State fairs may be cancelled in many places, but that hasn’t stopped Outpost Natural Foods in Milwaukee from keeping the spirit alive. Outpost recently created a Fair Food flyer, featuring a host of Wisconsin fair favorites, like cream puffs, gluten-free corn dogs, brats, apple pies and more.
Lisa Malmarowski, the director of brand and store development at Outpost, said the idea to produce a state fair–themed flyer came when the co-op’s baker was testing out cream puff recipes. “We starting talking about all the things people would miss from our fair (cream puffs are a BIG deal at the Wisconsin State Fair) and quickly realized that we could have some fun promoting state fair–worthy foods from our aisles,” Lisa said. “We also saw a need for offering shoppers some fun, and we’ve been trying to figure out ways to get the energy of events into our stores without encouraging crowds.”
Outpost began planning a special flyer and came up with enough product to fill it. Their graphic designer created the flyer’s festive look, and their social media manager — along with the promotions/purchasing team — solidified a plan for social media, which included taking photos of staff showing off the products. They then tied the fair flyer into their weekly e-newsletter. The result has been one of the highest click-through rates the co-op has ever had.
“People are loving it,” Lisa said. “I was really impressed that our central bakery was able to develop and produce cream puffs in record time.” Lisa said that Outpost is now brainstorming additional special promotions to run. “The state fair was a natural,” she said, “but we are considering [a promotion] for the blue moon that will land on Halloween.”
With other upcoming seasonal festivals likely to be cancelled across the country, Outpost’s model is a great idea for co-ops to consider.
Co-ops are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in new and creative ways. Each co-op is unique and there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Still, consider whether you may be able to adapt some of these ideas at your co-op. At the very least, we hope these short profiles will spark inspiration for new strategies to serve the changing needs of your owners, customers, vendors and community.
