The coming of spring brings multiple significant cultural holidays. As food plays a significant role in these celebrations, there are opportunities for co-ops to feature a number of products throughout the store. Now is the time to begin planning for a successful spring promotion!

Mardi Gras literally translates to “Fat Tuesday” in French. The name comes from the practice of eating rich foods the night before the beginning of Lent, the period of fasting in the Roman Catholic tradition. However, Mardi Gras is more than just one day; it’s a season that runs from Jan. 6 — which marks the Twelfth Night (the feast of Epiphany) — to Fat Tuesday (also known as Mardi Gras Day) on March 4.

This year, Passover begins at sundown on Saturday, April 12, and concludes after nightfall on Sunday, April 20. During this period, the most observed Passover custom is the Seder, an abundant meal which is held on the first two nights of the holiday. Seder means “order” in Hebrew. Food has always played a significant role during Jewish holidays, and Passover calls for the strictest adherence to both symbolic foods and diet.

Easter, which falls on Sunday, April 20, this year, is a Christian cultural holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Many Easter food traditions go back hundreds of years, and many have religious origins.

Produce

Mardi Gras

To do Mardi Gras right, it’s essential to feature the produce that goes into the most famous dishes. Here are some of the well-known Mardi Gras offerings and the produce that accompanies them.

• Crawfish étouffée: Celery, peppers, green onions and parsley are must-haves for this amazing dish.
• Dirty rice: A classic Creole dish. Be sure to have plenty of onion, garlic, green bell peppers and celery on hand.
• Po’ boy: While a good po’ boy can be made from virtually any protein (alligator, anyone?), you must have lettuce and tomato for it to be called “dressed.”
• Jambalaya: Okra is typically used in gumbo, but it can also go in Jambalaya for an added kick. Also, bell peppers, celery and garlic — what’s good for the dirty rice is good for the jambalaya!
• Crawfish boil: Last but not least is the boil. Do crawfish up right with red potatoes, fresh corn (if you can get it), onion, green beans, artichokes and white mushrooms.

The trick to good Mardi Gras produce merchandising is building the idea of the celebration in the mind of your shopper. They may not come into your department planning to make fresh jambalaya or dirty rice, but it’s up to you to plant that seed, build a nice display and offer several Mardi Gras–themed recipe cards or a QR code linking to recipes on your website. Don’t forget to invite center store to the party so they can cross-merchandise rice, boil seasonings and well-curated case stacks of beer to frame your Mardi Gras promo set.

Finally, don’t forget about floral! Display traditional Mardi Gras colors of green, purple and gold in your floral sets. Shoppers will spring for larger bouquets and arrangements prior to the fasting time of Lent, so be sure to celebrate the season with bold floral colors. Yellow roses and purple tulips are great tie-ins.

Passover

First off, know that bitter herbs are critical items for the Seder plate. Horseradish, dill, endive, escarole, romaine, leeks, onions and ginger all are traditional items for the meal.

The following are also appropriate vegetables to feature for Passover: root vegetables (especially beets, turnips and parsnips), parsley and parsley root, green and red/yellow peppers, celery and celery root, as well as green onions, spinach and red cabbage.

As for fruits, look for the following to be in higher demand: pineapple, stone fruit (if you carry imported offerings), apples, oranges, all berries, melons and grapes. All foods consumed during Passover must be kosher, so think about bringing in some “Kosher for Passover” honey to cross-merchandise with your fruit on promotion.

Easter

The most basic produce items to promote and get front and center for shoppers are asparagus, strawberries, sweet potatoes, pineapple and mangos.

Operationally, much of the week’s Easter business falls on Good Friday (the Friday before Easter) and the Saturday before Easter, so plan your schedule accordingly. Also, try to load your hard goods early in the week, so staff aren’t waiting on or unloading product when they should be on the sales floor.

Work with the bulk department to cross-merchandise pre-packaged baking items such as pine nuts, dates, figs, raisins, prunes and coconut. Shortcakes are also a great tie-in with strawberries. If space allows, place an ice bin adjacent to the strawberries for whipped cream.

