Leading retailers have long encouraged shoppers to try new foods and hone their culinary skills with in-store cooking demos. But recently, many supermarket chains have begun experimenting with streaming Web videos that are part promo, part cooking show.
Notably, Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets and Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market launched independently produced, Internet-based cooking shows on their websites in May.
Other retailers, such as Lowes Foods, are taking advantage of similar content produced by commodity boards and other industry groups. The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based retailer this month will debut “Cheese Tips” videos that offer tips from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board for preparing and serving a variety of cheeses.
Similarly, a handful of supermarket chains, including Bashas', United Supermarkets and Ingles Markets, started running streaming videos of recipes from the National Frozen and Refrigerated Food Association on their sites this spring.
Wegmans filmed its own series of eight “Summer Cooking” videos, instructing consumers on how to prepare recipes such as Cedar-Plank Salmon and Grilled Corn on the Cob. One video, which features Wegmans' executive chef, Russell Ferguson, and a member of its Meal Development Team, also tells viewers how to choose a cut of steak.
“The videos let customers invite culinary pros into the home to share the easy little tricks that mean outstanding results,” Ferguson said in a prepared release.
Shoppers can watch one or all of the videos, and can print out corresponding coupons and recipes directly from the video's Web page.
More grocery chains are recognizing the value of including these food preparation videos on their websites, said Bill Drew, vice president of marketing services for WMMB.
“What I've heard from retailers is that they are looking for content and looking at enhancing their websites,” Drew said.
The “Cheese Tips” videos, which will also be available on WMMB's website throughout the year, are expected to boost sales of specialty cheeses by giving shoppers new ideas for ways to use them in recipes, as well as suggestions for pairing different types of cheese with different food and drinks.
“With so many new cheeses, it's really important to tell people how they can use them, whether or not they melt, and whether or not they have a big flavor,” said Marilyn Wilkinson, director of National Product Communications for the WMMB.
For example, one “Cheese Tips” segment explains how to use Hispanic cheeses. “There are so many Hispanic cheeses, but they don't know the names of cheeses and what to do with them. Most consumers want bolder flavors, but they want to know what it's going to taste like,” Wilkinson said.
WMMB is allowing retailers to tailor the content to their brand. Lowes Foods, for example, picked up the WMMB's three-minute “Cheese Tips” videos and customized them. Its first video, which provides tips on using specialty cheeses, is introduced by Cindy Silver, Lowes' registered dietitian.
Supermarkets will be able to choose from about 50 different videos throughout the year. They can feature videos that relate to seasonal promotions or events, such as a Hispanic festival.
Similarly, the National Pork Board is also running a series of six streaming recipe videos on its website, and will provide those to interested retailers at no cost.
“Recipes are the heart of our website, and we know that consumers are looking for recipes or anything that can help them have a great pork-eating experience,” said Pamela Johnson, director of consumer communications.
The videos walk visitors through the steps to make recipes using pork and provide tips on cooking temperatures.
Streaming videos are a great way to get consumers to buy featured products, but they also entice shoppers to interact more with the grocers' websites, experts say.
“Some people are on the video three to four minutes total. That is very valuable to this audience. And fresh content provides a reason to come back besides just looking at the circular,” said Kerry Brix, executive vice president of MarketMetric, Austin, Texas, a company that provides streaming video technology to retailers and food marketing boards.
Videos explaining how to prepare foods are a great place to start out in the Web video realm. Typically, the recipes section of supermarkets' websites are the top one or two most visited sections of the site, Brix said. “You can tie that in to a lot of different product offers.”
Johnson agrees that recipes and preparation tips are invaluable selling tools. “To show and tell them is the strongest way for a call to action. Any time you can give the shopper more knowledge about the items you feature, they'll be picking up the product and it will stay on the grocery list,” she said.
Brix predicted that supermarkets and manufacturers will be taking the streaming video concept to new and different levels in the future. For example, more supermarkets will be communicating health and wellness tips that tie into the products they sell.
“You're going to see people promoting their nutritionist and their lifestyle and healthy eating products,” Brix said.
In addition, grocers are expected to use recipe and preparation-tips videos provided by brand manufacturers, which tie in with coupons that customers can redeem in-store.
Supermarkets could also film their own videos to promote private-label products, Brix suggested. A recipe video with a corresponding coupon for the store brand is a great way to entice shoppers to try it for the first time, he added.
