New offerings = new business

55% of millennial consumers say that they’ve purchased items aside from food or drinks from restaurants in the past year.

29%

say they purchased merchandise or retail items.

20%

have purchased gift vouchers or gift cards.

“We're eager to venture into this new territory to stay ahead in the competitive restaurant landscape. These initiatives go beyond traditional dining, creating unique and unforgettable experiences. We're on the verge of launching take-home and gift packs for our incredibly popular house-made sauces and fries seasoning. The Fricken Sauce and Satay Sauce have seen an impressive sales surge, making them our top sellers and outselling our nearest two commercial items by over 400%.

By offering these signature sauces and seasoning as retail products, we're enabling our customers to recreate the irresistible Fricken experience at home, thus strengthening our brand presence.”

- Mo, owner Fricken

"Merch is a way for me to express myself creatively. We started with branded t-shirts for our staff and then customers wanted to buy them. So we did a run of shirts, the Lox In A Box hat, and sox in a box because we thought that was fun! It sold pretty well."

– Candy Berger, co-owner Lox In A Box

Pro tips:

1. Introduce a retail offering

Let customers take a piece of your restaurant away with them by establishing a curated retail offering. Stock your own signature in-house products, or food and wares used by your restaurant (like gourmet ingredients and tableware). Make sure that your products align with your core offering and values.

2. Offer experiences

Let your customers experience your restaurant in a different way with in-house food and drink experiences. Think cooking classes, or tours and tastings. You could even use Square Gift Cards to provide a great gifting option by selling digital and physical gift cards, online and in-person.

3. Collaborate with other businesses

Team up with like-minded businesses. Themed events, product collaborations and one-off pop-ups are great ways to reach a new audience, attract new customers and put a fresh spin on your offering.

Did you know that Square can help you with not only your core restaurant sales, but your online orders, retail sales and even make it easier for you to charge for catering or other bespoke offerings.