Don’t forget floral! Feature fresh-cut flowers, palm crosses and potted offerings like mums, tulips, Easter lilies, stargazer lilies, hydrangeas and daffodils. NCG has partnered with UNFI Fresh and Four Seasons Produce on some great bouquet offerings and be sure to look at our Floral Retailing Playbook.

Meat and Seafood

Mardi Gras

Meat and seafood departments should capitalize on Mardi Gras promotions a week prior to Fat Tuesday. Creative, well-planned merchandising will generate excitement and plenty of unplanned purchases even in regions that don’t typically celebrate Mardi Gras.

Kickoff this promotional event with a “Mardi Gras Mudbug” promotion. Work with your seafood vendor to see if you have access to fresh or frozen crawfish. If not, shrimp will do for this promotion. Cross-merch crawfish or shrimp with crab boil seasoning packets, small corn cobs, potatoes, onions, garlic and grab-and-go recipe cards for a crawfish/shrimp boil.

Other proteins that will draw excitement include Cajun burgers, Cajun catfish, frozen snow crab and Dungeness crab, Creole crab cakes, andouille and other Cajun-style sausages. If you want to really generate excitement, speak to your seafood vendor and bring in some IQF gator meat.

Passover

Kosher meats popular during Passover include fresh beef brisket, poached fish and salmon, and roasting chickens. Meat and seafood departments should focus on pre-packaged kosher meats. Be absolutely sure not to merchandise these with pork, lamb, shellfish, lobster, shrimp, crab, rabbit and seafood without fins or scales. Unless your department has a special Passover program in place, restrict offerings to those that are OU Kosher and case ready. KeHE carries a multitude with both kosher and Kosher for Passover designations on frozen, fresh and value-added seafood.

Easter

For Easter, ham is the main event for retail meat operations, and managers should allocate additional space two to three weeks before the holiday. If you haven’t already, make sure to pull last year’s daily item movement reports to help validate bone-in and boneless ham sales, along with those secondary holiday items from Easter 2024.

In 2024, boneless, smoked ham portions, nuggets and/or quarters experienced 74% growth in units purchased in the four weeks leading up to Easter, versus the month prior among members ordering through Albert’s. More ham portions, nuggets and/or quarter ham units were purchased than bone-in and boneless half or full hams combined. Boneless ham portions are an excellent item to merchandise into small, auxiliary, moveable spot cases.

Lamb legs will be the most popular cut of lamb for Easter. Make sure to offer boneless and bone-in lamb legs, wholes and halves. Also offer an assortment of French-cut lamb rib racks, lamb shanks and Seder bones. Make sure staff have access to the Holiday Pocket Cooking Guide at all times so they can offer cooking instructions should customers ask about cooking time and temperature for those Easter lamb legs.

And, as with most major holidays, make sure you have those secondary items on the shelf, such as frozen shrimp, chicken wings, smoked ham hocks, sausage, breakfast sausage, bacon, charcuterie, and regional items special to your location. Find additional recommendations on all holidays at Fresh Department Holiday Support on the NCG website.

Prepared Foods

Impact of Egg Prices on Prepared Foods

Due to the rising cost of eggs, it is crucial that Prepared Foods departments assess the impact on production on products that contain large quantities of eggs: breakfast burritos, egg salad, quiche, deviled eggs, etc., and adjust pricing accordingly. Eggs are a key ingredient in many products, and the current cost increases directly affect margins. If you have any questions, please contact Linda McCann. Additional information can be found on the USDA’s APHIS website.

Mardi Gras

To help your customers celebrate Fat Tuesday, start offering versions of New Orleans–influenced foods in the deli starting in early January, and take advantage of the opportunity to capture sales on foods associated with the holiday. There’s no need to recreate the wheel. A classic muffuletta sandwich on Italian bread with layers of cheese, pork-based meats like ham, Genoa salami or mortadella and a signature olive tapenade (also called olive salad) served with a side dish of Cajun-roasted cauliflower brings together Italian and Cajun flavors in true New Orleans style.

