

Regulations

Of course, there’s also some paperwork involved! In the UK, there are a number of strict food safety and hygiene rules to follow, and you’ll need to be up to date on all of them. Making sure that your sampling campaign meets all of these regulations can be a bit of a minefield, and brands have to be careful to avoid any missteps that could lead to injury, fines or bad press. Honestly, the whole process can be a bit daunting if you’ve never done it before!

Fear of ‘The Flop’

Here’s the big one, and the real reason many brands don’t put their toe out into the sampling waters. They’re afraid of failing. Sampling means opening up your product to public scrutiny, and if the feedback isn’t great, it can hurt your brand’s image. With social media out there amplifying every opinion, a few negative comments can spread quickly. It’s a risk many brands are cautious about taking, even when the benefits vastly outweigh it.

Measuring Success

Unlike other forms of marketing, tracking the success of a sampling campaign isn’t always straightforward. It’s tough to link a free sample directly to long-term customer loyalty. Brands often find it hard to measure the return on investment, which makes it challenging to justify the expense (see point 1). However, if you know what you’re doing, this one is a piece of cake.

Standing Out

With so many brands using sampling to catch consumers’ attention, it can be tough to stand out. You really have to think outside the box to make a unique impression. If everyone’s doing it, the impact of your sampling campaign might get lost in the crowd, so brands might wonder if their efforts will really make a difference, or if they should try something else.

Of course, all of this can be avoided by working with a food sampling partner. At Fizz Experience we have over 30 years of experience in delivering exceptional food sampling and in-store product demonstrations for a wide variety of brands. We run over 84,000 demos every year, across all product lines and categories. From planning your activity and designing the perfect sampling event to executing it with our own team of 900 brand ambassadors, you are in safe hands. If you would like to know more, just get in touch with the team today.

At Fizz, food sampling is in our blood. It’s what we’ve been doing for over 30 years, and we do it well. We offer a complete end-to-end experiential marketing service for food and drinks brands, providing all of the strategic thinking as well as the practical, boots on the ground work for your sampling experiences. We have the skills and knowledge to make sure the event is delivered to your high standards, and ours. If you’d like to know more about food sampling and how we go about it, give us a call today and book your free consultation.