Bottle It Up

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic brought more than an abrupt halt to dine-in eating at many places; it also stirred a desire among pie lovers to help their local eatery and shop in new ways. For several weeks in March and April 2020, merchandise orders steadily increased between 30 and 50 percent every week, according to research from BentoBox, which runs the websites of more than 5,000 restaurants in the United States, including many pizzerias.

Putting a price tag on t-shirts, water bottles or caps might seem like a quick way to generate cash, but the process needs to be carried out carefully to avoid financial risk. “In this crisis, to generate significant profits from merchandise requires more than just having inventory,” says Peter LeSar, co-founder of I Love Restaurants, a website which helps pizzerias and other restaurants fundraise through merchandise sales. “You need to engage and help fans to understand that buying merchandise is important to helping you, as their favorite pizzeria, to rehire and rise again post crisis.”

The following strategies lay out how to sell merchandise in a way that helps your pizza establishment fuel through the coming months and beyond.

Know Where to Start 

While people often want to help, “offering variety so they can find something useful will help optimize sales,” LeSar says. If your place has been selling aprons, bottles of sauce or kitchen towels for some time, you can review past sales to see what has been hot—and what’s not. Assessing what other local places offer may make it easier to differentiate your products and find a place in the market.

Vero Pizza, located inside the Denver Central Market, has offered retail items since it opened nearly four years ago. The eatery has a grocery section where customers can browse and purchase products. “Our aim is to supply the community with the necessities they desire and can’t find at regular grocery stores,” says Shelby Shumaker, general manager of Vero Pizza. “When customers look at our retail selection and menu, they see a healthy variety that ranges from basic pastas and sauces to more uncommon or hard to find Italian ingredients.”

Line Up Merchandise Correctly

If your eatery is in a warm climate, selling sweatshirts might not appeal to frequent local customers. Offering sunglasses or hats, however, might be well received. Similarly, items that reflect your image and brand will help streamline sales. “Some of the items we sell we also use in our kitchen,” Shumaker says. Letting customers try samples or see them packaged helps them understand everything the restaurant offers. “While people are waiting for food or just shopping around, they may spot something they like or want to try,” Shumaker says. “Being able to inform them what pairs well with Fig Balsamic Glaze or Gnocchi al Tartufo definitely gets customers excited to experiment at home.”

Adapt to the Surroundings

When Varuni Napoli, an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria with two locations in Atlanta, had to close its doors for dine-in service during the COVID-19 pandemic, owner and veteran maestro pizzaiolo Luca Varuni shifted strategies. The pizzeria started selling an at-home pizza kit with all the Neapolitan ingredients needed to make a Margherita pizza. The change provided more than a chance for customers to continue enjoying the restaurant’s menu; it also gave them an inside opportunity into the eatery’s long-held recipes. “This is the first-time customers have had access to our dough,” Varuni says. The place also began offering customers an Italian cannoli kit so they could prepare the meal at home.

Before the pandemic, Varuni offered staples and rare Italian products through a retail space called “Luca’s Midtown Market.” When nearby grocery stores struggled to replenish supplies after the COVID-19 outbreak, Varuni started selling household items from the market at its flagship location. Customers can now purchase products like Italian tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes, Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Sorrento, truffle oil, 00 flour, artichokes, salt and Calabrian peppers at the restaurant. “We want to share with our neighbors that are so supportive of the restaurant,” Varuni says. “We went to give them the best quality at a good price.”

Make it Visible

Rather than tucking products away on a back counter, placing merchandise in an entryway or waiting area can catch diners’ eyes. “We put everything in the window,” Varuni says. This way customers can see the items as they walk past. Keeping a well-maintained display also tends to draw in shoppers. “Maintaining an organized and visually appealing selection of goods makes for effortless upselling and more importantly, spreading the joy that comes from making and eating good food,” Shumaker says.

For places without dine-in, outdoor signs that announce what’s for sale may attract shoppers. Vero Pizza has a banner that includes directions on how to order over the phone for curbside pick-up, along with a list of its groceries for sale and their prices. It also uses social media promotion to help customers see what’s available.

Make Online Shopping Easy

While you may offer merchandise through your website, there are additional ways to appeal to Internet customers. Instagram Shopping, for instance, is a checkout feature that allows you to sell to customers through the Instagram platform. Through the feature, you can tag up to five products per image and
include details about the product and price in each tag. “Users can select what they want to buy and complete the purchase seamlessly within Instagram,” says Alex Membrillo, CEO of Cardinal Digital Marketing in Atlanta.

If stocking up on inventory would mean a budget strain, third-party solutions can help ease the financial burden. I Love Restaurants, for example, offers restaurants a ready-made merchandise solution without upfront costs. Pizzerias can sign up for free and choose products such as t-shirts and mugs to sell. They can also offer incentives to employees for selling the selected merchandise. I Love Restaurants helps with some of the marketing efforts as well. “The sales come from better leveraging the power of restaurant and employee networks to create more income for both simultaneously,” LeSar says. As products are sold, pizzerias and their employees receive a portion of the sales.

Rachel Hartman is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.