For those unfamiliar with Mardi Gras, it 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 Feb. 13, 2024.

Prepared Foods

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.

Meat and Seafood

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.

Focus on a “Mardi Gras Mudbug” promotion, also known as offering fresh or individually quick-frozen (IQF) crawfish while cross-merchandising a large display of crawfish, shrimp and crab boil seasoning packets, along with small corn cobs, potatoes, onions and garlic.

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 some excitement, speak to your seafood vendor and bring in some IQF gator meat.

Produce

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.

Contributors: Greg Johnson, Meat, Seafood and Food Safety Retail Programming Manager; Linda McCann, Prepared Foods Programming Manager; Josh Crone, Produce Retail Programming Manager