At Carrefour the Cheese really puts on a show
The fairs can finally take place and that's a great news. In this context, recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Carrefour Belgium fair where the retailer presents its new products and end-of-year ranges to its teams and its shops, both integrated and affiliated.
So, what can I tell you?
Finally, we meet again!
In fact, the first thing I noticed was that the atmosphere was marked by good mood. Everybody seemed happy. You could clearly feel that sales people, buyers, shop managers...all were delighted to finally meet again. In short, the event, well organised by the way, was buzzing with activity and freed professionals.
The cheese street made the show *
As usual, as a guest I was given a guided tour of the show. But I'll skip the content of this one because nothing that was presented convinced me or really wowed me. There are really no fantastic new products arriving, and the end-of-year ranges are very classic. The usual creativity and luxury feel of the end of the year seemed a bit lacking.
But thankfully, there was the Cheese Street, an area dedicated to the segment and its suppliers. I'm not going to hide from you that, as a big cheese lover, I've long considered that cheese at Carrefour is something unique. And at this fair, my conviction was reinforced because this Cheese Street put the show in trade show.
A complete and varied offer with some nuggets
What I like about Carrefour's cheese category is its variety. You can find all the classics and basics in different formats. For example, you can find Gouda cheese in all its forms (with or without a crust, sliced, in blocks, branded or private label, cubed, young, old, etc.), or even Parmesan cheese, of which even the cheapest variety on the shelves is of excellent quality... In short, there is something for everyone.
Also, there are little wonders, or nuggets that you can't find in other supermarkets. In fact, another fine example of that was presented at the fair: a new goat's cheese in FQC (Filière Qualité Carrefour). This is a cheese made from the milk of goats that spend at least 120 days a year in the open air, and the rest of the time in open stables. As for variety, there is quite a lot of creativity because this novelty comes in different flavours such as Kriek, Wasabi, salted caramel...
Still on the nugget side, a concept I love are the party packs. (Also pictured above). This is a concept of a tray with several cheeses. The cheeses touch each other in the packaging, but there is no alteration of taste because the packaging was designed for it, and it is an exclusive patent. For the festive season you will find them on the shelves again.
And you will often find them with round prices, like other products in the category. This concept of round prices is well received and thought of. In my opinion, it attracts new potential consumers. One doesn’t need to wonder about the 68th digit after the decimal point in the pricing. A round price inspires simplicity and a certain honesty.
Putting the show in Trade show
But let's get back to the event. As I said before. The Cheese Street is what impressed me the most at this Carrefourhappening. The concept of a trade show was present on every booth. There was a parmesan cutting demonstration, tastings of course, competitions, some had a game dedicated to the fair... each exhibitor had prepared something special.
Clearly, they had all understood, under the impulse of the category buyer obviously, that at a fair you have to go all out to create the event and seduce the visitors. And of course, without doing so at the expense of the business.
In conclusion, I invite you to take a close look at the cheese section in your Carrefour. You will already see today, but also in the coming weeks and during the holidays, that variety, dynamism and passion are present.
*I could have even titled it "The cheese street saved the show" but hey, it's the first face-to-face show in a long time so I'm being generous.
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