Contributed by Kaylin Upson, Millbrook DECA, Virginia | Blue Blaze Café SBE Manager
With the holidays right around the corner, there are many ways to boost School-based Enterprise (SBE) sales while still engaging with your customers. Below are a few things that Blue Blaze Café has done over the years and new activities for 2021 to continue expanding our customer base.
1. Holiday-Themed Prizes
Our customers often enjoy winning prizes. Our SBE does this through guessing games and raffles. For example, in one of the games, customers have to guess the number of miniature candy canes. The customer who guesses the closest will receive a prize.
2. Seasonal Cookie Packaging
Festive cookie packaging can set the mood for the holiday season. You can add small things like ribbon or gift tags to make the cookies more exciting and appealing to customers. These joy-filled, decorative treats make the perfect after-school snack and great gifts for your peers during the school day.
3. Prepackaged Gift Ideas
Create a holiday bundle with two to three items from your SBE. These are great gifts to give to a family member or friends. Some examples include:
- Hat and t-shirt combo
- Car decal with the purchase of a fleece blanket
- Travel mug and lanyard combo
4. Seasonal SBE Theme
Align your SBE with a popular, seasonal song or movie. For example, we chose The Twelve Days of Christmas. During the month of December, our SBE will run an event called "The Twelve Days of Blue Blaze". For this event, we feature a different product every day for the 12 days leading up to winter break.
5. Elf on The Shelf
Another activity that we are super excited to be launching this year is Elf on the Shelf. Placing the elf somewhere around the café every day of December, the elf will have different food items on it each day. The first person to find it will win that prize. This is a great way to engage and attract customers quickly.
We hope you enjoy some of these holiday activities to get your SBE back into the holiday spirit!