If you’re feeling adventurous, entrees like jambalaya, Creole gumbo, authentic New Orleans red beans and rice, snacks like hush puppies, sandwiches like shrimp po’boys or a Mardi Gras charcuterie board will make your customers feel like celebrating. Don’t forget the ultimate Mardi Gras dessert: the king cake, which can drive those bakery sales, too.

Passover

A simple Seder meal might serve just meat and matzah, while a traditional Seder dinner might also include soup, fish, salads and desserts. Matzo ball soup, slow-cooked beef brisket, shepherd’s pie, chicken and potatoes that reflect a Mediterranean spin on the Passover dinner will be in demand for Passover. Matzah bread is the traditional Passover bread, and the most important food of the holiday. Kosher for Passover sweets like macaroons, flourless chocolate cakes and chocolate-covered matzo commonly close out the traditional Passover meal and you should see sales increase on these items.

Easter

To stand out from the competition, focus on a prepared foods menu plan that offers inspired options. Consider these dishes in the grab and go: grilled fish or salmon for Good Friday; heat-and-eat glazed ham, pork tenderloin or roasted lamb for Easter Sunday; scalloped potatoes, asparagus and peas; and green leafy salads and pasta salads are main meal must-haves. Bakery brunch items and desserts, such as muffins, scones and croissants; cakes (carrot, coconut and pound cakes in particular), cheesecake, fruit-filled cupcakes, cream pies and iced cut-out cookies are also popular during Easter. And don’t forget the deviled eggs!

Mardi Gras, Passover and Easter are great opportunities to capture prepared food sales with a great selection of products that customers are looking for. Check out these Spring Celebration promotional materials and posters.

Grocery

Impact of Egg Prices on Grocery

The egg supply will remain volatile, and prices are likely to remain high through Passover and Easter. Organic eggs to date have been less affected by shortages, but white eggs for dyeing will be challenged as these are primarily conventionally produced. 

Passover

Create an endcap display as a destination location for all Passover items. Remember, shelves displaying Passover items should be cleaned thoroughly to remove any crumbs or other debris, and white paper may be placed on the shelves before merchandising. The shelf paper ensures that kosher for Passover products do not come in contact with any crumbs from leavened wheat products, which is traditionally forbidden during Passover. Pay particular attention to the Passover display in the two weeks preceding the holiday. The display should be checked a minimum of once per day (especially in high-volume areas). 

Easter

Eggs are everywhere at Easter, sometimes as a part of a meal and more often for dyeing. On average, 180 million eggs are purchased for Easter. Download a handout on how to dye Easter eggs naturally. And, yes, both white and brown eggs can be dyed! Don’t hesitate to carry white eggs, either — their lower price point can be a selling point to customers.

According to WalletHub, 59% of people plan to cook a meal for Easter, with both brunch and dinner influencing shopping patterns. Focus on brunch mainstays like juices, eggs and waffle mixes, as well as dinner items to round out the meal. Easter is also the biggest baking event between New Year’s and Thanksgiving, so be sure to have plenty of baking items like brown sugar and marshmallows (for yams and sweet potatoes) on hand.

Finally, don’t forget to feature craft beer, wine and traditional cider to round out Easter holiday meals.

Beer: European ales, such as spring seasonal bock and Saison, and Trappist strong ales pair well with turkey, lamb and ham. Lambic, a Belgian ale brewed with wild yeasts, has dry and often sour characteristics which pair well with ham.

Wine: Sparkling wines are perfect for Easter brunch. It’s hard to lose when you pair a light chardonnay or pinot noir with turkey and lamb, and fruit-forward Riesling, merlot and cabernet sauvignon with ham. 

Cider: Dry traditional ciders are a hidden gem that pair well with turkey, lamb and ham. 

Contributors:

• Josh Crone, Retail Programming Senior Manager: Produce
• Greg Johnson, Retail Programming Senior Manager: Meat, Seafood and Food Safety 
• Linda McCann, Retail Programming Senior Manager: Prepared Foods
• Patrick Neily, Retail Programming Senior Manager: Center Store