First time selling sauce, what to use with sampling

[Porky Joes]

I will be up in Kenosha,WI at the Grill Games selling my sauce that is professionally bottled. This will be my first time ever doing this. When other brethren members do this, what have you sampled yours with in the past? When I have attended craft fairs, I see some people have used club crackers.

Thanks,

-Rich Clifford
www.porkyjoesbbq.com

[Andrews]

When I sample for Stubb's BBQ products, I use plain Mexican style corn chips/strips.
I look for the smaller style/size chips that don't cost a whole lot.

Good luck!

[BBQ Grail]

If it were my sauce and I didn't want to change the taste I would use something like this:

http://www.perfectstix.com/store/Ice...FUQaQgodJDtm2Q

or

http://www.frozendessertsupplies.com...spoons-yc.aspx

Do they cost more than tortilla chips or crackers probably but I just wouldn't want to risk the added salt flavor or changing my perfectly design flavor profile.

As a BBQ sauce consumer (and reviewer) I want to taste the sauce when I taste test sauces. I prefer not to sample using a food product.

Just my opinion...for what it's worth.

[Porky Joes]

When doing large events like Kenosha, how much product would you plan on going through when sampling.

[billm]

pulled pork..pork is cheap and goes a long way..ive sold more sauce using pork than I ever did with a tortilla chip..

[Andrews]

Originally Posted by billm

pulled pork..pork is cheap and goes a long way..ive sold more sauce using pork than I ever did with a tortilla chip..

That's a great point, cooking pork is the best way to go!

Im usually competing and don't sell the Stubb's products, I just put out a six bottle display with chips and let the crowds try each one.

If I were selling, I'd want more personal interaction with the crowd. With the chips in a bowl, it's more "self serve" and leaves me free to worry about the competition side of things.

[billm]

believe me when started out I was selling at farmers markets and was stuck using chips because the hd in my area are big pains in the ass and it would have been way to pricey to sample out pork.
IN the grocery stores i can bring in whatever i want which is pork.

Originally Posted by Andrews

That's a great point, cooking pork is the best way to go!

Im usually competing and don't sell the Stubb's products, I just put out a six bottle display with chips and let the crowds try each one.

If I were selling, I'd want more personal interaction with the crowd. With the chips in a bowl, it's more "self serve" and leaves me free to worry about the competition side of things.

[Bamabuzzard]

It sounds I'm about one year ahead of you so I'll tell you what we have learned and seems to work for us. We got our sauce bottled and began selling middle of last year. We do hunter's expos and other various trade shows (where 15,000-20,000 people come through) and do demo's in stores such as Kroger.

We use smoked sausage. If you're able to buy it in bulk it is the cheapest and most convenient way. It is already cooked, so all you do is slice it in half long ways. Then quarter it cross ways, put in a crockpot and poor some bottles of your sauce over it and let the sausage cook with it. Also offer samples of just your sauce on the side as well. Cheap, easy and effective. We've had great success with it.

P.S. Use one ounce serving cups, toothpicks and napkins to sample.

[Porky Joes]

How much sauce do you normally go through at the various events?

[Bamabuzzard]

Originally Posted by Porky Joes

How much sauce do you normally go through at the various events?

Depends on the size of the show. If we're demoing at Kroger we'll normally go through 15-20 lbs of sausage and three to four bottles of sauce. If we're doing a large trade show that brings 15,000 people we'll go through 50-75 lbs of sausage and six to ten bottles of sauce. But even those can vary because from show to show you'll have a different number of people who'll want to stop and sample.

[Porky Joes]

My sauce will be in pint sized bottles and I will have a few gallon bottles for some restaurants and caterers that are interested in it.

[Bamabuzzard]

Good luck I'm sure you'll do fine.

[billm]

Originally Posted by Porky Joes

How much sauce do you normally go through at the various events?

this really depends entirely on the event and how long you are there..big difference between an all day cook/demo or farmers market vs a 2 hr or 4 hr in-store demo

[Bamabuzzard]

Originally Posted by billm

this really depends entirely on the event and how long you are there..big difference between an all day cook/demo or farmers market vs a 2 hr or 4 hr in-store demo

You have to also figure in that not every single person is going to stop and sample. We attended various trade-shows where not only food items were sold but arts, crafts and outdoor/recreational equipment. There were a lot of folks who were simply there for those particular things and never made it to our section or simply did not want to sample.

We've attended shows, markets, and demo's for a year now and have gotten it down to a science. We have figured that at each event (no matter what it is) we will sell to 10-15% of the total attendance and roughly 55-65% of the total attendance will stop and sample.